Who has strong opinions about making meatballs? (1 Viewer)

[upNdown]

I’d love to get a good meatball conversation going. I’ve been tweaking my own meatball recipe for 15 years and I’ll continue to do so. And of course, the recipe is going to affect how well the techniques work (and vice versa) so there are probably a lot of not-wrong answers. But my first question, the one that drives me most crazy is a technique one.

Do people really cook their meatballs in sauce all day? That seems insane to me, unless the sauce is cooking at an insanely low temperature. I’ve never even bothered to try it because I’m convinced the result would be hard, dry meatballs.

My suspicion is that people do that because that’s what their grandmother did. Or that’s what they think their grandmother did. And for some reason, Italian Americans tend to be more obsessed with being Italian and doing things the Italian way (which is usually the Italian American way and likely a far cry from any actual Italian way) that they don’t realize they could do better and wouldn’t want to even try.

 

[RocAFella1]

@sicilian_joe
@meatshield
@Meathooke

 

[BarrieJ3]

Wife says it’s the mixture that assists avoiding the drying out when making them that way, specifically the veal and pork she includes in the mix.

She goes for a strong outside sear and allows them to cook in sauce all day or for awhile or whatever. Her big rule is simply not touching them once they’re going.

To completely support your point though, it was similar to how her aunt did them.

 

[TheBigTater]

I prefer Meatballs (1979) with Bill Murray 100x over Meatballs 2 (1984) with Pee-Wee Herman

 

[legend672]

Breadcrumbs from the bakery
Freshly grated pecorino Romano
I fresh egg per pound of meat
Minced garlic from a jar( as opposed to fresh chopped garlic which you use to start the gravy along with freshly chopped onion in oil)
Salt
Bkack pepper
Oregano
Finely chopped parsley
Combine your dry stuff and sprinkle it in with the meat and eggs
Work them together diligently
Roll em put them on a baking sheet or in a muffin pan
Bake em for 30 minutes at 350
Put them in the simmering gravy that is already done. Turn off gravy and let them soak it in for a while

 

[BPTDirector]

Very simple true Sicilian sauce recipe passed through generations from my Grandma who came through Ellis Island. Meatballs Cooked raw in the sauce, never fried or baked. Two to three hours not all day. You have to wait for your sauce to boil before dropping meatballs in the sauce. Best I have ever eaten, spoiled by these my whole life. I am the family recipe keeper these days. Pork, beef, eggs, cracker meal, basil, garlic, Romano cheese. Yes please!

 

[davislane]

Very simple true Sicilian sauce recipe passed through generations from my Grandma who came through Ellis Island. Meatballs Cooked raw in the sauce, never fried or baked. Two to three hours not all day. You have to wait for your sauce to boil before dropping meatballs in the sauce. Best I have ever eaten, spoiled by these my whole life. I am the family recipe keeper these days. Pork, beef, eggs, cracker meal, basil, garlic, Romano cheese. Yes please!

Sicilian Nonnas are the best!

 

[augster123]

Very simple true Sicilian sauce recipe passed through generations from my Grandma who came through Ellis Island. Meatballs Cooked raw in the sauce, never fried or baked. Two to three hours not all day. You have to wait for your sauce to boil before dropping meatballs in the sauce. Best I have ever eaten, spoiled by these my whole life. I am the family recipe keeper these days. Pork, beef, eggs, cracker meal, basil, garlic, Romano cheese. Yes please!

use a similar recipe that has been handed down through the generations of a friend's italian family. almost always better the second day after the flavors have melded in the sauce.

 

[davislane]

The key differential ultimately comes down to the quality of the ingredients used. Recipes and cooking tecnhiques aside, if you use poor ingredients you will have a poor product. Simple but QUALITY produce is the essence of Italian cooking.

 

[CraigT78]

@BarrieJ3

 

[BarrieJ3]

@BarrieJ3

Yes, THIS is thread is the type of content we need. I’m here for it.

I’m gonna need to taste test too.

Enough people won’t stop riding my balls, the least y’all could do is let me taste yours.

 

[upNdown]

specifically the veal and pork she includes in the mix.

That’s always worth discussing. If we’re talking about hardness, pork makes them hard, but gives them great flavor. Veal will soften them, but I’m not sure how much flavor it brings to the table. So I’m with her there. If you’re using beef and pork, you gotta use veal too (and I prefer 50-25-25) Otherwise, simply all ground beef works too.

Anyway, I’m curious if she has any idea how hot her sauce is. I suppose if you’re making a giant pot of Sundays sauce you could keep it at a lower temperature. But for the normal sized batch I usually make, my gas stove can’t physically go any lower than a simmer up in the neighborhood of 180 - 190. And that’s hot enough to fully cook meatballs from raw in 20 minutes, so I can’t imagine simmering them that hot for hours.

Put them in the simmering gravy that is already done. Turn off gravy and let them soak it in for a while

Now that makes a whole lot of sense!
I prefer pan-frying to baking, but either way you’re getting the browning which brings the flavor.

Meatballs Cooked raw in the sauce, never fried or baked.

I’ve tried this recently, expecting I’d hate it, but I actually like it. As long as you don’t over cook them, they come out with this light fluffy texture that’s amazing. And bonus points for less cleanup. The texture is so good, it’s a fair trade off for no browning. But when I do them this way, I’ll actually pull them from the sauce when they hit 160, unless I’m serving them immediately.

Sicilian Nonnas are the best!

Mine wasn’t Sicilian but her parents (and her husband’s parents) were all off the boat from San Donato, so she definitely knew a thing or two.
Funny thing, as she was getting old, and I tried to learn her methods, I think she was more interested in me saving money than sharing her secrets. “What exact meats do you put in your sauce?” “Aw, you can’t buy good meat anymore.”
Ha.

The key differential ultimately comes down to the quality of the ingredients used. Recipes and cooking tecnhiques aside, if you use poor ingredients you will have a poor product. Simple but QUALITY produce is the essence of Italian cooking.

I think technique is almost as important, but I’ll agree with this. Once I learned to buy good cheese and grate it myself, it was smooth sailing!

 

[davislane]

I think technique is almost as important,

almost. you cant polish a turd no matter how good of a craftsman you are!

 

[BarrieJ3]

That’s always worth discussing. If we’re talking about hardness, pork makes them hard, but gives them great flavor. Veal will soften them, but I’m not sure how much flavor it brings to the table. So I’m with her there. If you’re using beef and pork, you gotta use veal too (and I prefer 50-25-25) Otherwise, simply all ground beef works too.

Anyway, I’m curious if she has any idea how hot her sauce is.

She refuses to cook by anything other than feel. She brings it to a boil, tosses them in, and lets sit simmering for hours.

She will eventually touch one and pierce it to test it out.

I don’t know anything except for eating. But I had a thought and now I really want to try fresh meatballs with sour cream.

Watching from afar, based on the effort that goes into making everything, I’d prefer meatloaf over meatballs.

 

[WedgeRock]

I’d prefer meatloaf

Stop right there!

 

[XBobdog]

I mix milk, egg, breadcrumbs and dry spices together and then into the meat. ( Almost always use just ground beef because we get whole cows and have a ton of ground beef, but pork does add flavor). The milk adds moisture. I bake at 425 to get a bit of a crunch on the out side and then throw them into the sauce pot. At that point they are functionally cooked.

 

[Lil Tuna]

@BarrieJ3

Spicy meatballs….….

 

[raynmanas]

Do people really cook their meatballs in sauce all day?

all day - no. but we bake (or broil, but i prefer baking because broiling gives them too much crust) them most of the way then let them finish in the sauce for the last couple hours.

equal ratios of pork/veal/beef is the best way to go for the meat IMO (grocery stores around here sell it already mixed that way as meatloaf/meatball mixture - i assume that is normal elsewhere too).

breadcrumbs - usually italian but sometimes panko for a milder flavor. egg, garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, and absolutely to milk per @XBobdog above, plus a handful of good grated parmesan as well. that's about it, we don't really measure.

i will add though - for italian wedding soup, we make tiny little versions of the same meatballs (but maybe a little heavier on the parmesan), and those absolutely go straight into the soup raw.

 

[Tonysquander]

Meatball recipes? Pffft…the real secret recipes are the red sauce recipes. Anyone want to share theirs?

 

[KHarp1]

Whoa there fella, slow yer roll... you can't just start off talking about how you cook your meatballs pertaining to them drying out (never been my experience) straight to Sunday Gravy (yes, it deserves the respect of capital letters). We gotta fully flesh out this meatball thing before we jump into Sunday Gravy.

I like a mix of pork/veal/beef, and it's usually a 40/30/30 (eyeballing). I prefer to fry mine first, for caramelization, then drop in the sauce and allow to simmer for a few hours. 2 is usually not quite enough, 3 and some may start to break apart soon.

 

[BPTDirector]

If you are baking or frying…..you’re doing it wrong.

 

[CraigT78]

Yes, THIS is thread is the type of content we need. I’m here for it.

I’m gonna need to taste test too.

Enough people won’t stop riding my balls, the least y’all could do is let me taste yours.

Shall we have a ball cook-off and share in the tasting?

 

[CraigT78]

Yes, THIS is thread is the type of content we need. I’m here for it.

I’m gonna need to taste test too.

Enough people won’t stop riding my balls, the least y’all could do is let me taste yours.

Fuck, I completely missed that you already posted in this thread.

Troll level - 0

 

[upNdown]

equal ratios of pork/veal/beef is the best way to go for the meat IMO (grocery stores around here sell it already mixed that way as meatloaf/meatball mixture - i assume that is normal elsewhere too).

After ignoring those for years, I’ve given them another try recently and the results are fine. But I’ve looked at the packaging for the exact proportions and so far I haven’t seen one that had them listed. And honestly, since ground veal is always more expensive than beef and since pork is usually more expensive too, I’ve always assumed the rations weren’t equal.

 

[GreatWhiteDope]

all day - no. but we bake (or broil, but i prefer baking because broiling gives them too much crust) them most of the way then let them finish in the sauce for the last couple hours.

equal ratios of pork/veal/beef is the best way to go for the meat IMO (grocery stores around here sell it already mixed that way as meatloaf/meatball mixture - i assume that is normal elsewhere too).

breadcrumbs - usually italian but sometimes panko for a milder flavor. egg, garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, and absolutely to milk per @XBobdog above, plus a handful of good grated parmesan as well. that's about it, we don't really measure.

i will add though - for italian wedding soup, we make tiny little versions of the same meatballs (but maybe a little heavier on the parmesan), and those absolutely go straight into the soup raw.

I'm with @raynmanas . I like them baked before they go in the sauce and an equal mix of meats. One little variation that I think helps with the moistness of the balls is to use a panade of ground saltine crackers and a little milk instead of the breadcrumbs.

 

[surfik]

I put nutmeg and mint into mine, (mint only if I add beef)

 

[CraigT78]

I made meatballs with ground chicken once. There were dense as hell and dray AF. Do not recommend.

It's probably because my wife got 99% fat free or something.

 

[TheOffalo]

Any room in this discussion for Chinese meatballs?

(Not my picture. Found on the intertubes.)

These are Pearl Meatballs. I make them with ground pork, shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, white pepper, salt, and egg for binding. They're rolled in uncooked soaked/drained glutineous (sticky) rice and then steamed.

 

[GreatWhiteDope]

Any room in this discussion for Chinese meatballs?

View attachment 1502267
(Not my picture. Found on the intertubes.)

These are Pearl Meatballs. I make them with ground pork, shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, white pepper, salt, and egg for binding. They're rolled in uncooked soaked/drained glutineous (sticky) rice and then steamed.

I'll try anything once.

 

[davislane]

Meatball recipes? Pffft…the real secret recipes are the red sauce recipes. Anyone want to share theirs?

No!

Edit. Not even my mum knows my recipe. Nor do I most times. I just know what the destination is and I adjust accordingly to get there!