Best easy Meatball recipe?

[Kaido]

My night to cook, doing spaghetti. Want to try cooking some meatballs, but I've never made them. Doesn't need to be fancy, just a simple recipe that you've tried would be great

Update: Success!

http://img02.picoodle.com/img/...curedownlm_edcf447.jpg

And I impressed my Italian wife no less!

 

[darkxshade]

1. Buy bulk beef
2. Ground bulk beef
3. Shape beef into alternator sized jumbo balls
4. Season Balls
5. Cook

 

[Tiamat]

Want one from my Williams Sonoma cook book?

2 large egg
3 oz Parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 large clove garlic
6-8 sprigs Flat-leaf parsley
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup fine dried bread crumb
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil w/ extra 1tbsp conserved for something else...


Mix beef, breadcrumb, egg, cheese, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper in bowl. Do not sqeeze meat too hard otherwise meatballs be too tough.

Fry small nugget of the meatball mixture with the conserved 1 tbsp olive oil under medium heat. Cook 3 minutes each side. Wait for it to cool. This is to try the meat to see if seasonings are good. If taste bland, mix some extra salt and pepper etc.

2" diameter meatballs should take 15 minutes cooking in 1/2 cup olive oil with frequent turning under medium heat. Meatball should turn dark brown and be somewhat crusty.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
1. Buy bulk beef
2. Ground bulk beef
3. Shape beef into circular balls
4. Cook

I'm pretty sure there's crackers and seasoning involved in there somewhere, but it's pretty close.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: darkxshade
1. Buy bulk beef
2. Ground bulk beef
3. Shape beef into circular balls
4. Cook

I'm pretty sure there's crackers and seasoning involved in there somewhere, but it's pretty close.

Hence the thread, I'm sure someone around here has a simple recipe that I can throw together easily with decent results

 

[God Mode]

First you need a pair of scissors. Serves only 2. :shocked:

 

[ZOOYUKA]

Frozen Meatballs
Spaghetti Sauce
Noodles

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: darkxshade
1. Buy bulk beef
2. Ground bulk beef
3. Shape beef into circular balls
4. Cook

I'm pretty sure there's crackers and seasoning involved in there somewhere, but it's pretty close.

Hence the thread, I'm sure someone around here has a simple recipe that I can throw together easily with decent results

Fixed for decent results

 

[nanette1985]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: darkxshade
1. Buy bulk beef
2. Ground bulk beef
3. Shape beef into circular balls
4. Cook

I'm pretty sure there's crackers and seasoning involved in there somewhere, but it's pretty close.

crackers, bread, oatmeal, etc to give it bulk and a smooth texture. Add a beaten egg to get it to hold together in little-ball shape.

Personally, I buy frozen Celentano meat balls and take them out of the freezer when I want. I hate cleaning up the greasy mess from frying the things.

 

[Tiamat]

see edit ^

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Frozen food section. Red/white/green bags (forget brand) DELICIOUS!

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
Frozen food section. Red/white/green bags (forget brand) DELICIOUS!

Boxed Mama Lucia or whatever is pretty good too.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
Frozen food section. Red/white/green bags (forget brand) DELICIOUS!

Yeah I usually do Ikea meatballs (buy a bunch of bags and take home), but my supply has run out. Not going again till early December

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: princess ida

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: darkxshade
1. Buy bulk beef
2. Ground bulk beef
3. Shape beef into circular balls
4. Cook

I'm pretty sure there's crackers and seasoning involved in there somewhere, but it's pretty close.

crackers, bread, oatmeal, etc to give it bulk and a smooth texture. Add a beaten egg to get it to hold together in little-ball shape.

Personally, I buy frozen Celentano meat balls and take them out of the freezer when I want. I hate cleaning up the greasy mess from frying the things.

Oatmeal eh? Do you cook it first, or put it in dry? (guessing dry)

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
Frozen food section. Red/white/green bags (forget brand) DELICIOUS!

And I wonder what the fat/cholesterol difference is between those and if you make your own with lean (90/10) beef...or with ground chicken or ground turkey.

I have heard it's also good to make meatballs with a beef/veal mixture. Or heck, beef/lamb mixture.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic
salt, pepper, oregano, other spices to taste.

 

[oznerol]

Christ, sounds like there's a shortage of Italians posting here. Ikea meatballs? Seriously? Anyway, those are Swedish.

Tiamat's post is pretty good - I prefer a beef/veal/pork mixture to plain ground beef. I also leave out the parsley.

Making them is a 2-step process. First is frying, second is "marinating". After making the balls, fry them on low heat in olive oil until they get a bit dark on the outside - we generally make these in bulk and then freeze whatever we don't use.

After that, we put them in sauce along with other meats - Braciole, chicken, sausage, etc. Let that cook on low - the longer the better - ~6-8+ hours.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: ducci
Christ, sounds like there's a shortage of Italians posting here. Ikea meatballs? Seriously? Anyway, those are Swedish.

Tiamat's post is pretty good - I prefer a beef/veal/pork mixture to plain ground beef. I also leave out the parsley.

Making them is a 2-step process. First is frying, second is "marinating". After making the balls, fry them on low heat in olive oil until they get a bit dark on the outside - we generally make these in bulk and then freeze whatever we don't use.

After that, we put them in sauce along with other meats - Braciole, chicken, sausage, etc. Let that cook on low - the longer the better - ~6-8+ hours.

Seconded. The best meatballs take an entire afternoon of slow cooking to make.

If I use meat in addition to the meatballs, I use sweet Italian sausage (Turkey variant is not bad and healthier).

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: ducci
Christ, sounds like there's a shortage of Italians posting here. Ikea meatballs? Seriously? Anyway, those are Swedish.

Tiamat's post is pretty good - I prefer a beef/veal/pork mixture to plain ground beef. I also leave out the parsley.

Making them is a 2-step process. First is frying, second is "marinating". After making the balls, fry them on low heat in olive oil until they get a bit dark on the outside - we generally make these in bulk and then freeze whatever we don't use.

After that, we put them in sauce along with other meats - Braciole, chicken, sausage, etc. Let that cook on low - the longer the better - ~6-8+ hours.

Do you include bread crumbs, eggs, etc.?

 

[Newbian]

Originally posted by: ducci
we generally make these in bulk and then freeze whatever we don't use.

Define bulk please.

 

[DnetMHZ]

Originally posted by: ZOOYUKA
Frozen Meatballs
Spaghetti Sauce
Noodles

Fail

 

[oznerol]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Do you include bread crumbs, eggs, etc.?

Yea, I use bread crumbs, but no set amount. It's all eyeballed, really. Use too much and they get "cakey", use too little and your sauce (gravy) winds up with chunks of meat in it.

I have a 2-year-old niece who is apparently allergic to eggs, so we started making meatballs without them. I prefer with the eggs.

Like I said, Tiamat's post is a good general recipe. I also don't put any cheese in them, but it's common in most recipes.

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: ducci
we generally make these in bulk and then freeze whatever we don't use.

Define bulk please.

Alternator-sized.

But seriously, we usually end up with a dozen or so meatballs, and in 1 meal we'll eat at most 5 or 6, so we freeze half.

Also, don't pull a "Lady and the Tramp" and put the meatballs on the pasta. Meat is a course all its own - it comes after the pasta but before the salad.

 

[Heller]

their not hard, my 98 year old jewish grand mother makes them about every 6 months (i'd say she makes 200 at a time) and freezes them, and gives them family .

defrost
reheat boil spaghetti

if shes feeling generous I'll grab a quart of her sauce(frozen as well).

<3 old jewish grandmothers.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: ducci
Christ, sounds like there's a shortage of Italians posting here. Ikea meatballs? Seriously? Anyway, those are Swedish.

Tiamat's post is pretty good - I prefer a beef/veal/pork mixture to plain ground beef. I also leave out the parsley.

Making them is a 2-step process. First is frying, second is "marinating". After making the balls, fry them on low heat in olive oil until they get a bit dark on the outside - we generally make these in bulk and then freeze whatever we don't use.

After that, we put them in sauce along with other meats - Braciole, chicken, sausage, etc. Let that cook on low - the longer the better - ~6-8+ hours.

Wow that sounds good, I'll have to try that in my slow cooker! Bet that'd make awesome meatballs for meatball sub...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: ducci

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Do you include bread crumbs, eggs, etc.?

Yea, I use bread crumbs, but no set amount. It's all eyeballed, really. Use too much and they get "cakey", use too little and your sauce (gravy) winds up with chunks of meat in it.

I have a 2-year-old niece who is apparently allergic to eggs, so we started making meatballs without them. I prefer with the eggs.

Like I said, Tiamat's post is a good general recipe. I also don't put any cheese in them, but it's common in most recipes.

Originally posted by: Newbian

Originally posted by: ducci
we generally make these in bulk and then freeze whatever we don't use.

Define bulk please.

Alternator-sized.

But seriously, we usually end up with a dozen or so meatballs, and in 1 meal we'll eat at most 5 or 6, so we freeze half.

Also, don't pull a "Lady and the Tramp" and put the meatballs on the pasta. Meat is a course all its own - it comes after the pasta but before the salad.

Yeah we do that with meat-stuffed Giant Ravioli, make about 300 at a time then freeze them for the rest of the year. My wife's Italian so I have the hookup. Except she's busy at work and it's my night to cook sooooooooo wish me luck

I decided to try my own recipe - 2 pounds of Ground Beef, Panko Flakes (Japanese breadcrumbs), 1 egg, Italian seasoning, Garlic Salt, Black Pepper, Kosher Salt, and Water. I started reading here:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/T...-Meatballs/Detail.aspx

Has lots of good reviews and they add 1.5 cups of water, which is weird. One guy in the comments said it comes out really good baked, so I'm doing a trial run with them on a cake rack in the oven. Will report back.