Growing up as a Brooklyn boy, I often observed my Grandma Millie, making meatballs. She was good and fast. Most Sunday afternoons Grandma made meatballs and sausage as part of our family Sunday supper. Supper started about 1 o’clock and ended about 6 o’clock. The conversation at the table was often loud and generally about food. However, this is an article about meatballs. They are enjoyed all over the globe — all through Asia, the Far East, India, Europe, the Middle East, South and Central America. All types of chopped meats, chopped by hand or ground and shaped into a sphere. Whether the sphere-shaped ball is made from meat or not it will still be described as a meatball.
While living in Brooklyn, my mom, at times, would ask me to go down the street and pick up the meat she had ordered from the butcher. Many of my visits to the local butcher included picking up “chopped meat.” Which simply meant ground beef. In those days you bought pork in the Pork Store and chicken from the Chicken Man. Chopped meat was always assumed as round steak. The Brits referred to it as minced meat.
The base
Beef is the most often used meat for meatballs. But other red meats as well as poultry also make fine meatballs, either as a single ingredient meat or a mixture of two or three meats. Pork or veal make very tasty meatballs, but I prefer a mixture of the three, sometimes referred to as a Bolognese mix. All throughout Italy butchers ,as well as the supermarkets, sell a ground meat Bolognese mixture of beef, pork and veal. The local market Wild Fork offers a Bolognese mixture. It contains 8 oz. each of the three ground meats. When buying ground pork or veal, it is just that, ground pork or veal. You can not choose the type or the fat content as you can with buying ground beef.
Store bought ground beef will work okay for meatballs. However it is made from scraps and does not taste as rich as ground chuck or round steak. Ground sirloin has good flavor also, but lacks the necessary fat for moisture and its flavor.
When purchasing ground chicken, the fat content is rarely given so you do not want to purchase all breast meat and end up with dry chicken meatballs. Turkey however does list the fat percentage. I recommend 7% or more for juicier and more flavorful turkey meatballs.
Meatballs may be the perfect comfort food? But then again at times they come into vogue. There are restaurants that specialize or feature meatballs. Melbourne, Australia, London, and New York are a few of the lucky cities to have such restaurants.
Filler basics
Fillers in meatloaf, meatballs, and English bangers, I believe, were originally added to expand the product and keep the cost down while feeding the family meat for dinner. Others might say that the fillers were added to change the texture. While both end up being true, the fillers do change the texture and act as a binder and hold the sphere shape together while cooking. Both the eggs and the soaked bread act as binders while keeping the meatballs soft. The meatball should not have the texture of a hamburger. The egg and the softened bread help maintain the nice soft bite.
Commonly used fillers are bread or bread crumbs softened with milk and egg. Generally, one egg and one slice of bread soaked in milk per pound of meat are used.
Many grain and or bread products are used worldwide as fillers. Dairy items often used are milk, cream, yogurt, ricotta, sour cream, or cottage cheese. Some grain products to consider using for your meatball mix are panko, cracker crumbs, oats, bulgar, potato flakes or fresh bread.
Seasonings
Seasonings can refer to many things that provide flavor, not to mention salt and pepper. They include spices, herbs, alliums, cheeses, fresh ginger, vinegar, and chili to name some.
For good flavor complexity, it is important to match the seasonings to the meat. For example, if I were to make a meatball to be served with a Middle Eastern meal, I would probably use lamb. Some seasonings I know match well with lamb are mint, pistachios, rosemary and garlic. Perhaps I am thinking of making an Asian style pork meatball. Flavorings like five spice, cilantro, pine nuts and soy come to mind. A turkey meatball might be fun seasoned with dried cranberries, fresh sage and rosemary and some grated yam.
Using cheese as a flavoring, I believe hard, salty, grated, cheese works best.
Dry herbs as well as fresh will add a nice flavor.
From the family of alliums, both raw and cooked garlic and onion can be a nice addition for flavor and texture if cut large enough.
In meatballs as with sausage I firmly believe “less is more.”
Mixing
When mixing the meatball ingredients — the meat, fillers, seasonings etc. — place them all in a large, chilled bowl, using your hands and fingers, squish and knead the mixture until well combined. Once that is achieved, cover the mixture with plastic and place it in the refrigerator. The colder the mixture the easier it will be to shape into balls.
Shaping
I do not like using an ice cream scoop. I much prefer my hands. Rolling them in the palms of your hands makes a much more appealing texture. I always rinse my hands under cold running water every few balls or so. This way the fat will not warm up and stick to your hands. If you are not quick at making the balls, I recommend keeping some in the refrigerator until you are ready to start cooking them. This way they will hold the round shape longer.
Cooking methods
The method you choose will be partially determined by the style of you will be serving. The differences are plenty and the outcomes of each method will vary greatly.
Pan fry
This method is done in a skillet with about a half inch of oil. The oil should be medium hot, so not at its smoking point. While cooking the balls they will need to be rotated to develop a good crust on the full sphere.
Deep fat fryer
The outcome is about the same as the pan fry, but there is no need to rotate the balls since they are submerged in the hot oil.
Oven
A very hot oven is important. You want to achieve a good outer crust before the sphere gets flat. If you have a convection oven, it is even better to crust the balls quickly. Using the broiler will work, however, you will be required to check on them often so they will not burn under the very hot broiler. Once the balls are browned, lower the oven temperature to about 250 degrees to cook the meatballs.
Steam
A metal vegetable steamer is quick and easy. The Asian style stackable bamboo steamer baskets are especially nice if you are making Asin style Meatballs.
Braise
As you would with most meats, the meatballs need to be browned on all sides before the other ingredients and the liquid is added. Once the meatballs are nice and brown, add the vegetables and cook a little further. When the vegetables start to soften, add the liquids, which normally are, wine and broth. I bet, if you have a great braised chicken thigh recipe, it would be a success using meatballs in place of the chicken thighs.
Grill
I have seen a meatball basket used for grilling meatballs and it worked beautifully.
For Middle Eastern and some Greek meatballs, use a flat metal skewer where the ground meatball mixture is formed on the skewer and then grilled. The common bamboo skewers will be very difficult to use without a meatball breaking.
Poach
Albondigas are the perfect size balls to cook this way. They should be poached in meat stock, which will become the soup. Any ball you are planning to serve in soup should be cooked in this method.
Sotto Palle [soh-toh-pa-le]
In Italian, meaning “under balls.” I learned this from Matteo Bruno’s Book, The Ultimate Guide to Meatballs. He is well known for his meatball/wine bar restaurants in Melbourne, Australia.
The sotto palle must match the meatball, as with any good marriage of flavors.
I really love these two vegetable stew type dishes for the staging of meatballs. The Sicilian Caponata, and the French Provencal Ratatouille. Before serving these I recommend a small dollop of Ricotta cheese on top of each ball.
Corn grits, corn mush, or polenta made with cheese or butter are a great match for meatballs. All sorts of legumes do well under meatballs, especially lentils as well as all sorts of beans.
In general, rice works nicely, whether Chinese fried rice, or Italian Risotto, you’ve got a winner.
Various grains can match well with meat. My two favorites are farro and bulgar wheat, simply cooked in chicken broth and finished with a drizzle of good olive oil.
Orzo pasta or couscous with basil pesto should be a classic.
For the All American Sotto Palle, use mashed potatoes.
Some additional thoughts on serving your meatballs:
A meatball in a lettuce cup topped with a sauce; served atop a Caesar salad; in a brothy soup; on slider buns for a party; tiny meatballs on a skewer; with scrambled eggs; over hummus. Let your imagination go.
After more than 50 years as a chef, my most popular meatballs were my grandmother’s. Here is her recipe.
Mama Terano’s Meatballs
Yield: approximately 25 to 30 meatballs
Ingredients:
5 pounds ground beef with about 15% fat
5 medium or large eggs
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoons minced garlic
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
5 slices crustless white bread (soaked until very soft)
Milk to soak bread
Salt and black pepper to taste
Preparation
Knead ingredients together well, making mixture into small meatballs
Cook in oven until well browned
Cook again in tomato sauce for about 1 hour
