Meatballs are good news for cooks. Why? It’s almost impossible to mess them up. They’re not like a soufflé that can turn into a flat pancake instead of reaching great heights. You don’t need to be a professional chef with a battery of culinary skills. Meatballs are one of the easiest foods to make successfully, and in this chapter you’ll learn the many ways there are to make them. You’ll also learn ways to transform meatballs into other forms of foods such as a hearty meatball shepherd’s pie or meatball lasagna, as well as general pointers on food handling that will make your kitchen a safer environment for all cooking.
My definition of “meatball” is a broad one; anything made from a mixture that is ground and ends up round is a meatball. Many of the recipes don’t even use meat! There are meatballs made with poultry, fish, and vegetables. There are even balls made from sweet mixtures. Are they desserts?
Each ingredient in the ground mixture has a purpose, and that is to produce a flavorful meatball with an appealing soft texture. While many meatballs are made the size of marbles or the size of golf balls, no one wants them to taste like one. The ideal texture for a meatball is a soft interior; the exterior can be hard or soft depending on how they are cooked. Some of these ingredients play more than one role; for example, using rye bread for moisture adds flavor from the caraway seeds, and adding ketchup for flavor will also enhance the moisture in the mix. Here are the various categories of ingredients that comprise a meatball, with some variations given:
The Starring Player: The primary ingredient of a meatball is usually meat. But that can mean beef, veal, lamb, pork, poultry, or some combination of these. They can also be made with fish and shellfish. Grains, legumes, and vegetables can also take on the starring role, but with a different touch than meat or seafood.
The Flavor Boosters: This category includes herbs, spices, cheeses, vegetables, and prepared sauces and condiments. These ingredients vary in proportion by recipe; there are no hard and fast rules. If the meatball is intended to be eaten in a sauce, there will be fewer flavoring ingredients in the meatball itself, compared with those that are eaten off a toothpick as a stand-alone item. In addition to adding flavor, cheeses and condiments such as ketchup, mustard, or soy sauce also add moisture to meatballs. The vegetables in the meatball mixture can be either raw or cooked. Some combination of onion, celery, garlic, and carrots are most frequently used, but chopped mushrooms or mashed potatoes can be added as well.
The Seasonings: Notice that specific amounts of salt and pepper aren’t listed in the recipes because I believe this is a very personal decision. First make the meatball mix without salt and pepper because some of the secondary ingredients—such as seasoned breadcrumbs or condiments—may already include some salt and pepper. Season the mixture after all other ingredients have been added and blended.
The Texture Enhancers: Most meatball recipes include at least one whole egg, and sometimes an additional egg yolk or egg white. The egg serves as a binder for the other ingredients so the meatball holds its shape. The egg also offers a bit of fat and liquid to give the meatball a pleasing mouth feel when chewed. Some vegetables, such as cooked chopped spinach or shredded cooked carrots, also add texture to meatballs.
The Moisture Magnets: In addition to liking meatballs with a soft interior, we also like meatballs that have a moist interior. That’s where some sort of carbohydrate enters the picture. It can be anything from torn bread, fluffy Japanese panko, crushed crackers, or plain breadcrumbs to grains such as raw or cooked rice, oatmeal, or bulgur. The purpose of the carbohydrate is to absorb moisture as the meat cooks and gives off liquid. Depending on what ingredient is used, the moisture magnet can also add flavor and texture to the meatball. Some recipes have a low moisture content, so the moisture magnet is soaked in a liquid before adding it to the mixture. In recipes with a high moisture content the carbohydrate is added dry. The liquid in which it soaks can be as simple as water, to add only moisture to a recipe, or wine, stock, fruit juice, or tomato sauce to add flavor. While each recipe in this book specifies a particular carbohydrate, feel free to change it or use whatever is on hand. Experiment. The only caveat is to determine if the moisture magnet was also contributing to the flavor of the meatball and adjust accordingly. For example, Italian pre-seasoned breadcrumbs are one of the great convenience foods on the market, but if all you have are plain breadcrumbs, add 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning (or some combination of dried basil, oregano, and thyme) to the mixture per 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs used.
The quality and type of ground meat makes an enormous difference when cooking beef meatballs because some cuts of beef are more flavorful than others. The best beef meatballs are made with ground chuck that is 80 percent lean and comes from a very well marbled and flavorful cut. Should you want a leaner burger, look for ground sirloin. Avoid any packages generically labeled “ground beef.”
The same distinctions are not made with other ground meats, such as pork or lamb. But in most supermarkets you do have the choice between ground turkey and all-white meat ground turkey. The all-white meat is a bit leaner but not as flavorful as the mixture that includes some dark meat. For meatballs made with a mixture of meats – usually beef, pork, and veal – many supermarkets carry a product called “meatloaf mix” containing all three meats in an equal proportion. I use this same proportion in many recipes in Chapter 7.
Almost no one actually grinds meat at home these days; my meat grinder lives in a box in the basement along with other culinary antiques such as my fish poacher and waffle maker. But chopping fish and seafood at home is necessary for some recipes, and there is no better friend than the food processor to accomplish this task.
For finfish, such as salmon, tuna, or cod, start by cutting the fish into 1-inch cubes, and arrange the cubes on a baking sheet lined with a sheet of plastic wrap. For shrimp, use the 21 to 25 shrimp per pound size. Remove and discard the shell, and devein the shrimp.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the fish is partially frozen. Then transfer the cubes to the work bowl of the food processor and chop it either finely or coarsely, according to the directions in the specific recipe, using the on-and-off pulsing action.
In some recipes part of the chopped fish or shellfish is removed from the work bowl to add texture to the mixture, and the remainder is pureed with eggs to become the mousse-like base for the fish balls.
There is an order in which the various categories of ingredients are combined to create the best meatballs, although this may change to some extent from recipe to recipe. But remember this isn’t rocket science. It’s meatballs. And if you combine ingredients in an order other than the one specified in the recipe, your results will still be delicious.
Most recipes start by combining the ancillary ingredients, and then adding the meat last. If the breadcrumbs or other carbohydrate are to soak in liquid, then that will be the first step. In a few recipes any liquid remaining is discarded after the initial soaking time. If you don’t have to drain away excess moisture, the recipe will begin by beating the egg with liquid, and then adding the crumbs.
While the crumbs soak, the vegetables can be chopped and sautéed, if necessary, and the other ingredients can be assembled. If the vegetables are sautéed, they are then allowed to cool briefly so that they don’t cook the egg when added to the mixing bowl. The last thing added is the meat itself, and then the mixture is formed.
The secret to achieving meatballs with lots of texture is to create a mixture with your fingertips—either wearing disposable plastic gloves or with well-washed hands. The ancillary ingredients are either chopped by hand or in a food processor using the on-and-off pulsing action so that the mixture is blended as briefly as possible and individual ingredients retain their characteristics. Using this method, the resulting meatballs are rustic, and rarely form a perfect sphere because they are patted into shape rather than rolled between your palms.
For smooth and satiny texture, the mixture is beaten either in a food processor or in a standing mixer using a paddle attachment; hand mixers do not have enough power to beat a meat mixture into a smooth paste. I used both methods, depending on the recipe. But if you like smooth meatballs regardless of ingredients or sauce, use the food processor.
Once the mixture is together, it’s time to taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Because almost all mixtures contain raw eggs, do not sample it from the bowl. While it looks prettier if you fry up a small amount in a small skillet, I hate to dirty a pan for that task. I cook a few teaspoons, uncovered, in a microwave oven for 20 to 25 seconds. It will be pale and not very visually appealing, but it will be cooked through, and safe to sample.
If time permits, the flavor of meatballs is vastly improved if the mixture is refrigerated for at least one hour. In fact, it can be refrigerated for up to twelve hours, but after that should be cooked because it contains raw ingredients like meat and eggs which can be carriers of food-borne illnesses.
If you don’t want to cook a meatball until it’s well done, then make the mixture without an egg. There are some recipes in this book made without eggs because their flavors and textures are improved if the meat is slightly rare. You can omit the egg and add more liquid to the mixture to replace its role in providing moisture.
Whether your meatballs are the size of an egg yolk, the size of an egg, or the size of an orange, what’s important is that the meatballs in each batch are all the same size so that they cook at the same rate. That might seem obvious, but it’s actually harder to control than you think. With the repetition of forming meatballs they have a tendency to grow larger unless you’re careful when portioning the meat.
It is faster to make meatballs—and forming them can take far more time than making the mixture from which they are formed—if you follow an assembly line process. First, measure your mixture out with an implement of specific size, and then turn the individual portions into balls.
For very small cocktail meatballs you can use the large side of a melon baller, and for slightly larger meatballs use a measuring tablespoon. Large meatballs can be formed in 1/4-cup dry measuring cups, and there are specialized cookie dough scoops that come in a variety of sizes. These scoops are spring-loaded so they quickly discharge the mixture.
Once all the mixture has been portioned, it’s time to form these blobs into meatballs. The easiest way is to gently roll the meat between the palms of your hands. Especially if you like meatballs with a lot of texture, the mixture should not be over-handled or it will negate all the good work you’ve done to give them texture. If you like meatballs with a smooth texture, roll the mixture into the perfect orb, but you will still have to do it gently because it is a soft mixture.
In addition to being made from varied ingredients, meatballs are cooked in myriad ways. Some are fried; others are steamed. Some are grilled or broiled over very high heat while others are gently poached in barely simmering liquid.
Most meatballs are browned initially to create a crispy crust, but this can be done on a baking sheet in the oven or in a skillet on top of the stove. Some meatballs are coated with crumbs or a batter before they are cooked while others are cooked as they are.
The kind of mixture often dictates how the meatball should be eaten. Sometimes they are served without a sauce, so all the flavor is in the meatball itself. Other times they are simmered in a sauce (like the ubiquitous spaghetti and meatballs) or they are dunked into a dipping sauce.
One factor that remains constant is that meatballs are intended to be cooked through and not eaten rare, even those made from ground red meats that many people would eat rare as a steak or even as a burger. Since meatballs are made with eggs, eating uncooked or undercooked eggs can be dangerous from a health standpoint because eggs can be carriers of salmonella bacteria.
I am a firm believer that if one method requires constant attention while another method requires none of my attention, I’ll always opt for the latter. I’d much rather be reading a book than turning meatballs in a skillet, and that’s why the recipes in this book specify browning them in a hot oven. It happens all at once, and you’re done with that step. If the meatballs are coated with crumbs, a light coating of vegetable oil spray will accomplish the same browning as the fat you would have in a skillet and the crumbs absorb less fat.
But if you like to be more involved with your meatballs, brown them or cook them completely on top of the stove in a skillet. Use a 12-inch skillet or larger, and begin by adding enough vegetable oil to generously coat the bottom. Heat it over medium-high heat until a meatball sizzles loudly when placed in the pan. Then add the meatballs in a clockwise fashion starting at the top of the pan, being careful to leave at least 11/2 to 2-inches between each.
Adjust the heat so that there is a merry sizzling sound and turn the meatballs gently after a few minutes so that all sides brown. The best implement to use is either a soup spoon or a pair of soup spoons, and not a spatula, which is too large to maneuver gracefully around the skillet. Do not turn the meatballs until a dark brown crust has formed on the side touching the pan. Because meatballs are round and the pan is flat it is not easy to brown all sides evenly. Towards the end of the process, use one meatball as a prop for a neighboring meatball to keep it in the proper position.
Each recipe in this book tells you what size to make your meatballs, but you can make your meatballs any size you wish. Here is some guidance for measuring the mixture:
• The large side of a melon baller produces a 1-inch meatball.
• A level measuring tablespoon produces a 11/2-inch meatball.
• A heaping measuring tablespoon produces a 2-inch meatball.
• A 1/4 cup dry measuring cup produces a 21/2- to 3-inch meatball.
Perhaps you want to try a recipe that yields 2-inch balls, but you want to serve them smaller and hors d’oeuvre-size at a cocktail party. Look for a similar recipe that makes 1-inch balls, which are a perfect size for a single bite meatball, and follow the cooking time of that recipe. But here are some tips:
• Cut back on cooking time by one-third when cutting the size of a meatball in half. There is not a direct proportion because of the density of most meat mixtures.
• If you want to make a dipping sauce out of a sauce you use for simmering meatballs, add five minutes of cooking time to the meatballs to compensate for the time they would have simmered.
• If you are planning on freezing meatballs, undercook them by a few minutes so that they will not become too dry when reheated. The reheating should complete the cooking.
The recipes in this book fall into different categories; some meatballs are meant to be enjoyed as snacks while others are geared to entire meals. A wonderful quality of meatballs is their versatility.
While a meatball sandwich is a tried-and-true favorite, meatballs can also be wrapped in flour tortillas and pita bread. For these types of bread, make the meatballs one inch in diameter.
Meatballs are to spaghetti what chocolate chips are to cookies; they are a natural fit, which is why they are so incredibly popular as combinations. But other carbohydrates and grains are equally good for sopping up a sauce, and many suggestions are given in specific recipes. Couscous, a tiny granular pasta hailing from North Africa, is excellent with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean meatballs; rice is a natural accompaniment for Asian meatballs.
The first—and most important—requirement for good cooking, whether the food is a few meatballs or a whole roast, is knowing the basic rules of food safety. This begins with trips to the supermarket and ends after leftovers are refrigerated or frozen at the end of a meal.
The sections that follow may seem like common sense, but after many decades as a food writer I’ve heard horror stories about very sick people, who did not follow basic food safety rules.
If you have any questions about food safety, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the place to go. The Food Safety Inspection Service was designed to help you. The website, www.fsis.usda.gov, provides a wealth of information in a very user-friendly format.
Shop Safely: Most supermarkets are designed to funnel you into the produce section first. But that’s not the best place to start. Begin your shopping with the shelf-stable items from the center, then go to produce, and end with the other refrigerated and frozen sections. Never buy meat or poultry in a package that is torn and leaking, and it’s a good idea to place all meats and poultry in the disposable plastic bags available in the produce department if not in the meat department. Check the “sell-by” and “use-by” dates, and never purchase food that exceeds them. The case is always stocked with the least fresh on top, so dig down a few layers and you’ll probably find packages with more days of life in them. For the trip home, it’s a good idea to carry an insulated cooler in the back of your car if it’s hot outside or if the perishable items will be out of refrigeration for more than one hour. In hot weather, many seafood departments will provide crushed ice in a separate bag for your fish.
Banish Bacteria: Fruits and vegetables can contain some bacteria, but it’s far more likely that the culprits will grow on meat, poultry, and seafood. Store these foods on the bottom shelves of your refrigerator so their juices cannot accidentally drip on other foods. And keep these foods refrigerated until just before they go into the dish. Bacteria multiply at room temperature. The so-called “danger zone” is between 40°F and 140°F. As food cooks, it’s important for it to pass through this zone as quickly as possible.
Avoid Cross-Contamination: Cleanliness is not only next to godliness; it’s also the key to food safety. Wash your hands often while you’re cooking, and never touch cooked food if you haven’t washed your hands after handling raw food.
The “cooked food and raw food shall never meet” precept extends beyond the cook’s hands. Clean cutting boards, knives, and kitchen counters often. Or if you have the space, section off your countertops for raw foods and cooked foods, as many restaurant kitchens do. Bacteria from raw animal proteins can contaminate the other foods. So don’t place cooked foods or raw foods that will remain uncooked (such as salad) on cutting boards that have been used to cut raw meat, poultry, or fish.
Choose the Right Cutting Board: A good way to prevent food-borne illness is by selecting the right cutting board. Wooden boards might be attractive, but you can never get them as clean as plastic boards that can be run through the dishwasher. Even with plastic boards, it’s best to use one for only cooked food and foods such as vegetables that are not prone to contain bacteria, and another one devoted to raw meats, poultry, and fish.
All of the recipes are annotated with the number of servings, which is usually given as a range. If the dish is part of a multi-course meal—or if your table will be occupied by eaters with small appetites—the yield can be “stretched” to feed more people. The recipes for sauces and stocks are given as yields of cups or quarts.
“Active time:” the second annotation, is the amount of hands-on prep time needed in the kitchen when you’re slicing and dicing. The third annotation is “Start to finish:” that is the amount of time needed from the moment you start collecting the ingredients to the time you are placing the steaming meatballs on the table. The actual cooking time, as well as any time for chilling, is included in this figure. The unattended time is when you can be reading a book or readying other components of the meal.