Meatball help?!

[kkwis2]

I made meatballs for the first time yesterday. I decided that I am going to make my own since I don't like the frozen ones. DH and DS LOVE meatballs, so I figured I'd try it.

The boys liked them. I thought they were okay - certainly nothing special. So, do you have a good meatball recipe that you are willing to share? I know there have been threads that had recipes, but I couldn't find anything that wasn't pages and pages long with a bunch of stuff I didn't need.

BTW, I went with a fairly common recipe (or so it seemed from looking all over for recipes) with ground beef, ground pork, garlic, bread crumbs, parmesan, eggs, and salt and pepper. They were very blah.

Any tips to make mine tastier will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Leshaface]

I made meatballs for the first time yesterday. I decided that I am going to make my own since I don't like the frozen ones. DH and DS LOVE meatballs, so I figured I'd try it.

The boys liked them. I thought they were okay - certainly nothing special. So, do you have a good meatball recipe that you are willing to share? I know there have been threads that had recipes, but I couldn't find anything that wasn't pages and pages long with a bunch of stuff I didn't need.

BTW, I went with a fairly common recipe (or so it seemed from looking all over for recipes) with ground beef, ground pork, garlic, bread crumbs, parmesan, eggs, and salt and pepper. They were very blah.

Any tips to make mine tastier will be greatly appreciated!

This is the only recipe i'll use from now on!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/meatball-nirvana/detail.aspx

I make a big batch of it and then freeze the rest to use for a later date. It works fabulously and saves me lots of time!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

How did you cook them?

 

[momxx5]

My super easy standard meatball, meatloaf and burger recipe:

ground beef (usually as lean as I can afford or mixed 70% with 93% lean)
egg
Italian bread crumbs
Lipton Beefy onion mix

Mix together gently until dry is combined all through. Do not over mix meat as it will make it tougher.

Meatballs....put on cookie sheet sprayed with Pam, cook at 350 degress, for10-14 minutes on one side then turn and another 10+ minutes on other side. You can cook longer if you want crispy outside (like fried) but my boys like softer.

I serve with spaghetti & sauce OR with egg noodles & gray.


Meatloaf: same recipe, cook at 350 for 1 hr (depending on size)

Burgers: same recipe, cooked on grill until no longer pink


All are super easy and I get many compliments.

 

[java]

Mine go like this

Make a slurry of sorts- out of milk, garlic, parm cheese, bread crumbs tons of pepper!(I think I sometimes use an egg too? Does that sound wrong?)

Then I mix that into ground TURKEY! Yes turkey balls in our house. I fry them in some Olive Oil. Then add them into my sauce for about 30 minutes careful not to boil them.

 

[kkwis2]

This is the only recipe i'll use from now on!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/meatball-nirvana/detail.aspx

I make a big batch of it and then freeze the rest to use for a later date. It works fabulously and saves me lots of time!

These do sound delicious! I will have to try this recipe. Thanks!

 

[kkwis2]

How did you cook them?

I baked them rather than frying. I'm wondering if I also just cooked them too long - my recipe said 45 minutes. That's a lot longer than momxx5 said she cooks hers.

 

[plutolovr]

I have made Rocco DiSpirito's mother's meatballs...called Mama's Meatballs. You can find the recipe by doing a Google search. They're wonderful and very moist, her marinara sauce recipe is also very good.

 

[Minnesota!]

I mix the meat with an egg or 2, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, oregano, italian seasoning, chopped onion, and some red chili flakes. Sometimes I throw bread crumbs in there, sometimes I don't.

I fry them off first to get them browned on the outside and to get some fat out of them, then just toss them in my sauce to finish cooking.

 

[LilyWDW]

This is the only recipe I will use (though I will have to make a couple changes to bring the calories in line with my new eating plan):

Tyler Florances Spaghetti and Meatballs (I only make the meatballs)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/spaghetti-and-meatballs-recipe2/index.html

 

[shoney]

I don't measure anymore...but here's what goes in

Ground beef
1 egg for each pound of meat
olive oil
milk
bread crumbs
parm. cheese (lots of it!)
salt
pepper
fresh garlic cut very small.

I heat oven to 500 and brown meatballs for about 10 minutes and then put them in sauce to cook the rest of the way.

Sauce:
fresh garlic/onions sauteed in olive oil
can of crushed tomatoes
lots of fresh basil
salt and pepper

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

I have a recipe I got from a friend. It is awesome! I make this huge recipe for pot luck get togethers & come home with an empty pan every single time. I double the sauce recipe as that is what makes them so good. Also, I usually half this recipe for just us.

Barbecued Meatballs

3 lb. hamburger
1 can [13 oz] evaporated milk
2 cup oatmeal
2 eggs
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili powder

2 cup ketchup
1 & 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoon liquid smoke

Mix meat, milk, oatmeal, eggs, garlic pd, salt, pepper & chili pd. Shape into small balls. Put meatballs into shallow pan...place side by side.

Make sauce of ketchup, brown sugar & liquid smoke. Heat in pan till sugar dissolves. Pour over meatballs.

Bake uncovered at 350 about one hour.

 

[wishesuponastar]

I would highly recommend instead of using bread crumbs to use 2 slices of white bread ground in a food processor to each pound of meat. Makes the meatballs moister. Also, I only bake my meatballs for about 8 minutes then cook for about 20 minutes in the sauce.

 

[jmac323]

I don't use bread crumbs either, and prefer to use oats.

- ground beef (we dont' care for pork in ours)
- 1 pkg lipton soup mix
- salt/pepper
- red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 egg
- oregano

MMM now I want some meatballs LOL.

 

[smokeyblue]

Mine go like this

Make a slurry of sorts- out of milk, garlic, parm cheese, bread crumbs tons of pepper!(I think I sometimes use an egg too? Does that sound wrong?)

Then I mix that into ground TURKEY! Yes turkey balls in our house. I fry them in some Olive Oil. Then add them into my sauce for about 30 minutes careful not to boil them.

This . . . well the "slurry" part, I hate ground turkey!!!!

My old co-worker has an old italian mother, her family makes amazing italian food and amazing meatballs. I asked how she makes her meatballs.

Really the only thing that I was doing "wrong" was the bread crumbs; I would used store bought and just mix them in with everything else. She told me to use stale bread that had been left out and dried up, pulverized into crumbs, then saturated with a little water and an egg, mix in the seasonings, some hard italian cheese, and then mix in 2/3 ground beef 1/3 ground pork. It worked, it brought my meatballs from okay to fantastic.

 

[mom2threecuties]

I love Ina Garten's recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/real-meatballs-and-spaghetti-recipe/index.html

 

[monorailsilver]

Ground beef
Egg (I think a pound of beef per egg)
Oregano
Garlic
Water
Ritz Crackers.
And pepper

I don't do bread crumbs or parm. cheese since my ds is allergic to dairy & I can't always find bread crumbs plus I always have ritz crackers in my house.

I roll them in water. My mother told me that because it makes them moist (she is Italian, I am only 1/2).

I bake them & turn them once. Freeze them & put them in my gravy to cook some more (gravy is red sauce to me).

 

[meggybear17]

A tip I learned from watching way too much Food Network is to take a little bit of your meat mixture and make a small patty out of it, maybe quarter sized and give it a quick fry. Should only take a minute. Taste this and that can help adjust your seasonings. Sometimes even following a good recipe every time I would find my meatballs to be a bit lacking in salt,pepper or cheese etc and this is a great way to taste the meatballs before Rolling and cooking all the meat.

 

[averill94]

I have made Rocco DiSpirito's mother's meatballs...called Mama's Meatballs. You can find the recipe by doing a Google search. They're wonderful and very moist, her marinara sauce recipe is also very good.

I have made both of these recipes many times and they are FANTASTIC!
Funny that I make meatballs quite a bit and never follow a recipe. I need to get back to Roccos Moms meatballs and sauce.

Anyone who makes theses and follows the recipe wont be disappointed ! ( I think it has to do with preeing the onion?)

 

[Eastern]

I use the same general recipes that have been posted, but usually start with a 'meatloaf mix' base (ground beef, ground veal, and ground pork). I also sometimes add a handful of pine nuts to the recipe. I bake at 350 for around 25 minutes, turning once.