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Calling all chefs of HORT, need a good meatball recipe.

jasonrann

HR Legend
Apr 11, 2007
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I'm making spaghetti with meatballs and Italian sausage with my homemade sauce Saturday for the wife (no pic) and kids. Looking to up my game on meatballs. Whatcha got, HORT?

Thanks in advance!
 
Its always something similar to this. Not earth shattering, but good

3 lbs beef/lb italian sausage
couple eggs
italian breadcrumbs
grated parmesan
garlic
oregano
chopped onion

Make them the day before, better flavor the next day.

Pretty much and sub romano for parmesan, add chopped mint, sear and cook in a non-spicy, fresh tomato heavy sauce
 
Just wad some animal flesh up into some balls or ovals and toss them on the wave. You will want to save the flavor liquid and savory coagulated blood that cooked up in the bottom of the plate to add to your sauce.

Glad I could be of help.
Mmmmm, sounds delicious! Animal flesh balls have been a long time favorite in our household.
 
I'm making spaghetti with meatballs and Italian sausage with my homemade sauce Saturday for the wife (no pic) and kids. Looking to up my game on meatballs. Whatcha got, HORT?

Thanks in advance!
2 pounds ground beef
2 pounds italian sausage
6 to 8 eggs
many cloves of minced garlic
minced white onion
Tablespoon dry basil
Tablespoon dry oregano
about 1/2 a cannister of powdered parmesan
italian seasoned bread crumbs - add enough until you get the right texture - probably 1/2 a cannister

Mix it all up. Form meatballs. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.*

* edited to note I make giant ass meatballs. If they are smaller meatballs, the bake time is shorter.
 
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Try using rice instead of breadcrumbs when you bake them. It adds a crunchier texture to the exterior but absorbs more moisture inside. Finish them in the sauce to absorb more flavor.

Use waygu beef and berkshire pork.
 
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= panty dropping
 
Dafuq Fiji? You have these great posts about cooking up fresh seafood, and I think even having a santa maria grill. And then you endorse walmart meatballs?
Wifey does a version of this, but uses BBQ sauce instead of the chili sauce. Pretty solid for a quick mid-week meal.
 
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Dafuq Fiji? You have these great posts about cooking up fresh seafood, and I think even having a santa maria grill. And then you endorse walmart meatballs?
the mixture of mystery meat and fat combined with they corn syrup goodness of off-brand grape jelly and chili sauce works so well....sitting in a crock pot all day....so good.
 
I will confess. I kinda cheat by piggybacking on the premade sausage, and I keep it kinda simple:

1 lb ground sweet italian sausage
1/3 lb ground veal or beef
1/2 cup freshly grated paragiano regiano
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup italian breadcrumbs
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk

I make 'em to the large side (say, 6-7 out of these quantities). Bake on cookie sheet at 350 for 20--25 minutes
 
I will confess. I kinda cheat by piggybacking on the premade sausage, and I keep it kinda simple:

1 lb ground sweet italian sausage
1/3 lb ground veal or beef
1/2 cup freshly grated paragiano regiano
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup italian breadcrumbs
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk

I make 'em to the large side (say, 6-7 out of these quantities). Bake on cookie sheet at 350 for 20--25 minutes
Looks good tasting, but I am a firm believer in at least 1, if not 2 eggs per pound of meat, to keep them fluffy.
 
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Its always something similar to this. Not earth shattering, but good

3 lbs beef/lb italian sausage
couple eggs
italian breadcrumbs
grated parmesan
garlic
oregano
chopped onion

Make them the day before, better flavor the next day.
This but I soak the breadcrumbs in milk. Big key is not packing the meat really tightly. Just enough to form them.
 
1 lb 80%
1 lb ground pork
2 eggs
1.5 cups of bread crumbs
teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
1 cup of red wine
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
table spoon of black pepper and salt.
cup of grated/shredded parm/asiago cheese
1 bunch of chopped frsh parsley
2-3 garlic cloves.

I started by sautéing the peppers, onion, and garlic in two table spoons of olive oil. I salt and pepper as I go, and add the red pepper flakes. Once they are soft, add the red wine and allow that to reduce, almost to a slurry. Once its reduced, let it cool. Add everything else to a mixing bowl and combine. Form into golf ball size balls and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Once they are cooked, i typically toss them in the pot with the sauce to let everyone get friendly.
 
I'm making spaghetti with meatballs and Italian sausage with my homemade sauce Saturday for the wife (no pic) and kids. Looking to up my game on meatballs. Whatcha got, HORT?

Thanks in advance!

I’ll come back with some suggested recipes/proportions later tonight or tomorrow. But a couple of things I’ve learned is that:

1) like meatloaf you don’t want to “overmix”, make sure you have cold hands (previously submerged or washed in cold preferrably icy water), warm hands and overmixing starts melting the fat in the meat too early and leads to hard, dense meatballs.
2) Cornstarch is a better binder than flour or breadcrumbs ESPECIALLY old breadcrumbs sitting in a can as opposed to fresh breadcrumbs you make yourself. They grab on to the fat and juices as the meatball cooks and absorbs it into the cornstarch so you end up with very “light” in texture meatballs that retain more of the flavor. I noticed this especially when I had recently made some Italian meatballs and some Chinese lionhead meatballs the same week. The Italian meatball recipe I followed used standard breadcrumbs and flour while the Chinese lionhead (a mix of mainly Pork with a little freshly ground American bacon and Rendered duck fat with cornstarch as a binder). The Italian version was ok, but the lionshead was absolutely amazing.
4) Definitely add a splash of Asian fish sauce (especially Golden Boy as it works best with beef) or Geo Watkins Mushroom ketchup (don’t worry it’s not like our modern tomato ketchup it’s like Worcestershire but even better. It ups the umami and the cornstarch will absorb it with the meat juices and fats.
5) Either do a mix of half beef and half pork or even better a 1:1:1 of ground Chuck, ground pork and ground veal or 2:2:1 mix of ground Chuck, ground pork and freshly blended raw American bacon. If you have easy access or are making a big batch for large groups or parties, throwing in a little freshly ground beef heart in place of some of the Chuck will up the beefiness even further.
6) For Italian style meatballs some fresh parsley, oregano and basil works great if you’ve got an herb garden, otherwise fennel pollen or at worst fennel seeds can give you an “authentic” fresh flavor.
7) Make sure you use freshly grated aged hard cheese (if any cheese is used) like real Parmigiano Reggiano, Asiag, Romano or a fresh American Parmesan and do not use pregrated or preground stuff as it has artificial anticaking agents in it and you WANT your meatballs to “cake”/stay together.
8) While fresh pork and veal is preferable, I like to “wet age” my ground beef for a week in the back of the fridge. It starts to get just a little blue cheesy aged beef funk that adds a lot of umami flavor.
 
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Drop a package of these in there as well......yummy in my tummy

04450005068-HF-Litl-Smokies-14oz.jpg

It’s slightly more work but you can an infinitely better end result if you buy the Register’s Baby Link sausage which is about the same diameter as the lil Smokies and then just quickly cut them into 1.5 inch pieces.

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Much tastier and nice to support a company that donates to the FSU football cause.
 
I’ll come back with some suggested recipes/proportions later tonight or tomorrow. But a couple of things I’ve learned is that:

1) like meatloaf you don’t want to “overmix”, make sure you have cold hands (previously submerged or washed in cold preferrably icy water), warm hands and overmixing starts melting the fat in the meat too early and leads to hard, dense meatballs.
2) Cornstarch is a better binder than flour or breadcrumbs ESPECIALLY old breadcrumbs sitting in a can as opposed to fresh breadcrumbs you make yourself. They grab on to the fat and juices as the meatball cooks and absorbs it into the cornstarch so you end up with very “light” in texture meatballs that retain more of the flavor. I noticed this especially when I had recently made some Italian meatballs and some Chinese lionhead meatballs the same week. The Italian meatball recipe I followed used standard breadcrumbs and flour while the Chinese lionhead (a mix of mainly Pork with a little freshly ground American bacon and Rendered duck fat with cornstarch as a binder). The Italian version was ok, but the lionshead was absolutely amazing.
4) Definitely add a splash of Asian fish sauce (especially Golden Boy as it works best with beef) or Geo Watkins Mushroom ketchup (don’t worry it’s not like our modern tomato ketchup it’s like Worcestershire but even better. It ups the umami and the cornstarch will absorb it with the meat juices and fats.
5) Either do a mix of half beef and half pork or even better a 1:1:1 of ground Chuck, ground pork and ground veal or 2:2:1 mix of ground Chuck, ground pork and freshly blended raw American bacon. If you have easy access or are making a big batch for large groups or parties, throwing in a little freshly ground beef heart in place of some of the Chuck will up the beefiness even further.
6) For Italian style meatballs some fresh parsley, oregano and basil works great if you’ve got an herb garden, otherwise fennel pollen or at worst fennel seeds can give you an “authentic” fresh flavor.
7) Make sure you use freshly grated aged hard cheese (if any cheese is used) like real Parmigiano Reggiano, Asiag, Romano or a fresh American Parmesan and do not use pregrated or preground stuff as it has artificial anticaking agents in it and you WANT your meatballs to “cake”/stay together.
8) While fresh pork and veal is preferable, I like to “wet age” my ground beef for a week in the back of the fridge. It starts to get just a little blue cheesy aged beef funk that adds a lot of umami flavor.
If I do a pound of ground beef and ground pork (each), how much corn starch should I put in? Thanks!
 
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If I do a pound of ground beef and ground pork (each), how much corn starch should I put in? Thanks!

If you’re using no “filler” and want ultra meaty flavored meatballs then I’d go with three eggs and four teaspoons of cornstarch. If you want a more “Authentic” meatball ie with more doughy filler I’d do the same three eggs but just three teaspoons of cornstarch while adding in 3-6 tablespoons of fresh breadcrumbs depending on how much you wanted to spread it out (and by fresh breadcrumbs I mean taking either a stale Italian loaf or a fresh Italian loaf that’s been toasted and grinding the breadcrumbs yourself).
 
Its always something similar to this. Not earth shattering, but good

3 lbs beef/lb italian sausage
couple eggs
italian breadcrumbs
grated parmesan
garlic
oregano
chopped onion

Make them the day before, better flavor the next day.
Solid and similar to wife’s (pic included) but she uses 1lb veal, 1lb 93/7 ground, 1 lb italian hot sausage.
 
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