How you eat is how you live.
Let's eat well together.
Sign up for our useful and inspiring emails.
Get a $10 credit at Provisions,
our new kitchen and home shop, launching soon!
Well played.
You deserve a cookie.
We'll email you about claiming your credit and earning more by inviting friends.
Or Claim Your Credit Now
A melon baller or small ice cream scoop does the same thing -- same-sized meatballs without the eyeballing!
pierino is a trusted source on General Cooking and Tough Love.
added 8 months agoHey, I'm old school all the way. I make meatballs with a combination of veal and pork which I usually grind myself. An egg yolk, stale bread softened with milk and I form them by hand. But then I'm kind of retarded.
The melon baller comes in handy for other jobs like removing the choke from artichokes (not to mention balling melons) but I don't need it for meatballs.
Same here pierino, I really like to get my hands dirty...
Sarah is a trusted source on General Cooking.
added 8 months agoI also form by hand, and find that after about 6 or 7 I have a good feel for how much to pinch off. If it really matters I pick a weight and get out the scale - but this is only in high-volume professional cases where food cost and portion consistency are really essential.
smcassell, I can't wait to try your method!
I typically eyeball meatballs myself. I typically don't need EXACT replicas, unless my meat balls are going to be small. In that case, I just use a scale and weigh the meat. Here are a few other meatball pointers that I always go by.
1) grind your own meat if possible. I have a suspicion that the ground meat at the grocery store is a lot of low quality, left over bits from this and that. grinding your own ensures better quality and less of a chance of bacteria and other contamination. I usually use chuck or sirloin depending on prices.
2) When soaking the bread, make sure to use enough liquid so your balls don't dry out. Let the mixture sit for a minute and then check the consistency after it has all evened out. I look for a cooked oatmeal consistency (for lack of better examples)
3) when mixing, resist the urge to squeeze and mash everything together. just fold it over until everything is well combined (sort of like kneading, only more gently). Your meatballs will have a much better texture and be fluffy and light instead of dense and heavy.
4) saute a small dice of shallots and carrots with thyme, salt and black pepper (or whatever you want to season your meatballs with). Toss in some chopped parsley at the end and add it to your meat mixture.
5) This is just a personal preference, but I like to roll my meatballs in fine bread crumbs and start them out by pan frying a nice crust on the outside, then finish them in the oven.