Tip for making meatballs
No question here just a tip for making meatballs. I mix up my ingredients and in the bowl shape the mass into a rectangle. I then put the rectangle onto a cutting board and even it out by making the sides line up. Then I cut it in half then in each half in have and make a grid (similar to graph paper) I roll each section to form a ball and the end result is uniform meatballs.
This is much easier than using a baller or grabbing what you think is the same amount from the mixture and trying to form meatballs all the same size. The squares are easy to form into balls. I am not sure where to send helpful tips but this is a time saver and gets one uniformed sized meatballs every time.
Recommended by Food52
6 Comments
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.
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.