Comments on: Meatballs

By: CG Jenny

CG Jenny — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:22:40 +0000

I have found that baking the meatballs compared well with deep frying, for flavor. Once you simmer in a sauce, any difference between the 2 methods of cooking the meatballs disappears.

I triple or quadruple the recipe and put a bunch in the freezer. When I want to use them, I just dump as many as I need in the crockpot and cover with my sauce of choice. An amazingly easy dinner.

By: CG Jenny

CG Jenny — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:13:27 +0000

Regarding subbing grnd turkey or chicken, it works but seems to make a denser meatball. When I have subbed, I up the bread crumbs or add some oatmeal. You should experiment to find what your family likes.

I have a tip for shaping the meatballs.
Once you have mixed it all together, dump it out onto a cutting board. Pat and shape into a big rectangular slab. I make mine about 1 1/4 in. thick. Now, use a long knife and cut in a grid pattern making squares as big as you patted the thickness (1 1/4 in. squares for us). Now you have it portioned out evenly and it is easier to pick them up and roll. However… I don't roll them. I just place them 1 in. apart on a cookie sheet with sides and bake for 20 minutes. The meat "wants" to be round so the chunks loose their squarishness. But even if they still look squary, who cares? They still taste the same and I have never had anyone comment on the shape of my meatballs. Have you?

This also works well with chilled cookie dough! I was doing it 35 years ago, before pillsbury started making their break apart cookies.

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:18:36 +0000

That works, but there is a chance they will be drier. This isn’t too much of a concern if they are simmered in a sauce before serving.

By: Shelyn

Shelyn — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:14:27 +0000

How about substituting the ground beef with ground chicken/turkey to help lower the fat content?

By: newscoma

newscoma — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:11:47 +0000

I love this site.
Seriously.

By: Home Ec 101 » Blog Archive » Menu Monday 4/9

Home Ec 101 » Blog Archive » Menu Monday 4/9 — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:39:06 +0000

[...] – spaghetti and meatballs, tossed salad (The in-laws took us out for dinner on what would have been taco night. Consequently [...]

By: Ann

Ann — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:12:28 +0000

I love meatballs, but I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never made them. I always by the low-fat version at Aldi’s, which are good, but I’m sure that don’t compare to homemade in taste or healthiness. Thanks for sharing!

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 01:17:02 +0000

I think taste-wise they are very similar,but you could easily pan fry a few and compare them yourself. We prefer to bake them as it lets some of the fat drain off. If I’m feeling particularly health conscious I’ll use a broiling pan to let more fat drip off.

Make these whatever diameter you’d like, we just prefer the smaller ones for their versatility. It’s harder to stuff a 2″ one into a calzone. You will need to adjust the baking time accordingly.

HTH!

By: Howard

Howard — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:55:16 +0000

I’ve done meatballs only once (2″ diameter), and I deep fried them in olive oil before letting them simmer for 30 minutes in marinara. How does baking/broiling them compare taste-wise?

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