ISO Good Meatball Recipe
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Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
I have a hand grinder that makes perfect pork breakfast sausage, once the herbs and spices are mixed in. I used pork but for the meat. I might just purchase some cheap beef cut, with significant fat, and grind it by hand to see how good the hamburger comes out. I'm still trying to duplicate that amazing burger I had in Olympia.
Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
I think I prefer meatballs having a more open texture i.e. not being finely ground. Swedish meatballs, that I have bought, have been like solid bullets.
I avoid buying meatballs because in my experience they're overcooked and hard. Meatballs I've made at home, including the Swedish kind using my stand mixer and the Cooks Illustrated recipe, have been light and delicious
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
I avoid buying meatballs because in my experience they're overcooked and hard. Meatballs I've made at home, including the Swedish kind using my stand mixer and the Cooks Illustrated recipe, have been light and delicious
Oh how well I know. One purchase was all it took. They cook the meatballs until they are thoroughly cooked right through. When the home cook precooks them, we only partially cook them and let them finish in whatever sauce we are making for them.
I grind my meat twice. I am always surprised at the difference in the flavor and tenderness from what you buy at the grocery store.
Yes, that makes sense.I avoid buying meatballs because in my experience they're overcooked and hard. Meatballs I've made at home, including the Swedish kind using my stand mixer and the Cooks Illustrated recipe, have been light and delicious
Doesn't tenderness depend on how they are cooked, e.g. on not too high a heat, i.e. not attributed to grinding meat twice?Oh how well I know. One purchase was all it took. They cook the meatballs until they are thoroughly cooked right through. When the home cook precooks them, we only partially cook them and let them finish in whatever sauce we are making for them.
I grind my meat twice. I am always surprised at the difference in the flavor and tenderness from what you buy at the grocery store.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
Not entirely. Tenderness also requires moisture, which is why higher fat beef and pork make better meatballs than low fat chicken and turkey. When you cook all the juices out of meat, it's dry and tough. Even in general cooking, though, moisture makes for more tender food.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
True. Also, adding breadcrumbs add to the softness of the MB. A MB with no bread will be hard and heavy.
Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
OK, that I have, no dough blade though. Thanks guys.
IF I had any desire to bake, and more counter space, you can be sure I'd have a stand mixer.
CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
That she did. My mom has it. My grandma didn't buy ground meat--she did that by hand using that hand-crank meat grinder that she attached to the kitchen table.
CWS4322
Chef Extraordinaire
I'm willing to bet our grandmas were darned good cooks! I apologize to my grandma's memory every time I make bread using the bread machine...I imagine she turns over in her grave every time I load it up...she took so much time teaching me how to make bread...I don't think anyone over 50 has a grandmother who used a stand mixerIt certainly does make a lot of things easier to make, which of course is the point.
Cheryl J
Chef Extraordinaire
I've looked at recipes on line for Swedish Meatballs till I'm blue in the face. So many of them say to use your paddle attachment to mix the meat. Now I know I can mix it by hand like my Aunt Jessie did, but it just gripes me for some reason. Not everyone who cooks, and does it well, even wants a stand mixer. OK, off my soapbox now and headed back to bed to try and get to sleep. ACK..maybe this guy can knock me out..
I'm a little late here, but thank you for this! I don't have a stand mixer either. Well, I do, but it's my late mother's and it doesn't have a paddle attachment. Can't bear to part with it. I don't have the room or counter space to buy a new one, plus I would rarely use it.
Come to think of it, I'm probably one of the only ones here who doesn't have a food processor, either...I had one a few years ago and gave it away because I never used it.
So I'll be making these swedish meatballs by hand.
Kayelle
Chef Extraordinaire
I'm a little late here, but thank you for this! I don't have a stand mixer either. Well, I do, but it's my late mother's and it doesn't have a paddle attachment. Can't bear to part with it. I don't have the room or counter space to buy a new one, plus I would rarely use it.
Come to think of it, I'm probably one of the only ones here who doesn't have a food processor, either...I had one a few years ago and gave it away because I never used it.
Cheryl, I can't tell you how many times I said I was going to throw my food processor out, as I never use it. I'll have to dig it out of a top cabinet with a ladder and stuff wedged in to get to it for the dang meatballs. It's a matter of principal now.
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
I grind my meat with the chili plate. The holes are larger and thus less strain on the motor of my mixer. I know, my KA should be able to withstand the work of the finer plate with the smaller holes. I just prefer to do it my way. I get the kind of grind that I want with no worries. CWS's grandmother used cream in her meatballs. I prefer milk, or even half and half. The enzymes in the milk help make the meatballs tender. I also use milk in my meatloaf. I soak the bread in it. When I put them in the oven on 325ºF. all I am looking for is that nice brown top on them. Then I turn them to get the same results on the other side. I don't expect them to be cook through. I use the meatballs in a sauce of choice, pasta, gravy, béchamel, etc. and finish the cooking there. It could be a jarred sauce or one that I made myself. Because I add milk, my meatballs always come out well formed, soft and hold together without any problems. Meatballs are the one of the times I use the low and slow method of cooking.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
It's actually the combination of milk and bread crumbs, called a panade, that makes meatballs and meatloaf so tender. Then the egg combines with both of those to bind it all together.
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Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
I'm willing to bet our grandmas were darned good cooks! I apologize to my grandma's memory every time I make bread using the bread machine...I imagine she turns over in her grave every time I load it up...she took so much time teaching me how to make bread...
My Grandpa did all of the cooking.
He's the one that taught me the pancake ditty.
, and introduced me to poached eggs from a poaching pan.
Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Yes that was my thinking too when I read Addie made them with milk. Somehow the thought of doing this has never appealled to me though (mixing milk and blood I guess). I rely on the egg and moderate cooking (i.e. not too high a heat) to keep them fairly tender but I am more concerned with flavour anyway.
GG, thanks for the word "panade".
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
I caution the use of panade when making meat balls, and meat loaf some of the characteristic flavor. However, too much panade gives you a mushy, bland result that can be very bad. I've had such a thing at a cafeteria one time. The stuff was almost inedible. In fact, I threw half of it away, and I'm not one to throw away food.
Changing the amount of panade allows you to change the flavor and texture of your meatballs. Adding things like chopped onion, peppers, herbs and spices, cheese, even A1 Steak Sauce, of Worcestershire sauce gives you creativity.
Why go with the same-ole/same-ole when there are so many amazing flavors to choose from. Add coriander, cumin, chili powder, and peppers to your meat balls, and cover with enchilada sauce. Serve it up in a softened, fresh corn tortilla. It's yummy. Or add black pepper, onion, and garlic to them. Another time, add soy sauce, and finely chopped celery, and onion. Next time, try a little chopped-dried tomato, oregano, and basil.
Yeh, I like the ground beef/chorizo mixture, with a bit of sage added just for grins. Throw it into a good marinara, or add rice and stuff bell peppers with it.
Just don't make the same meatballs every time. If you have a go-to recipe that everyone loves, of course use it. Just don't make it exclusive.
Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
Changing the amount of panade allows you to change the flavor and texture of your meatballs. Adding things like chopped onion, peppers, herbs and spices, cheese, even A1 Steak Sauce, of Worcestershire sauce gives you creativity.
Why go with the same-ole/same-ole when there are so many amazing flavors to choose from. Add coriander, cumin, chili powder, and peppers to your meat balls, and cover with enchilada sauce. Serve it up in a softened, fresh corn tortilla. It's yummy. Or add black pepper, onion, and garlic to them. Another time, add soy sauce, and finely chopped celery, and onion. Next time, try a little chopped-dried tomato, oregano, and basil.
Yeh, I like the ground beef/chorizo mixture, with a bit of sage added just for grins. Throw it into a good marinara, or add rice and stuff bell peppers with it.
Just don't make the same meatballs every time. If you have a go-to recipe that everyone loves, of course use it. Just don't make it exclusive.
Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
When I have the energy to do a double grind on meatballs or meatloaf, the second grind has the already incorporated extra ingredients (onion, crumbs, seasonings, etc.) This makes a more even texture throughout.
