What kind of seasoning do you use for Italian meatballs?
Hi CharliD,
I mix italian sausage with 80%-lean ground beef.
Johnsonville brand, Hot Italian Sausage, net wt, 1.24 lbs.
Ground beef should be one pound, but not more, and no leaner than 80%.
Instead of using salt, I season it with Adolf's Meat Tenderizer which has salt in it.
Break-up the sausage meat across about 2 square feet of surface, then break-up the ground beef to sprinkle over it. When this is done your meat should be well distributed which allows for easier mixing.
When the meat is broken-up like that, it gets warm, FAST, and this will ruin the color and make it harder to work with, so I find it convenient to distribute the meat in a pan lined with wax paper. I put the pan (with meat) in the freezer for 30 minutes to get extra cold, then take it out to add the spices.
Try sprinkling this with dry basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, and add a little grated parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Fresh crushed black pepper adds a lot of flavor.
Lightly sprinkle some garlic powder over the meat, then add a generous sprinkling of dried chopped onions.
I use a coffee bean grinder to powder anis & fennel seeds, then sprinkle some of them over the meat as well.
Add just a dash of paprika (regular, not smoked) and a light sprinkle of sugar (about 1/2 as much as the meat tenderizer).
mix about 1-1/4 cup of ice water and pour it over the meat & spices, then mix them all together.
The meat will absorb the water, and that's okay because the dry spices will suck water away from the meat.
Mix the meat thoroughly and allow to sit for a few hours in the freezer. This will allow spices to blend while keeping the meat nice & cold.
Make the balls slightly bigger than a golf ball, but smaller than a baseball.
Should make between 10-11.
Bake @ 350 for 35-40 minutes.
You wont believe the smell. It's incredible. YUMMM!!!!!
Whenever I smell it cooking, I want to start drinking beer because I KNOW something tasty is coming up soon, so I usually sink 4-6 cans in the freezer an hour or two before I bake the meatballs.
I used to do sauce from scratch, but now I just buy Prego brand in a jar, ("Prego With Fresh Mushroom" variety), add a little thyme and simmer. Why go through all the work? Besides, I'll be drunk by the time the sauce needs to be cooked.
Sorry to read about your shoyu fiasco.
Not all soy sauces are alike. I learned the hard way, too.
Woodman