Meatballs? I am making spaghetti and meatballs tonight. How do you make excellent meatballs?

Question

Any special recipes? I've never made meatballs before. (I'm a vegetarian and newly married. I'm trying to get better at cooking meat for my husband.)

Thank you!

Answer 1

OMG I love meatballs, and you are so sweet for cooking meat for your hubby!!!! These are fantastic and SO easy to make.....I hope you like them and good luck!!
GINA'S ITALIAN MEATBALLS AND SAUCE

Meatballs:

2 lbs pork, veal, and ground beef mixture
2 eggs
garlic powder
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
salt
a little bit of milk


Sauce:

2 cans tomoato sauce
2 cans tomato puree
2 crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil


A Sprinkle of:

oregano
onion powder
garlic powder
Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients for meatballs in a large bowl. Form into meatballs. Fry them until brown in a skillet with 1/4" olive oil and several whole cloves fresh garlic, to flavor the oil.
Pour a few spoons of olive oil after done from the skillet into your sauce. Cook for 6 hours in sauce on simmer.

Answer 2

Basic Meatballs:

35 min 15 min prep
6 servings
26-30 meatballs

1 lb beef, ground
1 large egg
1/4 cup onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup italian herbed breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Shape mixture by Tablespoonfuls into 1 1/2-inch balls.
3. Place the meatballs in a lightly greased 13 X 9 X 2 or 15 1/2 X 9 1/2 X 1-inch baking dish and bake, uncovered, in a 400 degree oven until light brown, about 20-25 minutes.
4. Drain off any excess fat and use meatballs as desired.
5. ***Freezeing: Cover and allow meatballs to cool slightly before freezing - no special equipment is needed in the preparation for freezing - ziplock bags work fine for me - allow meatballs to thaw about 30 minutes at room temperature before using - use as desired with your favorite recipes.***.

Answer 3

Use a mixture of ground beef and ground pork and ground veal if you can get it, (amounts depending on how many you want to make) mix the ground meats with some seasoned bread crumbs (not too much, just enough to hold the meat together), a couple of eggs and some salt and pepper to taste, then fry them in a pan with garlic and olive oil. After that, transfer the meatballs and the pan drippings to the nice pot of tomato sauce you have cooking, let them cook in there a bit and you will have meatballs and sauce to die for!

Answer 4

A lot of good recipes. But y'all forgot the most fun part of making meatballs or meatloaf and the best way to get the ingredients mixed well. You dive in with both hands and squish away until mixed well.

Answer 5

Find a meatloaf recipe and use that. That holds together really well. www.cooks.com is full of good 'normal' recipes (as well as some exotic ones, too) that are all submitted by people who really use them, not by test-kitchen chefs.

Excellent meatballs are best made by using smaller balls of meat so they cook through without getting too crusty. The best ones are also made with lots of love. I think you'll be fine.

Answer 6

http://www.worldfamousrecipes.com/meatball-recipes.html
The above is a site with various types of meatball recipes.

Although a previous answer had you making huge meatballs, I prefer to make them much smaller. I often combine half ground beef and half ground turkey for leaner meatballs. Sprinkle a small amount of salt into a skillet and brown the balls evenly and then you can drop them into your sauce to finish cooking.

I also tend to make mine in the microwave. I use a tray with raised ridges so the grease drains out of the meat, which I then transfer to paper towels to further drain before using. Since you are making them primarily for your husband and it is difficult to cook for one you may wish to make a pound or more worth of the meatballs and freeze for later. I line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and place the drained meatballs on that then cover all tightly with foil and place in freezer. Once frozen solid I transfer them to a Ziploc and can use whatever I need at a later date. It would save you time and money.

Congratulations on your new marriage and for trying so hard to please your husband. I hope he appreciates what you are doing for him.

Answer 7

I cheat when having spaghetti. I buy Italian sausage whether it be mild or spicy and just cut it out of the casings.Then I cut it to meatball size, and rather than fry them, I simmer them in the frying pan with water, wait til it begins to boil, turn it down to medium heat, put the lid on and continue to simmer til no longer pink inside...cut one open and see that way.Drain off the water, then pop them in with the sauce and pasta. They're moist this way and you also don't have a lot of extra grease like you would, had you fried them.Congratulations on your new marriage, and that's so sweet of you to cook meat for your husband like that!

Answer 8

I pound of ground beef or ground turkey
1 egg beaten
1/4 grated cheese parmesan or romano
3 tbs. chopped parsley
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (you can use dried seasoned or crumble fresh bread)
2 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
beat the egg slightly and add everything but the meat and mix together
add this to the meat and mix with your hands until it holds together
try not to overmix as this makes for tough meatballs
if too dry add a bit of cool water
form into balls a bit larger than golfballs
you can add these right to your sauce which should be simmering and cook for about 15 minutes
buon appetito
try not to over mix

Answer 9

I love to fix stove top stuffing according to the package directions and add that to ground beef and ground pork. I also add chopped up garlic and finely chopped onions. It makes such a moist and good meatball.
That is also an excellent recipe for meatloaf.

Answer 10

since it will only be your husband eating all you'll need is 1 lbs hamburger, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red peppers and 2 eggs, Roll into 3 inch balls place in skillet. Cover the bottom of skillet with water, simmer until done.
Water keeps balls from sticking in pan