We all have them. A recipe for meatballs. A tried and true family favorite. We all tend to find ourselves in the same meatball rut, however. I am one of those cooks who gets tired of the same 'ol, same 'ol - so I look for ways to re-invent my families favorite meals. And seriously, who doesn't love a good meatball?
Whether you want to go balls to the wall, (yes, I had to go there) or if you just want something new that your family will love, then you must keep reading. You can actually serve meatballs in a variety of ways: appetizers, in sandwiches, with pasta or simply make them stand alone as the star of your meal. No matter how you slice it, the meatball can be implemented for almost any occasion.
What is your standard meatball recipe? Ground beef, bread crumbs, a couple eggs? Maybe you ramp it up a little and add some seasonings to your mixture, perhaps a little garlic powder, oregano, parsley? Please, please don't break my heart and tell me that you just take meat and form balls. Lie to me if you must, but please tell me that you put a little love inside those little balls of happiness.
So where to begin? The main ingredient: the meat. Now ... I am one of those cooks who not only looks for the best ingredients, but also looks for the best deal on the ingredients. When planning a recipe I usually will try to work around what happens to be on sale that week at the store. When feeding a family you must be honest, no matter how ambitious you want to be, you still have a budget you have to deal with. With meatballs you at least want a little bit of fat involved. This means, choose the 80/20 blend at least. Another great way to add more flavor is to combine the meat - use half ground beef, half ground sirloin - or again, whatever meat happens to be on sale that week. In my honest opinion, I love ground beef/sirloin in my meatballs but I'm not one to not say go "balls to the wall" and choose some ground turkey or ground chicken to 'lighten' up your balls. Remember however, when choose the latter, you must, and I repeat must season because ground turkey and ground chicken come with almost no flavor what-so-ever. Don't give your family bland food -- give them something they will enjoy.
Second, determine which direction you want your meal to go. Do you want a simple spaghetti and meatballs? Do you want an appetizer? Do you want to simply make larger portions and have the meatballs be the main component of your dish? Once you determine the direction of your meal you can then start looking at the details, (i.e. flavor profile). For a simple Italian pasta, (like spaghetti and meatballs) my best flavors are powdered garlic, oregano, Italian seasoning, a dash of red pepper flakes, cumin and chopped, fresh parsley. To make your meatballs the star -- again, flavor appropriately, a good choice would be garlic powder, oregano, fresh chopped parsley and a splash of Worcester sauce. Form large balls, (approx 3" in diameter) and then take the end of a wooden spoon and push it into your ball, making sure not to go ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Push a square piece of a good cheese, (again, take into account the flavor you are looking for: fresh mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Monterrey jack, etc..) then form the meat back over the cheese you just inserted. Serving size for the larger meatballs to stand alone is about 3 per person. Serve atop a bed of mashed potatoes or seasoned rice.
Your preferred method of cooking can vary. I was always a skillet girl up until about 6 months ago. Now, I only bake my meatballs. I found that by skillet cooking I was cooking them too long, so they would get tough and chewy and overdone. By baking I can retain all my flavors and also eliminate the grease that they will produce. Place your balls on a grate and then put that on top of your baking sheet. This will allow all the fat to drain while baking and also allow for a more even cooking. I usually cook mine on 425 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes. When they are done cooking I will set them on top of the stove and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese - this will melt over the top of your still hot meatballs.
Explore, explore, explore new ideas and try something new. There are simply not a whole lot of ways that you can really mess these up. Serve pasta sauce over the top or if you are looking for that new way to serve them, use the larger meatball method above. Serve them on the bed of mashed potatoes and incorporate some sour cream and chives in with your mashed potatoes. Then take brown gravy and drizzle over the entire dish. You can't go wrong, I promise you.
Cheers!
Whether you want to go balls to the wall, (yes, I had to go there) or if you just want something new that your family will love, then you must keep reading. You can actually serve meatballs in a variety of ways: appetizers, in sandwiches, with pasta or simply make them stand alone as the star of your meal. No matter how you slice it, the meatball can be implemented for almost any occasion.
What is your standard meatball recipe? Ground beef, bread crumbs, a couple eggs? Maybe you ramp it up a little and add some seasonings to your mixture, perhaps a little garlic powder, oregano, parsley? Please, please don't break my heart and tell me that you just take meat and form balls. Lie to me if you must, but please tell me that you put a little love inside those little balls of happiness.
So where to begin? The main ingredient: the meat. Now ... I am one of those cooks who not only looks for the best ingredients, but also looks for the best deal on the ingredients. When planning a recipe I usually will try to work around what happens to be on sale that week at the store. When feeding a family you must be honest, no matter how ambitious you want to be, you still have a budget you have to deal with. With meatballs you at least want a little bit of fat involved. This means, choose the 80/20 blend at least. Another great way to add more flavor is to combine the meat - use half ground beef, half ground sirloin - or again, whatever meat happens to be on sale that week. In my honest opinion, I love ground beef/sirloin in my meatballs but I'm not one to not say go "balls to the wall" and choose some ground turkey or ground chicken to 'lighten' up your balls. Remember however, when choose the latter, you must, and I repeat must season because ground turkey and ground chicken come with almost no flavor what-so-ever. Don't give your family bland food -- give them something they will enjoy.
Second, determine which direction you want your meal to go. Do you want a simple spaghetti and meatballs? Do you want an appetizer? Do you want to simply make larger portions and have the meatballs be the main component of your dish? Once you determine the direction of your meal you can then start looking at the details, (i.e. flavor profile). For a simple Italian pasta, (like spaghetti and meatballs) my best flavors are powdered garlic, oregano, Italian seasoning, a dash of red pepper flakes, cumin and chopped, fresh parsley. To make your meatballs the star -- again, flavor appropriately, a good choice would be garlic powder, oregano, fresh chopped parsley and a splash of Worcester sauce. Form large balls, (approx 3" in diameter) and then take the end of a wooden spoon and push it into your ball, making sure not to go ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Push a square piece of a good cheese, (again, take into account the flavor you are looking for: fresh mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Monterrey jack, etc..) then form the meat back over the cheese you just inserted. Serving size for the larger meatballs to stand alone is about 3 per person. Serve atop a bed of mashed potatoes or seasoned rice.
Your preferred method of cooking can vary. I was always a skillet girl up until about 6 months ago. Now, I only bake my meatballs. I found that by skillet cooking I was cooking them too long, so they would get tough and chewy and overdone. By baking I can retain all my flavors and also eliminate the grease that they will produce. Place your balls on a grate and then put that on top of your baking sheet. This will allow all the fat to drain while baking and also allow for a more even cooking. I usually cook mine on 425 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes. When they are done cooking I will set them on top of the stove and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese - this will melt over the top of your still hot meatballs.
Explore, explore, explore new ideas and try something new. There are simply not a whole lot of ways that you can really mess these up. Serve pasta sauce over the top or if you are looking for that new way to serve them, use the larger meatball method above. Serve them on the bed of mashed potatoes and incorporate some sour cream and chives in with your mashed potatoes. Then take brown gravy and drizzle over the entire dish. You can't go wrong, I promise you.
Cheers!
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