Back To Basics: Meatballs

Well, my original intention had been to try and do a Back To Basics post about once a week, but this just seemed like to good of an opportunity to pass up. There really aren’t many food items as adaptable as a basic meatball.  Why, with just one meatball recipe you can make spaghetti and meatballs, BBQ meatballs, meatballs with peanut sauce, meatball hoagies, meatball pizza, soups, sandwiches, appetizers, entrees, you name it, the meatball can do it.  In fact, the meatball recipe I’m sharing today, while made with beef, can also be made with chicken or turkey.  And sure, you can buy frozen meatballs ready to go from the freezer case, but why not pick up a three-pound package of ground beef when it is on sale and make extra meatballs from scratch for your freezer?  it’s so easy, and you won’t regret it ever.

Really, meatballs are as easy as one,two three.  The first step is really to combine your ingredients, and you do have some choices to make here.  The first is the type of meat you’ll use.  I used straight up ground beef, chicken and turkey also work well, but then you’ll need to use a few tablespoons less milk- just eyeball it until you have a nice consistency-they’re more moist than beef.  With the cracker crumbs, you can use whatever you have on hand that is a dry crumb.  Crush whatever brand of crackers you have on hand.  Out of crackers?  Use bread crumbs, corn flakes or some crushed pretzels. You just want about 1/2 a cup of dry crumbs of something.  Crush them pretty finely with your hands- if they’re dry they’ll crush easily anyway.  The rest of the ingredients are adjustable as desired.  Don’t like onions? Leave them out, or use celery or bell pepper instead.  Don’t have parsley? Leave it out, or use a bit of dried basil.  Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and mix until it’s nicely combined.

Now you need to determine what size meatball you’re making.  This recipe as written, if shaped into 1  1/2 -inch meatballs will yield about 24 meatballs.  Cut them down to 1-inch and you’ll get at least three dozen.  Make them larger, and you’ll get less.  Just remember to adjust your baking time accordingly.  Small, 1-inch meatballs will be done right around 15 minutes.  Larger ones you’ll need to keep an eye on.  But really, unless you leave them in the oven for a long time, a little overcooking will be okay, so don’t worry about it too much. Put your meatballs in a baking dish so that the balls are not touching each other- this will help them bake evenly.

Bake them for about 20 minutes- they’ll smell fantastic and look even better.  Once they’re cooked up you have a million options as to what to do with them.  Toss them in some marinara for spaghetti and meatballs.  Eat them straight up as is (like we did last night).  Make a mushroom sauce and make Swedish meatballs out of them.  Dump them in a crock-pot with some BBQ sauce (or cheese sauce) and serve them with toothpicks for a quick appetizer.  Toss with some fettuccine and peanut sauce for an Asian take on meatballs.  Give them a bath in marinara and serve on hoagie rolls, topped with Mozzarella cheese.  Cut them in half and top a pizza with them, or float them in some soup, like Italian Wedding Soup.   To freeze the meatballs for later use, allow them to cool completely, and then put in a freezer safe container or a freezer bag- make sure to label them.  When you need to use them, use them from frozen.  Quick, easy, and delicious.

Meatballs

adapted from Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1/2 cup whole grain cracker crumbs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Mix until well combined.  Using damp hands, roll the meat mixture into 24 balls and set in an ungreased baking dish.  (You can also make smaller meatballs, but you’ll have to bake them for less time. One-inch meatballs should take about 15 minutes and you’ll get at least 36 of them)

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until nicely browned on the outside and no longer pink on the inside.