Hand-made Meatballs

Who doesn’t love a good meatball? The mixture of fat and seasonings all held together in a ball that you could stab with a fork has so many variation possibilities there has to be a meatball out there for everyone. While traditionally thought of as Italian, the meatball has many different forms and in one way or another has made an appearance in nearly every culture. So what is it that makes a meatball? What are the basic components, and which ones can be left to the creative bunch to fiddle around with in the kitchen?

Back in the 1800’s a meatball was defined as “any combination of raw or cooked meat shaped into balls.” As you can imagine this left a lot to work with for the cooks and chefs of the time. Meatballs can, and have, been made from nearly every animal imaginable. There are even a number of meatless meatball recipes for the vegetarians of the world. Historically Chinese meatballs used a base of pork whereas the Romans preferred their protein to come from pheasant, peacock and rabbit. As we sit here in North America, a lot of us can only picture the possibility of ground beef meatballs. If there’s a protein source out there, it has most likely been turned into a meatball at some point in history.

So what are the essential ingredients of any meatball? Well, there is the obvious protein source, but beyond that you need a binder to hold all that meat together. A basic, and traditional binder for the typical meatball uses breadcrumbs and eggs. Other ingredients such as rice and flour have also been known to exist. Effectively all you really need a starch component, something for the meat to cling to.

Recipe

Ingredients:

500g. Ground beef

1 large egg

¼ cup breadcrumbs

3 Tbsp. parsley

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. dehydrated onion

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl
• Take between 50 and 75g. of the mixture at a time and roll into a ball between your hands.
• Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 325F. oven for 20-25 min or until the internal temperature of the meatball reaches 170F.
• Remove from oven and serve.

Meatballs are one of those general foods that have a number of uses. Do you feel like pasta tonight? How does a soup sound? Looking for something different to top your rice? The mighty meatball can be suitable in almost any dish; I’ve even seen them in salads! Who can forget a hero sandwich? If there is one item you should have in your culinary repertoire, it’s meatballs!

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