12 hours ago, Jaymes said:
What's the advantage of cooking them in a muffin pan over just cooking them on a sheet pan? That's always worked well enough for me that I've never seen any need to search for improvements.
Also, the grease runs off. I'd think a muffin pan would hold the grease, like a loaf pan does for meatloaf. Much better to cook them on a sheet. No?
Let me be more specific and detailed. I use a mini muffin pan. The meatballs are made to be just a scosh larger than the upper diameter of the cups, thereby resting on the edge of the cup lip rather than in the muffin cup. Much of the moisture or fat that exudes from the meatballs drips down into the cup and, therefore, away from the meat. When I've cooked them on a tray, the fat and moisture that runs out of the balls tends to gather around the balls, causing a certain mushiness and greasy taste and feel. In addition, the balls stay rounder (at least for me) than when they are on a tray. That may or may not be important for you, but it sometimes is for me. Finally, I coat the meatballs with bread crumbs, and cook them in a hot oven. Any fat that does exude from the balls is absorbed by the bread crumbs and aids in their browning, adding a nice accent to the meatballs.
I got this technique from an old "Good Eats" show, and have been playing with it for about a year. The technique works well for me ... YMMV.
