eG Cook-Off 75: Meatballs

[BonVivant]

The end (probably) of my meatball-making lark.

 

Loosely based on the recipe on the maker of the pear-apple syrup's web site.

 

I used La Trappe bock beer and some Bovril in the sauce.

 

The syrup.

 

Leftover Liège meatballs in a roll.

 

 

 

With tea soba.

 

 

In the mince: harissa paste, kebab spice mix, minced onions and garlic.

In the sauce: Turkish red pepper paste, tomatoes, onions, seasoning.

 

Leftover lamb meatballs.

 

Even better with giant white beans and chard.

Edited April 19, 2017 by BonVivant (log)

[Okanagancook]

Oh my goodness.  What a great bunch of meatballs.  Very inspiring.

[Shelby]

After grinding up a bunch of venison I decided to leave some out to do various things with.  One was to restock the freezer with meatballs.

 

About 3 lbs of venison burger

2 1\2 cups bread crumbs (I whizzed up one of the French bread loaves I had made)

Milk

A lot of chopped fresh parsley

Lawry's Salt

Tons of black pepper

Generous amount of hot pepper flakes

2 eggs

A bunch of fresh grated parmesan

Oregano

 

Mix all together and using a scoop, portion out out on baking tray.  Bake at 350F for 25 mins (I did mine in the CSO).  Place on a new baking sheet and freeze overnight.  Portion out and vac pac.  

 

 

 

 

I have a couple more pounds in the fridge...may do another batch when I get home today.

 

[Darienne]

Seeing Shelby's delicious looking venison meatballs immediately had me thinking of Albondiguitas and time to make some more, and then Sopa de Albondigas, one soup which is really hard to keep in stock because it's so tempting and gets eaten far too quickly.  Makes a good breakfast meal also.  

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

After grinding up a bunch of venison I decided to leave some out to do various things with.  One was to restock the freezer with meatballs.

 

About 3 lbs of venison burger

2 1\2 cups bread crumbs (I whizzed up one of the French bread loaves I had made)

Milk

A lot of chopped fresh parsley

Lawry's Salt

Tons of black pepper

Generous amount of hot pepper flakes

2 eggs

A bunch of fresh grated parmesan

Oregano

 

Mix all together and using a scoop, portion out out on baking tray.  Bake at 350F for 25 mins (I did mine in the CSO).  Place on a new baking sheet and freeze overnight.  Portion out and vac pac.  

 

 

 

 

I have a couple more pounds in the fridge...may do another batch when I get home today.

 

 

Are those 6-packs one serving or two?

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

Are those 6-packs one serving or two?

Two for us.......I usually eat 2, --Ronnie will eat the rest .....or I'll thaw two out if I'm starving lol.

[heidih]

@Shelby flat leaf or curly parsley? Also with venison being generally lean, does the amountof milk and breadcrumbs yield a fairly juicy ball?

[Shelby]

7 minutes ago, heidih said:

@Shelby flat leaf or curly parsley? Also with venison being generally lean, does the amountof milk and breadcrumbs yield a fairly juicy ball?

Flat leaf.

 

Yeah, that and the eggs.  I think these are my best meatballs ever.  Very moist, but they held their shape.

[heidih]

I was hoping you'd say flat. The only thing I like about the curly stuff is feeding it to a rabbit and watching it twirl as the bunny keeps chewing. Now I want a stash of balls in my freezer. I kinda like bouncy ones and for a singleton found Trader Joes turkey ones (frozen) to be perfect nuked as a snack with a sharp mustard. Or to plop into soup. Does nuking count for a cook-off

[FrogPrincesse]

14 minutes ago, weinoo said:

When we have a not-great meal out, and that not great meal includes pasta, I'll often make pasta the next night...just because:

 

 

Mezze rigatoni with meatball and sauce. Salad.

What’s your favorite meatball recipe? I am still looking for the perfect one (one local place, Tribute Pizza, has perfect meatballs that are incredibly tender, but I haven’t been able to replicate them yet).

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, FrogPrincesse said:

What’s your favorite meatball recipe? I am still looking for the perfect one (one local place, Tribute Pizza, has perfect meatballs that are incredibly tender, but I haven’t been able to replicate them yet).

I know I'm not Mitch but this is my favorite recipe.  I wouldn't mess around with grinding your own meats....just sub ground beef for the venison and add ground pork.  Very tender. 

[FrogPrincesse]

1 minute ago, Shelby said:

I know I'm not Mitch but this is my favorite recipe.  I wouldn't mess around with grinding your own meats....just sub ground beef for the venison and add ground pork.  Very tender. 

Thanks for sharing, @Shelby! Bookmarked. Hank Shaw is a trusted source.

 

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Thanks for sharing, @Shelby! Bookmarked. Hank Shaw is a trusted source.

 

I seem to be all about easy the older I get lol.  I use an Italian spice mix from Sam's and use the Italian breadcrumbs in the can from the store.  Works and saves time.

[rotuts]

@FrogPrincesse

 

Ive made might fine meatballs in the past , 

 

and for me , tenderness involved two things :

 

how you cook the M Balls , of course 

 

w a given mix of meat and flavor add ins 

 

and the panade you add to the meat mixture.

 

once you have your meat mixture set  ( ground pork , beef etc )

 

add ins  : grated cheese , faltleaf parsley , etc

 

read up and study various parades 

 

fresh bread crumbs and milk is a simple starter 

 

and go from there .     how you handle the ground meat is important  of course

 

but the panade , in my experience  buffers cooking , mixing etc

 

and gets you tenderness you are looking for.

 

sorry I can't be more specific.

 

 

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

What’s your favorite meatball recipe? I am still looking for the perfect one (one local place, Tribute Pizza, has perfect meatballs that are incredibly tender, but I haven’t been able to replicate them yet).

 

54 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I know I'm not Mitch but this is my favorite recipe.  I wouldn't mess around with grinding your own meats....just sub ground beef for the venison and add ground pork.  Very tender. 

 

I think that's a pretty good general idea; I use a 50:50 beef:pork combo.  One egg per pound of meat, similar seasonings, a couple of tablespoons of grated cheese, and bread crumbs (as opposed to bread) soaked in milk or cream (though I think I used kefir last time, as I was out of milk).  The thing I don't do is fry them, but rather bake them for about 30 minutes.  (And of course, first cook up a little to make sure they taste okay).