Learning how to make meatballs calls for a willingness to experiment. Meatballs take a little time to perfect. With some tinkering, you should be able to tweak a recipe so that it becomes your very own.
The Art of Making Meatballs
The best meatballs are also the simplest. Just mix three cups of ground meat (use a ratio of two to one if adding pork), and then mix in two eggs, two cups of crushed crackers or some type of bread, one and one half teaspoons of salt and one teaspoon of pepper. Mix together, and then either bake the meatballs at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or fry them in a skillet until brown.
Because the meat will stick, it's important that you remove the meatballs from the pan immediately. If you skillet-fry them, try not to stir the meatballs. Stirring will encourage the meatballs to begin breaking down and start falling apart. Be sure you turn them often. If you can, tilt the pan and use tongs to roll the meatballs every few minutes. The end result will be more evenly browned meatballs.
If you oven-bake the meatballs, line a cookie sheet with foil to keep the mess down, and remember to use tongs to remove the meatballs from the pan immediately upon removal from the oven. While the foil will keep the pan clean, it will not stop the meat from sticking. Unless you're using extremely lean meat, do not spray or grease the pan.
Using Wild Game
When making a recipe for meatballs with wild game, such as venison, you may want to cut the gamey taste and keep the tallow, or fat, from overpowering the meat. To do so, add about as much ground pork as ground venison, and then double the spices. The pork will add a little fat, which will keep the meatballs from drying out. At the same time, the taste of the venison will shine through without allowing the tallow to leave a film in your mouth. Because some meat packers add fatback to ground venison, it's important to find out what process your meat packer uses.
If you don't have venison, substitute ground beef for venison, and follow the same directions. Either way, the meatballs will be delicious and can be frozen with or without sauce or gravy. If frozen without added gravy, simply make the sauce while the meatballs are thawing.
Meatball Sandwiches
Meatballs are intended to accompany a dish, not necessarily be the main dish. A good way to make meatballs the main dish is to make meatball sandwiches. Meatball sandwiches are great for any meal, and they are an especially great for late-night snacking. So, the next time you make spaghetti and meatballs, save a dozen or so for meatball sandwiches.
To make a meatball sandwich, make sure you start with a hearty bun that can stand up to the strong flavors of the meatballs and sauce. Serve with cheese or lettuce and tomato. For sauce, use mustard or barbeque sauce, or try something different like a splash of sweet and sour sauce or a scoop of spaghetti sauce.
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You can take meatless meatballs into two directions. Either attempt to achieve a texture similar to meat, or throw caution to the wind and try completely new flavors. |
If you want to try to jazz up your normal meatballs, try creating sweet and sour meatballs. Play around with your sweet and sour meatball recipe until you find a dinner that pleases the entire family. |
To prepare the best Swedish meatballs recipe, you need to understand the history of the dish. Then, with some basic ingredients and the right techniques, your Swedish meatballs will soon impress your family or your guests. |
