Let's talk meatballs

I am very basic. Ground meat, eggs, bread crumbs, and milk. I only make meatballs when I cook Swedish Meatballs. So they are cooked in a sauce.

Different ways:

Moroccan has a mixture of lamb and beef
Swedish meatballs have bread soaked in milk

But I think I always include an egg and chopped onion and parsley….
I usually brown them first then either bake or cook in a sauce.

I'll do my best to find it 

I bake meatballs in the oven. What I put in them varies enormously, but it is usually ground turkey to start and I try to avoid adding gluten into things so no breadcrumbs.

These are a favorite Asian Meatball. No breadcrumbs and I don't add an egg white (you could sub in soaked flax seed). Definitely cook at a higher temperature like these Lemon Ginger Meatballs. I usually use ground turkey with a splash of sesame oil for these.

I’d like it too - would make them tonight!

Deleted because you mentioned they needed to be Celiac friendly.

I've been plant based for 3 months now. I'm not big on meat substitutes. Many taste really off to my palate. But the Gardein brand plant based meatballs are pretty good.

Otherwise I have made some black bean burgers into meatballs. They do not have egg (vegan) and they do have bread crumbs. But honestly most of the time, I add red lentils to my red sauce as my protein.

I used the family recipe for Italian meatballs (from my Italian grandmother) for years, but, recently have adapted Ann Burrell’s recipe from Food Network, and I like it even better! I use a mix of 80/20 ground beef and ground pork.

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/excellent-meatballs-recipe-1943292.amp

I make a gluten free meatball that doesn’t have a sauce but I have added it to a red sauce before with spaghetti. I prefer to eat them like meatloaf with a side of veggies and potatoes.

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 c ricotta
1/2 c breadcrumbs (I use gluten free crumbs or more often I crumble a gluten free bun or bread because I like the thick chunks)
1 egg
1/4 c chopped basil
Salt, peppper, Italian seasoning

Sometimes I brown then bake for 15 min, sometimes I skip the browning.

I go to the store. At home I chuck 'em in the zapper.

I make my own because everything premade has onions and/or garlic in them, of which I am allergic.

My recipe:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground turkey
1 1/2 fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup vegan cheese (Parmesan if you eat dairy)
3/4 cup oat milk (or regular milk if you aren’t allergic)
3 eggs
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp fenugreek (use onion powder if not allergic)
3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tsp fennel seeds, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper if you like them spicy

I use a cookie/ice cream scoop to portion out the meatballs. I put them on baking sheets and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Don’t overcook them! I freeze them on the baking sheets and then store them in ziplock freezer bags in the freezer.

Tips:
-I use up random crusts of bread and/or buns, blitzing them in the food processor.
-If you don’t eat a meat, just omit it or use more of another. Adjust your recipe accordingly by 1/3 if you use less meat.
-I’ll buy vegan Parmesan cheese and blitz that in the blender until it’s crumbs. (Do this separate from the bread crumbs, but you don’t need to wash it out in between.)
-I chop the parsley so that it doesn’t end up a paste. DON’T blend it with the bread crumbs—you will end up with green bread crumbs if it’s really juicy parsley!
-You can sub fresh herbs for dried, but I always use fresh parsley.
-Fresh oregano can be strong. Don’t over do it!
-You can certainly sub gluten free bread crumbs for fresh. In fact, it would be a good use of hells of the bread if you don’t like to eat them in a sandwich or as toast. Just toss them in the freezer until you need them.
-You can use dried bread crumbs if you like. Just add a little more milk.
-I don’t soak my bread crumbs. I just chunk it all in and all it’s good. It’s fine. Really.

My go to is chef John’s.  And I bake them on a rack so that they don’t sit in grease.  I don’t ever turn mine halfway through (I can’t remember if the recipe calls to or not).  Pretty basic but my favorite and I do use half pork and half beef.



Chef John’s meatballs


I am looking for a good/tried and true Swedish meatball recipe if anyone wants to share.

Ooh, yes please!