Meatballs with Three Sauces

Amarante

Tue, Dec 08 2015, 1:32 pm

This meatball recipe is very tasty and is intended to make a LOT of meatballs which you freeze and then take out for a fast easy meal when needed. There are three sauce variations but obviously you can use any sauce you prefer. The milk and crumb technique produces a very tender ball.

Meatballs with Three Sauces

Make these basic meatballs and freeze them in bags so that you can whip them out and add a sauce for a quick dinner any day of the week. These can be made with ground chicken or turkey too.

Basic Meatballs

Makes about 125 meatballs

5 pounds ground beef, chicken, turkey or a mixture
1-1/2 cups plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup soymilk or almond milk
1/4 cup non-dairy creamer or pareve whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 large eggs

To make the meatballs, combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, soymilk, pareve cream, parsley, mustard, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Mix together well with your hands. Scoop out 1-tablespoon portions and roll them into balls with your hands. Place the meatballs onto parchment-lined baking sheets and put the baking sheets.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 20 ? 25 minutes.

Freezer instructions: Put the cooked meatballs in a single layer on baking sheets and put into the freezer. When frozen, divide them into freezer bags, 25 per bag, and return them to the freezer.

Can be made with chicken or turkey if desired.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Makes 2 cups sauce and serves 6 ? 8

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 1/4 cups pineapple juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
25-count bag Basic Meatballs (still frozen is fine)
1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
1 cup drained small pineapple chunks
Steamed long-grain rice, for serving
2 tablespoons sliced green onions, for garnish

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and 2 cups of the pineapple juice. Bring to a boil.

Mix the cornstarch into the remaining 1/4 cup pineapple juice, whisking to get out all the lumps. Whisk into the skillet and add the Basic Meatballs. Bring to a simmer and add the sriracha. Cover and cook until the sauce is thickened and the meatballs are heated through, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the pineapple chunks.

Serve over steamed rice, garnished with green onions.

Barbeque Meatballs

Makes about 2 cups of sauce and serves 6-8

2 cups barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, non-fish variety
25-count bag All-Purpose Meatballs (still frozen is fine)
Mashed potatoes, for serving

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the barbecue sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, hot sauce and Worcestershire and bring to a boil. Add the Basic Meatballs and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the meatballs are heated through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Spoon over mashed potatoes and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with a green salad.

Asian Meatballs

Makes 1 ? cups

1/2 cup sake or dry white wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mirin
25-count bag Basic Meatballs

In a saucepan, combine the sake, soy sauce, sugar and 1/4 cup of the mirin; boil until reduced to 1-1/2 cups, 3 minutes. Let cool.

studying_torah

Tue, Dec 08 2015, 2:14 pm

I usually make my meatballs w a tomato based sauce, but if I cook the balls in the sauce, they fall apart. If I bake them first, then add to the sauce , I find they don't absorb the sauce and get a bit dense and no one likes them.
Any idea how to keep them whole but absorb the sauce?

Amarante

Tue, Dec 08 2015, 4:38 pm

Traditionally you would saute the balls to brown and the finish in the sauce.

That actually produces the tastiest result because the meatball flavors the sauce
and the sauce flavors the meatball. That is I was taught by my Italian friends. :-)

But people look for shortcuts and baking is easier than sauteing and adding to the sauce to finish cooking. But it will give you the result you want if you are willing to patchke a little.

Last edited by Amarante on Wed, Dec 09 2015, 6:26 am; edited 1 time in total

mha3484

Tue, Dec 08 2015, 4:48 pm

Can the sauces be frozen too? I would like to try this as my freezer is getting empty.

Amarante

Wed, Dec 09 2015, 5:54 am

mha3484 wrote:

Can the sauces be frozen too? I would like to try this as my freezer is getting empty.

Sauces freeze very well in my experience although stating the obvious by saying should be frozen separately in containers.

If anyone is looking for an excellent classic marinara sauce which freezes well, try this one. Like any good sauce, it needs to be simmered for a long period of time but requires no work so just make it when you are going to be around the house anyway.

This is the best sauce. The secret is the caramelized onions as well as the LONG simmer on the stove. It's not time consuming in terms of prep but you do need to "baby" the onions to make sure they are caramelizing and not burning and to add the wine if the onions become too dry.

It freezes well and you can use the sauce in any number of ways as a base.

Lindrusso's Marinara Magnifica
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Yield: 9 cups

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
3-4 medium onions, chopped
1/2 cup to 1 cup dry red wine
6 cloves garlic, crushed with the blade of a knife
3 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (or 2 28-ounce cans crushed and 2 14-ounce cans diced if you want a bit more chunkiness)
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
pinch of crushed red pepper or more to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Heat oil in a Dutch Oven over medium heat.

Add chopped onions and 1 tablespoon sugar. Saute onions for 30-45 minutes, or until sweet and caramelized. As the pan dries while onions are cooking, add red wine as needed. This is critical to the end result as you want caramelized onions and not just sautéed onions.

Once onions are done, continue to add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well-combined. Simmer over low heat for 4-6 hours (you can simmer for less, but I would simmer for at least 1-2 hours). Stir often to keep the sauce from burning or getting overcooked.

You can use a stick blender if you like a smoother sauce after it has finished cooking

Makes about 9 cups of sauce.

Notes:

Freezes very well.

studying_torah

Wed, Dec 09 2015, 8:10 am

So I Sautee the balls in the sauce, or in a pan and then add sauce?

Amarante

Wed, Dec 09 2015, 8:14 am

If you use this recipe, you bake and then simmer in the sauce because it's intended to make a lot of meatballs that you freeze and then heat in the sauce of your choice.

Since you aren't happy with baked meatballs, you would need to saute and finish in the sauce of your choice. But that's a different technique than this recipe which is intended to cut corners for people who,are okay with baked meatballs.

etky

Wed, Dec 09 2015, 8:43 am

studying_torah wrote:

You have to make the meat mixture a bit drier, so that it's not so loose.
Maybe increase the amount of breadcrumbs that you put in and/or reduce the amount of liquid in the meat mixture. Alternately try using a different binder. I actually prefer matzo meal to bread crumbs. I feel that it makes the mixture stiff enough to hold together w/o making the balls too dense. I also like replacing some of the breadcrumbs/matzo meal with oats. They oats contribute to a softer meal ball.

sushilover

Wed, Dec 09 2015, 10:16 am

studying_torah wrote:

I find that making sure your sauce is really hot and bubbling before you add in the balls will help keep the balls from falling apart.