Garlicky Meat Lovers Meatballs

I’m a fan of meatballs, especially the small ones. Packed with flavor and so versatile. I have a few options to choose from here; turkey and Italian sausage. But, just the other day, I was presented with a new way to make them. Probably closer to true Italian style, using beef and pork. And that’s how my garlicky meat lovers meatballs came about, and, wow!, they’re great.

Meatballs have been around for a long long time. Meat, fillers, binders and seasonings rolled into a ball and cooked in many different ways. Size and ingredients are regionally specific. In The Persian Empire, in what is now Iran, they liked them large, softball sized. In Scandinavia, they’re smaller, about an inch in diameter. Some made from beef, pork, lamb, some from offal. And serving them varies too. Over pasta, with red sauce or gravy, in a stew or soup, baked and fried.

My preferred meatballs are small, Scandinavian style, about 1 inch in diameter. Pop the whole thing in your mouth and you get the the texture of the outside, and the flavor of the inside all at the same time, it’s like a flavor explosion. Making the meatballs with beef and pork is a game changer. I know, those of you that do this all the time and rolling your eyes while saying DUH! but, this is my revelation, and things will never be the same. I’m still going to make my turkey meatballs and Italian sausage meatballs, but to paraphrase the late great James Brown, “Papas got a brand new bag”

I am going to keep the prep pretty simple, just take my existing meatball recipe and change the protein. I love what garlic brings to the table with it’s flavors, so that will definitely have to stay. The onions pair with the garlic to create that savory base. A mirepoix.

The breadcrumbs are very important, they absorb the liquid during cooking and keep all the flavors in the meatball. Because the meatballs are small, it’s important to make sure that the onions and garlic are very finely diced, just note, powdered anything doesn’t work here. The reasoning behind finely diced is simple. Onions and garlic have a sweet flavor when cooked, however, raw, they can be obnoxious, finely dicing them ensures they are cooked properly. I use seasoned breadcrumbs because they bring a little more seasoning.

Now to building the balls. Put the meat, onions, garlic and seasoning in a bowl and mix really well. Make sure that the onion and garlic is evenly mixed into the mixture.

Now add the seasoned meatballs, but only half at first, mix well and only add more if needed. The mixture shouldn’t be too dry that the meatballs cannot hold their shape. Notice, I don’t use egg as a binder, however, if you added too much breadcrumbs, an egg will help to add some moisture to make the balls.

The trick at this point is to make sure the balls are all of an even size. Scoop out the same amount of meat each time, this can be accomplished with a teaspoon or tablespoon with the same amount of meat on it with each scoop. Now form the balls in your hand, applying a little pressure to slightly compress the meat into shape. Now put each ball into a parchment paper lined baking pan, try not to crowd them out too much, you will want them to get a little crust when cooking. The reason for parchment paper is so they don’t stick, and the reason for a baking pan not tray is that they will generate some juices that you don’t want to spill.

Now place in a 425 degree, preheated oven for approximately 1/2 hr. Turn the meatballs at 15 mins to cook evenly. You’re looking for a crust on the outside and an internal temp of 145 to ensure being cooked. My method for cooking the balls is slightly different, I don’t pan sear them. There are a couple of reasons why here. Because of their size they’re a little more delicate than a larger meatball, so the can get a little damaged in the pan. In this particular recipe I’m not cooking them in a meat sauce, I will pour the sauce over them, so the oven work in this application.

And, this brings us to the serving suggestion. I prefer the Scandinavian style, so, I serve over noodles and pour brown gravy over them. However, as always, the options are endless. They are absolutely delicious plain too, stick a toothpick in each one, serve on a plate as a snack. No matter how you serve them, you’ll enjoy my garlicky meat lovers meatballs. Bon Appetit