How to Make a Big Batch of Tiny Meatballs

I was not a meatball lover when I was a kid. This was partly because my mother's version of meatballs was this thing called Surprise Balls, and it was my least favorite meal of all. Surprise Balls were large (about the size of a goose egg) ground beef balls with rice and tomato paste mixed in. The rice never quite seemed cooked, and the paste made it dry and depressing. But I recently started thinking about tiny meatballs because Eve (14) is obsessed with Italian Wedding soup, and every time she buys it at the supermarket, I think to myself, I can do better than that! Plus, I want her to eat organically so that means, for now, we have to make it ourselves. So I decided to make a big batch of tiny meatballs and freeze them for multiple uses. In fact, I might just designate March as Tiny Meatball Month and do a series of blogs on all the things you can do with tiny meatballs (foodwise, I mean).

This recipe for tiny meatballs is a combination of my Sicilian mother-in-law's recipe (she calls for chopped onions) and my Abruzzise grandmother-in-law's recipe (she calls for chopped garlic). I took both the onions and the garlic out because I think if you want either of those things, you can add them to whatever you are serving the meatballs with. Interestingly, the main difference between this meatball recipe and the one for Italian sausage is the addition of fennel to the sausage. So if you want to make tiny sausage meatballs, just add fennel. (Although, my actual sausage recipe does not use breadcrumbs or egg, either).

You could, if you want, make these into big meatballs, too. But big meatballs are just kind of big and boring to me. Tiny meatballs are so cute and bite-size. Also, I experimented with whether to roll perfect little balls between two hands (slow!) or pinch off little balls (faster). After they are cooked, you can't tell which was which, so I say pinch and get it done faster because cooking all these meatballs is a fairly tedious process. ALTHOUGH, the whole point of making such a big batch is to freeze them so that later you can just quickly pop them into or onto whatever you are making. So this is a good Sunday kind of activity.

A Big Batch of Tiny Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef


• 1 pound ground pork


• 1 cup breadcrumbs


• 2 eggs


• 1 teaspoon salt


• ½ teaspoon ground pepper


• 3 Tablespoons or so chopped fresh parsley


• ½ cup grated Romano cheese


• Olive oil for cooking

Directions:

1. Mix all this stuff together in a bowl.


2. When it's all mixed together, put some olive oil into a frying pan (I prefer cast iron) and start pinching little balls the size of marbles and putting them into the pan.


3. Turn them to brown on all sides (and cook until well done, since there is pork in them).


4. When they are done, put them on some paper towels on a plate to absorb the excess oil.

To freeze tiny meatballs: Put the cooked meatballs on a baking tray in a single layer (not touching each other) into the freezer. After they are frozen (about 1 to 2 hours), put them into a plastic bag (labeled and dated) and keep until you need them. My next blog will be about all the things you can do with tiny meatballs. And a few yummy recipes will follow!

For more from Maria Rodale, go to www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com

 

 

 

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Comments

[Happy Kine]

03:42 PM on 03/02/2012

I usually have meatballs in my freezer, my faves have a piece of blue cheese in the middle. My son likes the spicy Asian ones i make. i especially like having meatballs with good ravioli.

[sabelmouse]

09:04 AM on 03/01/2012

pretty much the same i make frikadellen, sans cheese. yumm.

[Shauni Waterdragon]

07:56 AM on 03/01/2012

I posted my comment to a subthread, oops! Thanks Maria, love your recipe, love your idea!

[Karl Wilder]

12:44 PM on 02/29/2012

I always make mine with both onion and garlic. You are missing a great flavor source by making them so bland.

I prefer to bake vs fry. I find the texture is better and they absorb sauce and broth in a nicer way when baked.

[sabelmouse]

09:05 AM on 03/01/2012

i didn't notice the onion was missing. no onion ? how is that possible. i add garlic as well when i'm in the mood.

[Derek1971]

09:12 AM on 02/29/2012

But why do they have to be "balls?" We love them a little crispy on the outside and in ball form, it's tricky to get a uniform crust on them. I started flattening them a little (think little burgers) and you only have two sides to fry--more surface area in contact with the skillet (cast iron, of course!). We use these on pizza (cast iron skillet again), lasagna, soup, and all pasta/sauce combos.

I like your recipe, although we like them a little garlicky... so onion and garlic go in mine.

Thanks for sharing!

[Shauni Waterdragon]

07:54 AM on 03/01/2012

My partner loves tiny food. His idea of dinner is cubes of cheese, jumbo green olives and chunks of fruit. I love the idea of tiny meatballs to add to his arrangement. I do love cast iron but I bake my meatballs in the oven on a rack - turn em once to get both sides. Grease drips through the rack and the balls come out mostly round (a little sag where they might drop through the grate a bit, but it doesn't show really). I like the idea above about the little tiny patties too. Why not? I do like a little garlic and onion, but it can be overdone. I add red pepper flakes to mine as well. Thanks for the recipe, I plan on utilizing your idea this weekend!