meatball mishap...

imokay ↓

Wed, Feb 20 2008, 6:17 pm

so I made meatballs for the first time- after looking around here, I went with the sweet and sour one from the spice and spirit. fastforward to 2 hours later... they were these hard balls, more suitable for sports than for food. (tho taste was ok- too sweet for my liking, but that wasn't the issue)

can u help me figure out where I went wrong?
I followed recipe exactly- but a few things, I wasn't sure of:
- I ended up mixing meat mixture with my hands- it was too thick to do by spoon- did I perhaps overmix it, thus causing the hardness?
- it didn't say to cook covered/uncovered so I cooked it covered- was that my error?
- or it there simply a trick to make them nice and soft?

and, anyone have another recipe, just as easy, but perhaps, a tad less sweet- less sugary and more tomato saucy taste?

thanks for your help- some of u sound like real gourmet chefs- makes a takeout junkee like me feel a tad embarrassed

yentaof8 ↓

Wed, Feb 20 2008, 6:31 pm

Believe it or not, I made those same meatballs tonight for dinner. I don't know what you did that they turned out too hard (should be covered, and I also mixed by hand) Did you double or triple the recipe? Sometimes that messes up the proportions. Anyways, if you don't care for the sauce, there are 2 others you can try from KBD for kids.
Meat mixture: 1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup flavored breadcrumbs
1 tsp. onion powder
1 egg

Red Sauce: 1 16 oz. can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1 jar marinara sauce

(cont. on next post)

↑ yentaof8 ↓

Wed, Feb 20 2008, 6:36 pm

or choose Brown sauce: 3/4 c. dark brown sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 3/4 c. water
1/4 c. white vinegar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce

Make meat mixture. Choose desired sauce (or both in 2 dif. pots) Place ing. over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes. Form balls, put in pot. Lower heat, cover and cook for 40 minutes.

Motek

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 3:59 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

2 hours is MAD long to cook them for

[quote="mummiedearest]they overcooked[/quote]

I cook them for 2 hours and don't think that's the reason they were hard imokay.

Quote:

did I perhaps overmix it, thus causing the hardness

could be, that was a tip my mother told me - not to overmix (though mixing by hand is fine, and doubling the recipe is fine)

What kind of chopped meat did you use? Extra lean? Regular? It may not be that healthy, but the fattier the meat, the softer and better it comes out.

↑ imokay ↓

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 4:20 pm

thanks for your replies....
I shud have been clearer. when I said fast forward to 2 hours later- I meant it took me 1/2 hr to prepare and 1 1/2 hours to cook (that's what the recipe said!)
I didn't double it (wasn't sure they'd come out ok, so didnt want to count my chickens before they hatch)

e/o says meatballs are the easiest thing to make, but apparently, not for me...sigh...maybe I shud stick to takeout
Smile

Squash

Thu, Feb 21 2008, 5:00 pm

imokay wrote:

I thought I was the only one whose meatballs always come out hard and yuck. without fail.

↑ imokay

Fri, Feb 22 2008, 5:58 am

Quote:

if you want to be an expert meatball maker you can do it- keep at it

I have no problem keeping at it. I just dont want to make the same crummy meatballs over and over and over again, like some awful nightmare.

thanks for your suggestions, I guess I just have to practice more... the problem I find, is that successful cooks dont really rely on the recipes- they have this sixth sense- so its a bit of this and that. I rely totally on the recipe, so u can imagine what tends to happen...

Very Happy

Raisin

Fri, Feb 22 2008, 6:19 am

If you want to make italian meatballs - make the mixture roll into balls and then bake in the oven for about 15 minutes tillcooked. Make a tomato sauce with onion garlic mushrooms - I saute these than add tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Add salt pepper, oregano, basil etc. Serve witht he meatballs and pasta.

montrealmommy

Fri, Feb 22 2008, 6:21 am

without being there with you it's hard to know where it changed (didn't work), but what I can tell you from exp. is if the emat to bread ratio is off then they will either be mushy or too hard. Also, the fat thing that someone mentioned is so true!!!! I stick to lean or extra lean only when I am browining ground meat (like in a sauce or for tacos), otherwise I use med. or a mix of lean and reg.

I don't know if the recipe said to precook the meatballs or not, my mom always broils them before putting in a sauce and hers are DELIC!!!! I don't but I make sure to put them right into a boiling sauce to cook.

Egg-Free meatballs are:
1 lb. meat
1/4 c. coarse bread crumbs or stale bread in pcs.
1/3-1/2 c. soup (or any flavored liquid)
1/4 t. each onion powder and garlic pwdr

mix spices with bread crumbs in bowl. Add liquid and mix. Let sit 3-5 minutes. Add meat and mix until blended. Let sit 1-2 minutes. Wet hands and roll into small balls (size of golf balls)

Sauce:
saute 1 onion and 2 minced cloves garlic
add 1 c. sliced mushrooms (opitonal)
add 1/2 c. chopped green pepper (optional)
add 1 can crushed tomatoed
add 1/4 c. wine (optional)
add 2 Tbsp. vinegar (balsamic or distilled)
add 1-2 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
S+P to taste
add 1/2 tsp. each oregano, basi (for Italian style)
add 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce (for oriental flavor)
add 1/2 c. crushed pinapple (for hawaiin style)l

Bring to boil, add meatballs, stir gently to blend
Lower temp to simmer 30-45 minutes
REduce temp to low or keep warm level and it can stay on the burner up to another 1 1/2 hours, stirring it from time to time

Enjoy with pasta or rice