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Monday, March 5, 2012

Yummy Life Meatballs

I love having a batch of meatballs waiting in the freezer.  They are easy to make and are very versatile. I make them often, but I rarely follow a recipe.  I use the same basic seasoning - basil, onion powder, garlic, ect. - each time, but the quantities often vary.  The liquids also vary from batch to batch.  Usually a little milk, sometimes I add some wine, other times a little beer.  One thing I have never added is buttermilk and that is why I chose to make Monica's Classic Italian Meatballs for this month's Secret Recipe Club.

Over at the Yummy Life Monica not only offers a wonderful assortment of recipes, but she also has some great gift ideas and suggestions for around the house.  Her dry rub and taco seasoning look wonderful and might make an appearance under many trees come Christmas.

I really liked the meatballs with the buttermilk.  It enhanced the flavors and kept them super moist - there is nothing worse than a dry meatball.  The other thing I really liked about Monica's recipe that I had never done before is mix everything together prior to adding the meat.  She creates a wonderful "sludge" of the buttermilk, water, eggs and seasoning.  This ensures the flavors are mixed in without overworking the meat.  The only change I made to Monica's recipe was omitting the pork.  Combining beef and pork makes for a much more flavorful meatball, unfortunately my husband is allergic to pork so we all sacrifice with meatballs that are not quite as flavorful as we would like.


We got many meals out of this recipe and still have some left for one more dinner.  We enjoyed meatball subs the first night, a couple of nights later a few made an appearance on a wonderful meatball pizza and a few more popped up in some Ziti.  The rest are waiting in the freezer, and I am sure will be consumed very soon.

Here is Monica's recipe, she has great step-by-step pictures so go check out her site, Yummy Life, as well.

Monica’s Classic Italian Meatballs
Printer Ready

4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup water
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 medium onion, finely minced or grated
1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
4 lbs. ground beef

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine eggs, water, buttermilk, and breadcrumbs in a bowl; let rest for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken as the bread crumbs absorb the liquid. To this thickened mixture, add garlic, onion, parsley, cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper; stir until combined. In separate large bowl, combine ground pork and beef. Mix meats with fingers or a large fork using a light touch until 2 meats are combined throughout. Add bread crumb mixture to meats. Mix these together, again using a light touch with fingers or large fork. Combine ingredients well, but do not overmix. Form meatballs with hands, or use a scoop. For larger meatballs, use 1/4 cup meat per meatball or use a generous 2" scoop. For mini meatballs, use 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons per meatball or a generous 1-1/4" scoop. Place meatballs on baking sheets. Bake large meatballs for 30 minutes and mini meatballs for 15 minutes, until no longer pink in center.



As always there are lots of great recipes in this month's SRC.



9 comments:

  1. What a great meatball recipe. I've never used buttermilk in meatballs before either, but I bet it's a great addition.

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  2. i've been addicted to meatballs lately. i'll have to give these a shot!

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  3. Kim, thanks so much for the great write-up about my meatballs. You chose one of my family's favorites. I'm glad you liked them. I've wondered about omitting the pork myself, or substituting some ground turkey in the recipe. Good to hear your all-beef meatballs turned out well. And, I'm happy to have a new SRC pal. :-)

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  4. I've heard that milk (or probably buttermilk) is a great addition altho I have never tried it. I wonder what it would do for dry, lifeless turkey meatballs? I may have to do these on a rainy Sunday!

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  5. I've never have thought to add buttermilk. Those meatballs look HUGE!

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  6. man alive! your poor, poor husband! i adore pork! haha...

    as with everyone else - the buttermilk has me tickled. Will add it next time i make balls. haha, balls.

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  7. Those meatballs sound super flavorful even without the pork.

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  8. There is nothing in the world like a good meatball. I'm intrigued by the addition of buttermilk, will definitely have to try that!

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  9. I never thought to add buttermilk, very interesting and they do sound wonderful.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my SRC entry: Broiled Sushi.

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

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