Cooking

You know what meatballs look like. This, however, can change your meatball-making experience.**

A few confessions to start: 1) Grandma R isn’t my grandma. In fact, there’s some debate as to whether the recipe is really hers, or if it came from a different grandmother, and 2) I’ve made some modifications over the years.

The original called for 2-4 cloves of chopped garlic. I don’t know about you, but I can’t chop garlic uniformly. Instead, I now rely on minced garlic pieces from The Spice House.

The key is to pan-fry the meatballs just to get a nice browning going on the outside. I finish them off by either simmering them in sauce or baking them in the oven.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or buffalo*
• 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• Minced garlic pieces
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley flakes, to taste
• Olive oil for pan frying

Instructions

Rehydrate the garlic pieces in warm water according to package instructions, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix with hands. Roll into uniformly sized balls and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the meatballs on all sides.

To finish, you can either transfer to your sauce pot and simmer until done, about 30 minutes, or transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Results

Meatballs have always been one of the Tiny Kitchen Assistant’s favorite foods. Meatball night is always a huge hit at our house. Leftovers (if there are any) make fantastic meatball sandwiches.

* Note: buffalo does work, but it cooks much more quickly than beef. Watch carefully to avoid burning.

** Photo from The Spice House, because I couldn’t take a picture that did their product justice.

Tags: beef, buffalo, meatballs, oven, pasta, sauce, stovetop

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