On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 07:19:59 -0600, notbob > wrote:

>I can't believe I'm writing this. I haven't bought, prepared, or even
>eaten a meatball in over 30 years. This due to the fact I reached
>lifetime meatball saturation back when I was in the service. But,
>yesterday I was at Trader Joe's and they were doing these little
>cocktail-sized (~1 inch) pork and beef meatballs in their full-time
>reel-you-in sample booth. I'm now hopelessly hooked. Since last
>night, I've been eating meatballs dipped in a half dozen of my fave
>dipping sauces and see no end in sight.
>
>So, anyone have any *good* pork/beef meatball recipes? The TJ meatballs
>are excellent ...cooked, browned, onions and spices.... but I'd like
>to try and do better. The more exotic, the better.
>
>nb
Jerry's Meat Balls
2 1/2 LB .ground pork ,veal and beef.
4 Large eggs
1/2 cup Locatelli Pecorino Romano, Grated.
&1/2 cup
6 large cloves Garlic. Chopped fine or pressed.
2 1/2 TBS. Kosher Salt
1 medium onion, grated (about ¼ cup)
½ cup Fresh (home grown), Basil, chopped fine. 1/2 TBS. Ground
rosemary (powder) & 1 Tsp. fresh home grown, thyme
Ground pepper to taste.
2 1/2 TBS. Oregano, Turkish
1-2 cup red wine, Ruffino, Chianti
1 to 2 cup bread crumbs. rough ground seasoned Italian Croutons. I
Added some Panco (Japanese) bread crumbs to the mixture.

1. Place meat in a mixing bowl, add the salt, pepper, seasoning
,oregano, grated cheese and eggs into the bowl.

2. Sauté onions in the oil until translucent, add the garlic, and
sauté slightly, or until it imparts its aroma. Cool and add all
sautéed ingredients to the bowl. Add the moisten (with wine), grated
croutons,(Bread crumb mixture) and mix all together, moistening with
wine until the mixture is soft. (Note the consistency of the
meatballs depends on the moisture added. Soften as desired. The
softer the mix, the softer the meatballs will be.) Taste and adjust
seasoning it needed.
This mixing is better done with your hands.
Refrigerate mixture for two hours. This made a 4 lb. 14 oz. mix.

Add Water or wine as needed to knead mixture so as to be able to form
the meat balls. I did not need to add any. mixture was VERY wet. But
still I was able to form meatballs.
Have a bowl of water to wet your hands. This makes rolling the meat
balls easier.
Lay the rolled meatballs out on a half baking sheet on
parchment paper.
I Then rolled the meatballs in Panko Japanese Bread crumbs.
I then placed the meatballs on a half sheet and placed in
the freezer for forty minutes to stiffen.
Fry in a little olive oil. Tried to maintain 325 degrees F
..to brown both sides. About Four minutes each side. Had a temperature
probe in frying pan. I fried mine in an electric skillet. Do not
overload the pan as the temperature of the oil will drop to low. 4 to
6 meatballs at a time. Place fried meat balls on a half baking sheet
on top of paper towels. Internal temp measured 140 degrees F.
Then placed meatballs in the oven at 300F for thirty minutes.
Remove and place on paper towels again to absorb the fat drippings.
Can be frozen at this point. ,and will then be added to the sauce to
further cooking.
This made 43 meatballs. Final weight was 4 lb. 3 5/8 oz..

Jerry