How To Prepare and Cook Meatballs

Simple meatball recipes are the result of some must-have ingredients. Each ingredient has its own traits, and when combined together serve you delicious flavored meatballs. 

Let’s know the required ingredients and start gathering accordingly: 

Ground Beef

This traditional meat is an ideal choice that is classic and flavorful. Use fresh meat and avoid using previously frozen meat as fresh meat holds together well and will taste fresher. 

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs help the meatballs bind together and can absorb and retain moisture so that they are juicy and flavorful. People have their personal preferences but you can make fresh breadcrumbs at home using a stale 2-3 day-old bread. 

Fresh Onions and Garlic

These ingredients give a pleasing flavor to the meatballs. If possible use freshly chopped onions and garlic, otherwise, you can choose to use powdered ones. 

Eggs

Eggs have binding agents that hold together other ingredients. In the case of a vegan option, you can use a flaxseed meal, applesauce, or even add extra breadcrumbs or oats, all these pretty much do the binding thing. 

Whole Milk

This liquid substance infuses the meatballs with moisture as a result meatballs become tender and juicy. It also keeps the meatballs from drying during cooking. If not for dairy milk, use any plant-based milk like almond milk or coconut milk. 

Parmesan Cheese

Use real Parmigiano Reggiano for the best authentic flavor. The umami flavor of the cheese compliments the meat and other seasonings while adding slight richness and creaminess which enhances the overall flavor of the meatballls. 

Oil

Oil helps meatballs brown better and creates a nice crunchy golden brown crust. You will also use oil to grease your palm, to cook your meatballs on the stovetop, or to grease the oven tray/pan. 

Tools Needed

• Mixing Bowls
• Sharpe Knife and Cutting Board
• Large Skillet, Oven, or Airfryer (based on the method you use)
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Ice Cream or Cookie Scoop
• Parchment Paper
• Tongs

Before cooking, there comes the need to prepare meatballs using essential ingredients. So, let's move towards the preparation of meatballs:

Ingredients Measurements

• Ground Beef: 1 pound
• Breadcrumbs: 1 cup
• Salt: 1 teaspoon ( adjust to taste)
• Black Pepper: ½ teaspoon
• Onion: ½ cup finely chopped
• Garlic: 3-4 cloves, minced
• Egg: 1-2 large
• Whole Milk: ½ cup 
• Parmesan Cheese: 1 cup
• Fresh Herbs: 1-2 teaspoon

1. Make the Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are a must for meatballs. They absorb the moisture and don't let the meatballs dry resulting in a perfectly cooked and crisp outcome.  

How to make breadcrumbs:

So, let’s get started:

• Tear up slices of stale 2-3-day-old bread into pieces. Fresh bread is fine to use, too, but may take a little longer to toast up.
• Place in a food processor and blitz into fine crumbs. If a finer pulse is preferred, then pulse a little longer.
• You could toast your breadcrumbs or use it fresh. 
• Toast them in an oven: Just spread the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. Then, splash with a little olive oil and a bit of salt, until dried, tossing occasionally.
• Toast the breadcrumbs in a skillet: heat the oil for about 2 minutes, add the crumbs with seasonings of the choice- salt, thyme, and black pepper, and stir constantly until the crumbs are golden and nicely toasted.

2. Combine the Ingredients

Very firstly, add all the ingredients from ground beef, breadcrumbs, to fresh herbs in a large mixing bowl. A large mixing bowl helps you mix the ingredients well without making a mess. 

Now Mix the ingredients until combine equally. It is a good idea to use your hands to give a good mix to the ingredients, a spatula won’t be a good choice here. 

3. Shape the Ingredients into Meatballs

Here comes the fun part, turning the mixture into a shape. Bring an ice cream scoop to the highlight and scoop out the meatball paste, get it on your hand and give a good structure by rolling the meatball portion on the palm of your hands. 

Just roll enough until the meatballs get into a good round shape. Once you're done with that, place that meatball on a dish and continue the same thing with the rest of the meatballs. 

In case you don’t have a scoop, no worries, simply take some meatball paste with your finger and turn it into a round ball-like shape. That way you can shape meatballs into a desired size. 

Tip: apply some oil on your hands while rolling the meatballs as it smoothes out the process and binds the meatball ingredients together. Also, keep the size of meatballs uniform or they won’t cook evenly within the recommended cooking time. 

A perfect meatball is crisp from the out and tender from the in. And you can make a restaurant like meatballs at home with some easy steps.

The main tool you’ll need is a frying pan, use a normal or non-stick one based on the convenience. So, let’s learn how to cook meatballs on a stove: 

Step 1: Heat the Pan

Once done making meatballs, sit the pan or skillet on the stove to allow it to heat. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of oil (use any vegetable oil) into the pan and let it simmer for a minute. Oil becoming thinner in texture means it got ready for the next step. 

Since this process is frying meatballs in a pan and might need some extra oil, so adjust accordingly. 

Step 2: Cook the Meatballs

Let’s cook the meatballs. Transferring the meatballs with hands is a risky thing so use tongs and put them into the heated oil. Don’t just keep on adding the meatballs, this will only lead to overcrowding and uneven cooking. 

So, lay the meatballs in a way that each one has some space to breathe, that way they cook evenly and turn crispy.

Cook them for about 8-10 minutes in medium heat. High heat does not mean fast cooking, it just burns the meatballs. 

While cooking pay attention to their colors, as they start becoming brown turn them to other sides. So this turning thing should be done frequently until they are completely brown. 

Step 3: Check for the Doneness

Once they browned, check whether they’re ready or not, if not you need to continue cooking for extra 1 or 2 minutes. 

To do the doneness test, take out a meatball and cut open it, if there are no signs of pink color and the inside is all light brown that means it cooked well. However, having even a slight pink color means it needs some cooking time. 

Step 4: Drain the Meatballs and Serve

The cooking ends here. Turn the stove off, take those cooked meatballs out from the pan using tongs, and place them on a plate or shallow dish that is lined with parchment paper.

The paper absorbs the excess oil from the meatballs and makes them less oily. For better results, pat dry the meatballs with parchment paper that way almost most oil gets into the paper. 

First, let them cool for one or two minutes, and then proceed to serve them with your favorite dish. You can pair it with pasta, dipping sauce, or make meatball subs; the options are countless. 

Other Ways To Cook Meatballs

Pan fry or stove method is not the only way to cook meatballs. There are a few methods too, use those methods and experience the difference. Let’s get started.

1. In the Oven

An oven is another easiest way to cook meatballs since it does everything and you only need to place the meatballs inside it. That means there’s no need to flip the meatballs frequently. 

So, let’s learn how to bake meatballs:

Note: We’ll be discussing only the cooking process in the oven, if want to know about the preparation of meatballs read the detailed steps in the previous block. 

Instructions

• Before jumping to the cooking, set the oven to heat for 400°F. This ensures a heated atmosphere inside the oven resulting in the even and slightly quick baking of meatballs. 
• First, clean the baking sheet, grease some oil, and then lay the parchment paper on the baking sheet. This whole thing does not let the meatballs be sticky and also eases the cleaning process after baking. 
• Now, arrange the uniformly well-shaped meatballs on the baking sheet. While doing it, make sure to leave an inch of space between the balls that space helps to create a crispy texture and cook evenly. 
• If all the prepared meatballs don’t fit into a baking sheet, bake them in another batch but don’t try to fit all into one go. 
• Once done arranging the meatballs, place the baking sheet inside the oven and bake them for about 20-25 minutes. You can spray or brush some oil or butter to the meatballs before baking, this is optional but gives a good texture to the balls.
• Meatballs become ready when they turn brown. When the suggested cooking time ends, you can take them out of the oven wearing heat-resistant gloves to prevent any burns. 
• Let those hot meatballs sit for 2-3 minutes on that baking sheet. Then, move towards the serving process and enjoy. 

2. In the Airfryer

If we talk about the healthiest way to make meatballs, then it’d be air-frying. But how? It doesn’t demand the use of oil or just a little. And the best part is they cook faster than the oven ones. 

This meatball air-frying recipe is going to be your favorite one. So, let’s learn to make meatballs in the air fryer: 

Instructions

• Allow the air fryer to heat for about 350°F.
• While it preheats, prepare the meatballs and give them a nice round shape. 
• Lay the meatballs into the air fryer basket leaving some an inch of space among them and then cook for about 8 minutes. 
• Soon after 8 minutes pass, take them out, shake the basket a bit, and cook for another 2-3 minutes that way meatballs cook evenly. 
• Once cooked evenly, transfer on top of a paper towel to drain and your meatballs are ready to serve. 

The secret behind delicious meatballs is the cooking time. If overcooked, tastes bitter whereas if undercooked, tastes like raw meat, and both ways meatballs are not edible. 

Normally, the stovetop or pan-frying method takes about 8-10 minutes, giving that perfect crisp texture to the meatballs. The oven is a bit slow here, so it takes 20-25 minutes of your time to give you nicely brown meatballs. 

And air fryer is somewhere close to the stove method. Just grant 10-12 minutes time and your meatballs come tender from the inside. 

This whole cooking time varies depending on the size of the meatballs. Bigger ones take slightly more time to cook, but those with medium ones cook well in the above-mentioned times. 

Leftover meatballs? No worries! Place those meatballs in an airtight container and pop them in the refrigerator that way they can go for a whole week. But avoid placing the meatballs in those areas that are prone to temperature fluctuations as it spoils them sooner.

And store the same meatballs in the freezer if you want them to last for up to 2 months. That sounds so relieving, right? I mean we could eat meatballs anytime we want. 

Note: Cooked meatballs must be cool enough before putting them into the jar, otherwise the remaining moisture leads to spoilage. 

How to freeze raw meatballs? 

The preparation of meatballs is a bit more effortful thing. When you have to repeat the same thing more frequently, it just becomes too tedious. 

Why not make meatballs ahead and freeze them so that you can cook them anytime you need? You know what raw meatballs stay fresh for up to 2 months that means you can directly jump into the cooking process. 

All it asks is to put those raw ones into airtight containers and store them in the freezer. You just need to keep an eye on the temperature, that’s all.

Make sure the freezer has a constant internal temperature of 0 °F or -18°C. If it goes up and down, not good for the texture of the meatballs. 

Indeed meatballs taste so good when eaten alone but have you tried pairing it with other dishes? I mean the taste just gets better. Here are some ways to serve and eat meatballs: 

• Meatball Subs: Add crispy meatballs in a crusty sub roll and top with marinara sauce and melted cheese for an Italian comfort meal, giving you a taste of ideal snacks. 
• Spaghetti: Been eating spaghetti alone? If so, then give it a pair with some meatballs and enjoy a satisfying combo. Customize the seasonings accordingly to elevate the flavors. 
• Fried Broccoli: Broccoli when fried releases a slight natural sweetness and this one goes pretty well with oven-baked or fried meatballs. 
• Baked Pasta: This creamy pasta and cheesy meatballs are all we could ask for a drooling experience. 
• Mashed Potatoes and Gravy: Toss the freshly cooked meatballs into the mashed potatoes gravy and there you have a stomach-filling dish ready on a plate.