Do you bake your meatballs or fry/brown them in the pan? (tomato, homemade)
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Brown them in olive oil, then slow simmer them covered in a crock pot to whatever level of tenderness you prefer. Then mix them into your sauce as it simmers. Make a lot and freeze them.
Slow cooking is the way to cook meat, unless you want to use the grill.
As a rule I brown them in a large skillet and then add the sauce to that and let it cook. Im not above baking them but doing them in the skillet means everything is done in one pan.
Just a tip to add to the meatball discussion. Add shredded pecorino cheese to meatballs, gives them a nice kick!
While I usually brown mine in a skillet before adding them to sauce, a few years ago I saw a Batali recipe for baked meatballs where a buttload of pecorino and some butter were added to the meat (along with herbs) and then baked. Texture was a bit different (more bite on surface of meatball) but they were delicious. I'll use that method when making a ton of meatballs, but I still brown on the skillet when it's just the wife and I.
I absolutely love meatballs and make them often, all different types & recipes. I always finish them in sauce letting them simmer. I used to fry them but now I bake them. I bought a baking pan on Amazan that is specifically for baking meatballs - it has a rack that sits on top of the pan so the meatballs get brown all over. I make the meatballs (and yes, do add cheese - I use Parmesan), form with an ice cream scoop and pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then they go into the baking pan that I line the bottom with parchement paper. Pop them in the oven for 45 min and then simmer in the sauce that I have going on the stovetop.
Love meatballs, and they are always even better the next day.
I admire anyone who makes their meatballs for spaghetti from scratch but I buy mine frozen. I bake them in the oven, then place them individually on top of the pre-heated sauce that I've poured over the cooked spaghetti on a plate.
Both my wife and SIL warm the meatballs in the sauce.
We bake a large batch of turkey meatballs and freeze them in portions. Then we just take a portion, drop them in the sauce, and let them simmer in the sauce with a rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
I only bake them if I make Swedish meatballs, if making meatballs for red sauce then I put them in raw 1 hour before the sauce is done. My mom, and my grandma did it this way for years and my mom still does it and so do I. I stir them in gently once.
I fry mine. I used to sear them in a pan, then cook them the rest of the way in my sauce, but prefer the crunchy outside they get from frying.
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