Have a (Meat) Ball

When I say “meatball,” what comes to mind? I suspect for most of us, it’s that family staple, good old Italian-American spaghetti with meatballs and red sauce. Culturally, my history with meatballs varies from my New England neighbors. In my patch of the Farm Belt in the 1950s, the neighbors were, by and large, of German and Scandinavian heritage. Not many Italians. A Sunday meal out might have included a visit to a church smorgasbord, where you could count on Swedish meatballs as one of the entrees. Yes, we occasionally had spaghetti and meatballs, but not often.

By the time I had moved to Massachusetts in the 1970s, I would trade Sunday dinners with a couple of friends. One had taught me his traditional spaghetti recipe with handmade meatballs and a red sauce that begins with tomatoes and cooks down over the afternoon in a big pot on the stove. Since then, I’ve eaten and enjoyed – mostly – a variety of meatball recipes including faggots with potatoes and gravy and mushy peas, a traditional Welsh meatball recipe, on a visit to Wales in 2016. This summer, I made tsukune, a Japanese recipe for chicken meatballs grilled on a skewer. In happier times, meatballs are a crowd-pleaser during Sunday football as an appetizer – a slow-cooker filled with meatballs in a sauce.

Meatball season

Now that the cool weather has arrived, I’ll begin to think about some new ideas for meatballs. It must be meatball season now, judging from the recipes that populate food websites like Epicurious, My Recipes, and Food and Wine. Each has roughly 300 different approaches to meatballs. The latest from Epicurious is Pork Meatballs and Cucumber Salad. They’re showing up in restaurants: I had meatballs for dinner at the Mission Oak Grill in Newburyport last week, socially distanced outside under the heat lamps!

Meatballs are both versatile and efficient. The beauty of meatballs is that they can be varied by different sauces and spices. While it may require more preparation, I think of meatballs as an easy second meal. My friend, subscriber (and hair stylist) Marlene Succi says she makes twice the number of meatballs needed for a meal, bakes half, and freezes the remainder to use later. I would add that you might make extra even for the first batch. Warmed-up meatballs can be adapted for use in salads, lettuce wraps, sandwiches, soups, and pizzas.

What makes a good meatball?

A good meatball starts with ground meat, often a combination of beef and pork. Adding ground pork is good because the fat adds flavor and keeps the meatball moist. You might consider poultry or other meats — even fish. And you’ll probably want to add some chopped alliums (onions, shallots, scallions, and/or garlic). Next comes something to hold it together: breadcrumbs, panko, or even rolled oats and a binder such as egg or milk. Finally, some seasonings — your choice of herbs, spices or other flavor blends that can create your signature taste — maybe even grated cheese, grated ginger, chopped nuts or chopped chipotle.  As for the ratios, most cooking pros suggest that for every pound of protein, use a handful of breadcrumbs or other texture-builder, a handful of chopped alliums and an egg.  Seasoning should be appropriate but not overboard, and don’t forget the salt.  To test, try cooking a spoonful in a fry pan and taste.

Don’t just think of meatballs as plain, down-and-dirty fare. You can ramp up your meatballs by using a higher quality of ground meat, by adding dried fruits or nuts, or incorporating cheese. How about going regional by adding tortilla chips or interesting grains instead of breadcrumbs? In Quebec, meatballs are made with ground pork, onions, and spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, simmered in a gravy thickened with toasted flour and served with mashed potatoes and pickled beets.

If I’ve succeeded in urging you to consider a meatball dinner to add some variety during this stay-at-home shutdown, why not make your own version and experiment a bit? Then, roast, sauté, or steam them and maybe finish the cooking in a sauce, stew, or soup. Surprise the household with your new creation. Or maybe you already have an old family recipe that you haven’t tried in a long time. Give it a shot. Have a ball! And let us know how you made out.

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