I Love Meatballs
I have been a long-time fan of meatballs. They are hearty and filling, full of protein, and, most importantly, tasty. They are a simple way of bringing Italian cuisine into your kitchen. They can be made by any level of cook, from beginner to expert. The diversity of the meatball allows for one to use their creative juices. Not only are meatballs diverse in skill level but also in cooking methods and recipes. If you quickly search the meatball, you will find an almost infinite number of recipes. The meatball is even more complex than that, as it is usually a component of a larger dish (although meatballs such as the Swedish meatball can be eaten by themselves). For instance, meatballs are often considered comfort food, perfect for the hearty plate of pasta served with a red sauce on a cold winter's day. They, however, can be a light summer dish as well. Roll them out at a smaller size and serve them with an antipasto. Maybe serve them with angel hair pasta tossed in fresh pesto.
Ground Beef Quality Check
Okay, that's enough of me and why I'm a meatball fan. You're probably reading this for one reason, TriTails beef. You probably are curious how we like to cook 'em here on the ranch. For us, the most essential factor to the meatball should be obvious, the meat. If you don't have a quality hamburger, your recipe doesn't matter; it simply won't turn out that well. Call me biased, but the TriTails ground chuck is the perfect meat to get the job done. One ground chuck has better flavor than a hamburger that uses trim. Trim is usually the unwanted part of the processing. Often trim ends up being too fatty and inconsistent in its taste. You receive a consistent product with ground chuck, as the grind always comes from a chuck roast. TriTails grinds its meat course and has the sweet spot of 20% fat and 80% lean. Yes, this all matters because it equates to that perfect meat for your meatball.
The TriTails Italian Meatball
At home, my wife and I love cooking meatballs in various ways, but for this article, we will discuss our favorite. The significant part is that it isn't all that hard and is straight to the point. The perfect TriTails Italian meatball is ideal for any family meal or gathering. If you're alone, don't worry. You can cook a pound of it and keep it in the fridge for up to a week. They are great for the apparent pasta dish and classic meatball sandwich. However, they can be consumed alone with any sauce and perhaps a few slices of garlic bread. We are a fan of flavor and find that most recipes do not use enough seasoning. Keep in mind you can always cut back on the seasoning if you are someone who prefers less salty foods.
Preparation
The preparation is very straightforward and to the point. There are a few shortcuts possible such as using garlic paste or pre-shredded parmesan cheese, but I'm going to keep to what I usually do. To start, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, shred a cup of parmesan cheese on a cutting board and move it to a bowl or container. On the same cutting board, mince half a large sweet onion (or a whole medium one) and two garlic cloves. You can leave them on the cutting board. The bread crumbs are an area I usually cheat and buy at the store (if you use Italian, omit oregano and basil from this recipe). However, if you have bread that is a little stale but not moldy, you can use a food processor to make crumbs. Just bake 'em in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes on a tin foil-lined cookie sheet (spread the crumbs out evenly). Regardless you will need about one cup of breadcrumbs. Seasonings you will need are salt, pepper, oregano, and dried basil. You will also need to have one egg beaten in a bowl. Have a cookie sheet lined with parchment close by.
Put it all together.
Add in a bowl one pound of TriTails ground chuck. In the same bowl, add your onion and garlic, as well as your parmesan cheese and egg. For seasoning, I use two teaspoons of salt, two teaspoons of pepper, one teaspoon of oregano, and one teaspoon of dried basil. If you prefer less seasoning, use one teaspoons of salt and one teaspoon of pepper. The last thing is to add a cup of breadcrumbs to your dish to help thicken the mixture. Now the fun part is mixing! Get messy and use your hands to mix. Once you're done mixing, roll out your meatballs to be an inch and a half large. If you find your meatballs are falling apart, add the extra breadcrumbs to the mixture. Place them rolled on the baking sheet about half an inch apart. Place in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Once done, serve the meatballs as desired
- 1 Pound TriTails Ground Chuck
- 1 Medium Sweet Onion
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Beaten Egg
- 1 Cup Bread Crumbs
- Two teaspoons of Salt
- Two teaspoons of Black Pepper
- One teaspoon of Dried Oregano
- One teaspoon of Dried Basil
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, shred parmesan cheese, mince onion, and garlic cloves, and beat an egg.
- Add all your ingredients to a large bowl, including spices, and mix by hand.
- Roll out the meatball to one and a half inches and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment. If the meatballs fall apart, add an extra half cup of breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 30 minutes and serve.