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Fresh meatballs or prepared frozen meatballs?
For the prepared ones, I brown them in a skillet with Olive oil, then add to the spaghetti sauce.
For the fresh ones, do the same, only make sure they get thoroughly cooked before putting in the sauce. Otherwise they will fall apart like a meatloaf. (The frozen prepared ones are precooked, and all you really do is brown them.)
I brown them to firm them up then I cook them in a crock pot with the sauce.
I fry them a little oil but my husband drops them into a pot of boiling water and boils them. He says it gets rid of a lot of the fat that way. I don't know where he got that recipe but it works.
You mold the meatballs softly and then fry them in olive oil..not till done. Then you add that oil to the sauce. Return the meatballs to the sauce so the pink in the middle finishes cooking. If you want a more detailed recipe freepmail me.
However, my memory is slightly vague as I have been a vegetarian for a few years now.
Regards, Ivan
I roll them and then bake them in a hot oven until brown. (on a piece of crumpled aluminun foil, so the fat drains away.) Then put them in the sauce. They hold their shape better that way. Frying is okay, but it adds fat and they sometimes lose the round form. The browning carmelizes the sugars in the meat and adds flavor. Never just drop them in the sauce.
Years of meat ball experience speaking here.
pinging the freeper kitchen!!!
TOH
Hi L.A. My mom browns them in a little oil in an electric skillet and then drops them in the tomato sauce and lets them simmer.
Her recipe is pretty similar to this one I found on the Net:
ITALY'S HOMEMADE MEAT BALLS
1/4 cup garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup parsley, minced
1 5 lb. package ground beef or chuck (or buy "meatloaf mix" in the meat dept. which is ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal put in 3 chunks in one package & use that instead)
1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese
3 cups bread crumbs
5 eggs
salt and pepper (not much - the cheese is salty)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Chop together garlic and parsley (a cleaver works well).
Wash hands. Put ground meat in large mixing bowl. Using hands, add garlic and parsley. Then add egg, cheese, spices and breads crumbs. Using hands, combine well, but mix lightly. Don't overmix or compress the mixture.
Take mixture and make into balls (don't press too tightly or the meatballs will be tough). Fry in a little oil.
Optional: Add to boiling spaghetti sauce and simmer until ready to serve.
Editor's Note: You can use chunks of Italian bread soaked in milk and squeezed dry as a substitute for the bread crumbs. Add whole cloves of garlic to the olive oil; mash them in with a fork as they roast. Add two bay leaves to the frying oil.
Submitted by: Marisa
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1658,133183-254193,00.html
Fry them, until they are nice and brown. then toss them in the sauce and cook it for a while to distribute the flavor.
I'm presently trying to cook some Mexican cornbread for the first time...ever! Good Luck.
First brown them on two sides in a pan with a little olive oil.Then drop them in the gravy [sauce for you northern Europeans], and let them them cook through [stirring gently occasionally]. Cook them about two-three hours. I also mix water into the meatballs to soften them up before frying them.
**Freeper Kitchen PING**
I usually bake my meatballs for about half an hour. They are yummy everytime.
I make meatballs by... first I put the chop meat into a bowl, next I add my seasoning, little thyme, some oregano, a bit of parsley, then I mix it up. I then dice some onions and garlic , saute them in wine. When the onions and garlic, are just about right I start putting my meatballs into the pan. As they brown I add the meatballs to my pot of sauce I've been simmering all day.
I shape the meatballs then bake them for about half an hour, or until nicely browned..... the amount of time depends on size. Then I simmer them in the sauce. Baking them takes less time then frying and accomplishes the same thing, without adding any fat.
With heat.