Finally! Moist Meatballs
As a descendent of an Italian immigrant family, I have been handed down numerous variations of Meatball recipes from great- grandmother to grandmother to mother then me. That’s a picture of Mom over on the left.
Then after marrying an Irish-Italian man I was given his Italian families versions of their best meatball recipes. I could fill a book with these recipes.
However, they really don’t differ much.
It could be as simple as a little less cheese or no parsley but basically the same. However, I could never find one recipe that really gave me a nice moist meatball and one that would stay moist after being cooked in spaghetti sauce.
Solution was not in the ingredients but in the method of preparing. Thus, I have found a method that makes a moist and juicy meatball.
Watch me prepare moist meatballs in this video below and see how easy it really is!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground meat (preferably chuck)
- 2 slices bread or rolls
- 1 cup milk
- 1 whole large egg
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 TBS. chopped parsley
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp. course ground black pepper
- ½ tsp. salt ( to taste)
Directions:
- In large bowl mix together with your hands (best tool for this recipe) the bread, milk, egg, garlic, parsley, and cheese. You can also use a food processor for this. Mix until well blended. It will be a very runny mixture.
- Add the ground meat, salt and pepper and mix well, again using hands.
- The mixture will feel soft and moist. Shape into balls.
- Fry in olive oil or microwave or bake until fully cooked.
- Now you are ready to add the cooked meatballs to simmer in your spaghetti sauce. Here’s my Marinara Sauce Recipe along with a video.
Filed under: Italian Food
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We can’t wait to try this recipe. We’ve tried Mary’s stuffed pepper recipe and it is to die for!
Hi Marilyn:
Would love to hear from you after you try the recipe. I plan to post the stuffed pepper recipe soon.
What a pretty adornment this cook is to her efficient kitchen! I thought she had a lovely manicure and wondered if she ever uses disposable gloves when attacking mixings that are best done by hand. I never knew to cook the meatballs first – always dropped them into the simmering sauce as I formed them I’m sure Mary’s way retains the individual meat flavor. Is it permissable to freeze meatballs? Cooked or uncooked? When visiting my married daughter with family I would cook a large batch for the freezer to save her time. My favorite pictured “recipe” is “Mom.” I miss our darling Moms. I’ve had a wonderful visit with Mary today. Thank you
Hi Carmen:
I too enjoyed our visit. Yes, you can freeze the meatballs once they are cooked. I still prefer baking my meatballs instead of frying, less fat and they stay really moist that way.
I enjoyed your video and plan on trying your meatball recipe out. The video says 1 1/2 lbs ground meat but the recipe says 1 lb. I don’t want to mess up the recipe, so which is the correct amount? I’m planning on serving the meatballs as an appetizer, so I’ll make the meatballs much smaller. How will this affect the baking time? Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Julie:
Sorry for the discrepancy. Use 1 lb. of ground meat and if too moist add seasoned bread crumbs. Just remember the liquid (milk, eggs) is what makes these meatballs moist.They make excellent appetizers, just bake 20 to 30 minutes.
I tried this recipe…these meatballs are the best!!! Great flavor, very moist and light. Thanks for sharing.