Meatballs (and sauces)

trigger2

I do my sauce with a little balsamic vinegar too, then I whizz it up with the handblender as the kids don;t like bits !

Blairweech

It seems every time I make meatballs they fall apart Should I leave them in the fridge for an hour or so after making?

trigger2

do you use a beaten egg to bind them ? i also add breadcrumbs, but i don;t chill them before cooking, i just cook them straightaway - can't wait !

MATH

I make a sauce very similar to the one Rikki posted except that just before seving I stir in a small cup of HM natural yoghurt or some creme fraiche which makes the sauce wonderfully creamy. I always chill my balls before frying:eek: to seal and then simmer in the sauce to cook through. Another nice addition to pork meatballs is to swap the beaten egg for grated apple. HTH

jonny2510

Thanks for the ideas so far.

I've got 2 large eggs that need eating up, so should i chuck one of them in the mix for the meatballs?

Also, do I just use the white, or do I stick the whole lot in?

squeaky

Hi everyone

I've just collected a few of our recent meatball threads into one place (here, as it happens) so you might like to read this thread from the beginning to pick up recipes and ideas.

Good luck

jonny2510

Well I did it, and it tasted great!

I'll add my recipe now (if for no one else, for my own future reference!)

(This was enough for 2, with enough liquid left over to be frozen, to be reused as a single portion (just adding mincemeat again at some point in the future))

Meatballs:
250g of minced beef
1 piece of grated bread
1/2 onion (large) - grated
1 large garlic clove - chopped fine
1 egg (whisked) - i used a large one, which seemed to make the meatballs a bit soggy - I'll use a bit less next time

Sauce:
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tin water
schwartz italin bolognaise spices (I didn't want to have to buy lots of herbs I'd rarely use, so this seems to include the main ones. If I do more pasta in the future I'l buy them as I go on) - 1 tablespoon of
Worcester sauce - 2 teaspoons
2 garlic cloves - chopped up
1/2 onion - chopped
1 green pepper - chopped
4 mushrooms - chopped
salt
pepper
olive oil


To prepare / cook the meatballs:
mix all ingredients together and make into small meatballs
put in fridge for 1 1/2 hours (not sure if this is necessary, but I had to go out to pick up the OH)
Fry meatballs in oil until browned all over.
Add to prepared (already cooking) sauce

For the sauce: (Start at same time as cooking meatballs)
- Heat a little olive oil, and add garlic and onions - Stir for a minute
- Add the tinned tomatoes and 1/2 tin of water
- Add the herbs
- Add the rest of the vegetables (mushrooms and pepper)
- Bring to the boil, cover and simmer (for 20 mins, stirring occasionally)
- When meatballs are browned, add to the sauce and cook through with sauce for remainder of the 20 mins
- Before serving, add the worcester sauce, season with salt and pepper, and stir through.

Hope this can be of help for someone (and if not I'll use it as a ref for myself in the future).

I'm quite new to cooking (been doing it since we moved into our house August this year) so if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can improve this, or anything I'm doing wrong, please let me know

debzy_2

hi normally a bit of a lurker on the boards but had to add my recipe for BBQ sauce which i make to go with my meatballs. Really easy and absolutely gorgeous

BBQ SAUCE

5oz can tomato puree
water (2 x 5oz can above)
4tbsp Dark sugar
2tsp english mustard
2tbsp worcestershire sauce
2tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

Just put it all into a saucepan and bring to the boil - mmmmmmmmmmm

Buggins

Really lazy sauce - Lidl's have just started doing a chilled sachet of creamy tomato and basil - place sachet in boiling water for 5 - 7 minutes and voila! Ready to serve on the meatballs and very tasty (especially for 79p) !

Maxjessdru

A good recipe I found last week in one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks used sausages to make meatballs - just removet the skins, form into small balls and grill - served with pasta and mushroom sauce - very nice!

I normally make meatballs by whizzing up minced beef, one onion, homemade breadcrumbs and spices. The best spices (if anyone is going there on holiday!) are Turkish meatball spices, absolutely delicious. I normally serve these with pasta and red pepper saucee. The red pepper sauce is made with chopped onion, garlic, a tin of tomatoes and about 4 tinned roast peppers (jars in Lidl). Then just blitz and pour over the meatballs.