Frankies' Meatballs Recipe | Cook the Book (2024)

FAQs

Why did meatballs fall apart? ›

Because meat shrinks when cooked, mince proteins are likely to separate and crumble unless bound together. Whether it's breadcrumbs or egg (or both), or simply salt, binding the mince is a crucial step in maintaining the softness of your meatballs while preventing them from falling apart.

The most likely candidate for the original meatball seems to be kofta, a dish of minced or ground beef, chicken, pork, or lamb, mixed with rice, bulgur, or mashed lentils. Now typically fashioned into cigar-sized cylinders, kofta seems to have originated with the Persians, who passed it to the Arabs.

You only need a small amount of egg – it's there only to help the cooked meatball retain its shape, and shouldn't detract from the meat's flavour or texture. Filler ingredients like breadcrumbs or flour are important too because they stop the meatballs becoming dry.

The dish served in Italy that most closely resembles spaghetti and meatballs is probably beef ragù, two classic versions of which originated in Naples and Bologna. Ragù Napoletano and Bolognese Ragù have been served in Italy since the Renaissance of the 14th and 15th centuries.

Yes, Italy has its version of meatballs called polpettes, but they differ from their American counterpart in multiple ways. They are primarily eaten as a meal itself (plain) or in soups and made with any meat from turkey to fish.

Spaghetti and meatballs is but one of the great Italian-American dishes not otherwise found in Italy as such; though, I know that my readers have enjoyed eating the dish their entire lives.

Sicilian meatballs, on the other hand, are typically made from a combination of ground beef and ground pork, along with ingredients like garlic, onion, parsley, breadcrumbs, and sometimes even pine nuts and raisins. They are often served in a tomato sauce or a sweet and sour sauce made from vinegar and sugar.

What was found in IKEA meatballs? ›

Czech authorities alerted the discount furniture maker that they had found horsemeat in a sample of meatballs, and Ikea subsequently pulled the product from stores in 14 countries.

When it comes to adding liquid to meatball mixtures, milk is often used for its versatility, depth of flavor, and richness. Without the use of milk, you may be faced with a plate of dry meatballs. Milk adds a certain level of moisture that helps produce perfectly tender meatballs.

Chill your meatballs: refrigerating your meatballs an hour before cooking helps them hold their shape throughout the cooking process. They can chill in the fridge for up to 24 hours before cooking, making meatballs a great make-ahead dish, too.

The only way to prevent your meatballs from falling apart is to add some flour in the precooked seasoned ground beef. once you season the ground beef to your taste, you then add some flour, not too much but at least half of a handful.

The only thing that can happen with a lot of mixing is that the grain of the meat can break down and get smoother but even with lots of mixing you will retain that nice meatball grain.

When roasted, the collagen and connective tissue present in meat will start to break down. It will melt more thoroughly if slow-roasted, and if you add liquid, it will break down even more quickly as it's water soluble.

Don't Over-Mix the Meat

Over-mixing. The more you mix ground meat with seasonings, the tougher, springier, and more compact the finished product will be—we want loose and tender, not tight and sausage-like.

More Reasons Your Meatballs are Hard

Sticky hands can result in an overworked farcemeat. Too much time spent forming the balls can also make them tough, and you're more likely to overwork them if you can't get them off your hands.