How to make meatballs without cheese
meatballs are juicy, tender and light
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh white bread*
- 1 small onion
- 300 g minced beef
- 200 g minced pork
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 seasoning cube
- Dry chili pepper
- salt
- *3 regular-sized slices of bread = 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
Instructions
- Trim off the crust of the bread and break up into tiny crumbs using a food processor or by hand.
- Grate onions into a bowl, retaining the juices.
- Add bread crumbs to the grated onions and mix well. Leave to stand and soak.
- Meanwhile, beat egg, crush the garlic and mince parsley.
- Place the minced meat into a bowl.
- Add the bread crumbs that by now have soaked up the onion juices and softened.
- Add egg, garlic, parsley, black pepper, seasoning cube, chilli pepper and salt.
- Squeeze, squish and mix till well combined.
- Set a lined baking sheet or plate on the side.
- Mould into the desired size of balls and place on the plate.
- Put the meatballs in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to bind well.
- Use as needed.
- Fry or grill until gently browned before adding to your sauce
Notes
Note
- The size of the onions must be very tiny so that it blends well with the meat if not the meatballs will have a tendency to fall apart. I prefer to grate mine.
- You can use onion powder in place of fresh onions.
- Bread can also be soaked in 1/4 cup of milk or water, and excess squeezed out before use.
- Do not overmix your meatballs. Mix lightly to incorporate ingredients without crushing the meat into sausage meat, the meatballs will be dense.
- Do not roll the meatballs tightly. Use a light rolling motion when rolling them.
- Fresh bread crumbs add more moisture than dry.
- For best results, use your hands to mix your meatballs.
- Lightly rub water or oil on your hands when rolling meatballs to avoid it sticking to your hands.
- You can also use an ice cream scoop.
- Taste your meatball mixture before using it. Take a scant teaspoon of the mixture and fry until fully cooked, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Taste again until it is perfect, then use.
- You can fry your meatballs before using them, but baking or broiling is spatter-free, so consider that. Bake at 200 deg. C for 15-20 minutes. Grill (broil) for 10-15 minutes.
- When frying, brown your meatballs all over before putting in the sauce to finish cooking. If it browns in patches, it will tend to break apart.
- Leave to cool slightly before adding to sauce to prevent it from breaking apart.
