@Auspicious, this will be fun to look back on for my next “mince” (which is what husband calls ground meat) project. I just made Salisbury Steak…using some SE ideas!
I do always have Panko crumbs, and use them from time to time, but have also read about the benefits of a panade in non-SE places, so I don’t dismiss it. Haven’t done aside by side though. That’s what Kenji’s for.
Also, I would love to have you sharpen my knives and chop my alliums, but not sure I would use them for meatballs. Meatloaf, Salisbury, chili, yes, but why not granulated for meatballs? Again, haven’t done side by side, but for dry rubs, and unless I’m cooking the onions first, for meatballs, granulated makes sense in this application for me. I can’t imagine getting even a puree to evenly mix in to pounds of ground meat. Maybe with a stand mixer, but I don’t like my meatballs to develop whatever that is that develops when you mix meat a long time.
Wweeelllll - because I don’t have any? It would go off (taste not safety) before I ever used it up. I run through a lot of fresh onion so that is always there and a fine dice is a minute’s work. Also the opportunity to saute onion and garlic and pepper before incorporating in the meat. I like that. Not in my recipe as I recognize it is a peccadillo.
Glue. sigh The fat distributes through the muscle fiber and turns to library paste. Unless you have a Robot Coupe and training I think running ground meat through a stand mixer is ill-advised.
I have don’t bread crumbs and parade side-by-side but I have done both. I find hand mixing the crumbs works better. YMMV. Hand size? Who knows?
I DO feel hand mixing crumbs works better, and I wear large garden gloves, BUT, when I get the panade just right; no discernable bread chunks, but also not a gluey paste, the mixing goes well, and is supposed to mean moister meat balls.
Honestly, most of my meatballs are quite edible, but I still like to know where to get the most bang for the effort. Of course bang and effort is relative.
From the picture I see long thin fingers. Who am I to say? I still picture John @Harters as a tall, thin Brit ambling across the moors no matter how many times he tells me differently. We build images in our heads. I have wide palms and short fingers. Serviceable.
Years ago there was a show on FN called Food Detectives with Ted Allen as the host. One of the episodes featured a buttermilk panade for meatballs as a tenderizer so that SE recipe is old news. . I’ve used it several times over the years if I happen to have it in the fridge. Never really noticed much difference. And this part of the SE recipe got my attention as far as the stock gel went.
“I’ll admit that this is the one part of the recipe that might seem like a little too much of a pain in the butt. If this is the only thing standing between you and making these meatballs, know that it’s entirely optional. You’ll get amazing meatballs either way.”
If you get “amazing meatballs either way” then why bother with the gel.
Interesting tidbit that I remember from Food Detectives: They tried a poppy seed test to see who would fail a drug test due to the poppyseed controversy. The Poppyseed cake volunteer flunked the drug test. Well enough of my rambling for one night.
Yes, gardening thread. Holding a plant in your left hand as I recall.
Buttermilk is not a regular stock item for us. Yes, yes, sub acid and milk but then I have to open a UHT box since we don’t go through a lot of milk anyway, and UHT cup-sized boxes are hard to come by these days. I’m perfectly happy with crumbs and find them easier and better than a gloppy soupy bread thing (<- technical cooking term).
As for the stock gel, that goes directly to my point that SE makes things unnecessarily complicated to show how smart (they think) they are.
Then there is the whole advertising mill issue.
How does it compare to just using a roux to thicken a gravy? Taste, texture, convenience, fat content?
Mouthfeel, supposedly. Fuller, maybe heavier, like when you’ve cooked your chicken stock enough to set up when chilled. And it’s low carb. I can’t swear I could tell, but it just takes a bit of gelatin. FWIW, I don’t see them marketing gelatin, but maybe SE is more devious than that. BTW, Cooks Illustrated mentions the gelatin as well, but they are fairly straight up about how they stay in business.
Per CI
"We often add gelatin to stews and braises to give them a silky, rich texture that you’d otherwise get only if you started with a homemade broth (the bones and meat used to make broth contain lots of collagen, which breaks down to form gelatin). When developing our recipe for Better Chicken Marsala (see related content), we realized that adding gelatin to the sauce enhanced its texture in just the same way, giving it a great silky texture. "
With all due respect, I have little if anything to gain by sharing this, but I do it anyway.
Also, I don’t use buttermilk in my panade, but I do keep buttermilk powder in my refrigerator .
Hmm. I have used gelatin sheets before cooking in other people’s kitchens. I didn’t find a big difference from roux BUT I didn’t test side-by-side.
Never knew buttermilk powder existed. I have been part of long, grinding discussions about the relative merit of UHT milk and milk powder. Like politics, no one changes their minds.
100 grams of day old bread crumbs
90 ml. milk
250 grams pork minced or ground
250 grams beef or veal minced or ground
1 tablesp finely chopped parsley
2 or 3 cloves of fresh garlic
salt and black pepper to taste
2 eggs
unbleached flour ecological for dusting or coating
Evoo for frying
SAUCE:
60 ml Extra virgin olive oil
100 grams of finely chopped onion or shallot
1 carrot thinly sliced
2 tsps of unbleached ecological flour
750 ml. beef broth from stock
60 ml. freshly made tomato sauce purée
90 ml. dry white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1st prepare the sauce by heating the Evoo in a heat proof casserole and sauté the onion and the carrot on low flame for 10 minutes approx. Add the flour. When the flour browns, add the broth from the stock, tomato sauce and the white wine.
Season with salt and blk. pepper and cook over low slow flame for 20 minutes to 30 minutes.
To make the meatballs, soak the bread in the milk and then press out the liquid and combine with the meat, parsley and the garlic. Season with salt and blk. pepper and add the eggs and combine well to form a paste. Shape the meatballs with your hands, and coat lightly with flour and transfer to a floured surface.
Heat the Evoo in a skillet or frying pan. Sauté the meatballs a few at a time and transfer to a heat proof dish as they are cooked.
Put the sauce in a blender and purée. Drizzle over the meatballs … Cook for a half an hour over very low heat …
Serve with focaccia or chapata crusty rustic bread. And a glass of red wine of choice.
As promised, here is our family recipe for Greek meatballs - AKA: Keftethes
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
2 medium onions, very finely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 scant teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground
1 teaspoon dried leaf Greek oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon dried mint, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced, or 2 teaspoons dried, crushed
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 - 1 cup dry white wine (3/4 cup if using Ouzo - if not, use 1 cup wine)
2 ounces Ouzo - (optional)
Flour
Olive or vegetable oil
Butter
Thoroughly mix meat, onion, fresh and granulated garlic, S&P, oregano, mint, parsley and cheese. I do this by hand.
To avoid having the bread soak up all the meat juices, soak the bread crumbs in the wine and ouzo (if using) Squeeze out (but save) the wine and ouzo mixture; add the bread crumbs to the mixture. Add the wine-ouzo mixture, and then bind with the egg. Knead gently to incorporate all.
Shape the mixture into 1 inch diameter balls, roll in flour, and sauté in equal amounts of oil and butter, until golden brown. These can also be baked, but take care to not overcook.
These are great heated in a seasoned tomato sauce, (onions, garlic, Greek oregano, mint, and cinnamon.) Enjoy!
will share Greek meatball recipe later. Keftides. Requires Ouzo!
