Meatballs
Published October 2, 2012
Evan Sung for The New York Times
- Total Time
- About 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
10 1-inch-thick slices of dry Italian bread
1 pound ground beef chuck
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, more to taste
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, more to taste
1 large egg
5 tablespoons finely grated pecorino Romano, more to taste
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
37 grams carbs; 129 milligrams cholesterol; 457 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 18 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 704 milligrams sodium; 36 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place 6 slices dried bread in a bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside until bread softens, about 5 minutes.
- Step 2
In another bowl, combine meat, parsley, garlic, egg, cheese and salt and pepper to taste, using your hands to mix the ingredients. Remove and discard crust from each slice of soaked bread. Squeeze water out of bread and, breaking it into small pieces, add it to meat. Work bread into meat until they are equally combined and mixture holds together like a soft dough. Moisten remaining slices of dried bread and add as needed.
- Step 3
Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium- to medium-low heat. Scoop out a tablespoon of meat mixture. Roll between the palms of your hands to form a ball about ¾ of an inch in diameter. Cook meatball until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. (A meatball that sticks to the pan is not ready to be turned.) Taste the meatball, and if needed, adjust seasoning of remaining mixture by adding more garlic, parsley, cheese and salt and pepper. Remaining meatballs should be 1 ½ inches in diameter. Cook meatballs in small batches. As each batch is completed, remove to a warmed serving plate. Add oil to pan as necessary. Serve when all the meatballs are cooked.
Meatballs used in the Drum of Ziti (Timpano alla 'Big Night') should be very small. Use ½-teaspoon measurer to scoop mixture and form into ¾-inch balls. If they will be added to Tucci ragù sauce, the meatballs should be slightly undercooked (about 6 minutes), as they will finish cooking in the sauce. Add them during the last half-hour of cooking.
Private Notes
Comments
Why do we have to make sure the bread is very dry, considering the first step of the prep is putting the dry bread in a bowl and covering it with warm water?
You are making space in the meatball when you use dry bread. Reconstituted dry bread has a different texture than fresh bread. Fresh bread would make the meatballs too dense. A concept used in Strata and bread stuffing.
Perhaps, it's the style of my Finnish born wife, but I prefer her use of mushrooms instead of the bread. More flavor and less feel of filling.
Similar to my Italian mom’s only she uses saltine crackers softened in milk.
I'm going to try this again. I used regular white sandwich bread which was a huge mistake. You can't squeeze the water out of it! Meatballs were very soft and didn't hold together. I'm going to buy a loaf of Italian (if I can find it) bread and slice and dry it in the oven this time.
Six slices of bread seems like a lot. Also what size of bread slice?