I have been on a mission to cook creatively without my oven.
I
was baking cookies when I heard a zap-buzzzzzzt coming from my oven and when I
looked over I saw a bright red flame. The bottoms of my cookies were charred
black and my kitchen filled with smoke. I guess you could say that my oven was
announcing its retirement in a very dramatic way. It wasn’t a complete
surprise. I have been putting off replacing my oven for years but didn’t because, it’s complicated. Blah, blah, blah...
I
know that boiled meatballs and delicious shouldn't be in the same sentence, but I needed a way to cook the meatballs through
without an oven.
To my surprise boiling the meatballs removed the fattiness while keeping it tender and juicy. They were fantastic and better than the ones that I usually pan fry then bake and the clean up was
minimal since I only used one pot.
Proof that this method of cooking was a keeper is when my daughter stopped by for a surprise visit. She scanned the fridge for leftovers and picked out a cold meatball then mumbled with her mouth full, these are better than your Damn Good Meatballs. As she reached in the fridge for a second meatball I told her, those are my Damn Good Meatballs - just boiled. I guess I'll be boiling my meatballs from now on.
My notes to you…
My notes to you…
- Chill meatballs after you shape them for at least an hour or overnight so they will hold their shape better.
- After you boil the meatballs you can either saute them with butter or olive oil to brown, add them to your favorite bottled sauce or my easy tomato sauce (recipe below) or place them in the freezer for a quick meal for later).
BOILED MEATBALLS
1 batch DamnGood Meatballs (makes 16) recipe below
8 cups water
1 Tbsp. kosher
salt
Gently
place meatballs one at a time into the boiling water. Stir gently once or twice
so they will cook evenly. Boil over med-high heat for 13-15 min. or until it is
cooked through. Remove meatballs with a slotted spoon.
(makes 16 meatballs)
2 pounds ground beef
1/3 cup Italian
seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tblsp. dry
parsley, (2 Tblsp. fresh)
½ cup parmesan
cheese, grated
2 tsp. kosher
salt
½ tsp. black
pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 large egg
¾ cup warm
water
In a large bowl add all the
ingredients except the ground beef and mix well.
Break up the ground beef into the bowl and mix to blend. Making sure that the seasoning gets evenly mixed into the beef.
To make 16 even meatballs, divide the beef into 4. Make 4 meatballs with each section by rolling them in the palms of your hands.
Break up the ground beef into the bowl and mix to blend. Making sure that the seasoning gets evenly mixed into the beef.
To make 16 even meatballs, divide the beef into 4. Make 4 meatballs with each section by rolling them in the palms of your hands.
Boil meatballs as instructed above.
Serve with your favorite bottled sauce or make my easy tomato sauce.
Serve with your favorite bottled sauce or make my easy tomato sauce.
2
cloves
garlic, minced
1
small
onion, chopped
½
med
carrot, grated (or ½ tsp. sugar)
2
Tbsp.
tomato paste
1
28 oz. can Italian whole peeled
tomatoes
1
28 oz. can Italian crushed tomatoes
1
cup
water
1
tsp.
dried basil
1
tsp.
dried oregano
½
tsp.
kosher salt
¼
tsp.
black pepper
¼
tsp.
crushed pepper (more if you like it spicy)
Place heavy bottom pot over med-high
heat. Add 1 Tbsp. oil to the pot along with the garlic, onions and
carrots. Stir to mix and lower heat; cook covered for about 5 minutes or
until the onions are very soft. Clear a spot in the middle of the pot and
add tomato paste and let cook for about a minute. Stir to mix; add the
tomatoes (crush the whole ones with your hands), water, basil, oregano, salt
and peppers. Stir to mix and let simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Excellent
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed them :)
DeleteThis recipe is awesome! Husband (who didn't see the recipe name) proclaimed that they were the best damn meatballs I've ever made. This will be the recipe I use from now on. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love it! Thank You!
DeleteOh my :) so simple and so delicious! I did used jarred tomato sauce...but did add in the herbs/spices ... slow cooked it ... and just delicious! Real test was reheating the next day ... and yep, still awesome ! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the awesome review I appreciate it!
DeleteAs a newlywed, I had an older Polish neighbor who boiled these in a can of tomato juice, and an entire green pepper, seeded and quartered. Skim the foam off the top of the juice occasionally as they boil. She called them her Polish Meatballs. They are excellent! They became a family favorite, and any leftover tomato juice tastes like homemade tomato soup!! My favorite recipe.
ReplyDelete