How to Make the Juiciest, Most Tender and Flavorful Italian-American Meatballs | Serious Eats

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese... What is the perfect meatball? For us, it's a plump, juicy ball of highly seasoned meat that's so tender a spoon can pass right through it with almost no resistance. For the best Italian-American meatballs, we use a couple tricks, like incorporating gelled stock and using a buttermilk panade.

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[PaulCoboPhoto]

Just made these and these are the best ever meatballs with spaghetti I have ever cooked. My wife says they are better than any restaurant. Thank you Daniel! I used Rao's tomatoe sauce and added a few spices and olive oil and cooked the sauce 25 minutes alone everything was fantastic!

[maryandchild]

if you don't want to do the chicken gelatin thing and you still want the meatball to be moist, grate the onion on your cheese grater into a bowl. it releases a ton of flavorful juice and makes the meatball moist.

[TheLaidbackBiker]

My Italian Mom used bread not breadcrumbs also. My mom learned from her older sisters. The meatballs got pan fried along with sausage and cooked in sauce for about 8 hours. The meatballs and sausage were delicious and very tender. I was fortunate to watch her cook this on Sunday mornings for years and I enjoy cooking it to this day. Thanks for your video.

[donmilleriii]

You crafty bastard, the staggered meat additions are EXACTLY what I need to do! Awesome tricks, thank you so much.

[Hiphopbebopbang]

Thanks for your, a meat a ball recipe! I've been watching meatball recipes all morning and I feel like I have finally found the one! 🍝🧆

[MarkGray]

I love the chicken stock idea. It's like soup dumplings!

[andrewbell]

Great chef, fun humor and awesome camera appeal. Somebody sponsor this guy!

[acheesetoasty]

The technique you used incorporate the rest of the ingredients is a good way to visualize other techniques like tempering.

[yhfsywfit]

I made this recipe out of Kenji Lopez-Alt's cookbook today and it is amazing. There is so much flavour you should probably put the entire thing in the fridge for 24-hours and let all the taste marry. Honestly, it is a great recipe and I'll defo make it again.

[kathleenwassum]

I’ve been looking for a Great Italian Meatball Recipe! THIS IS IT! So glad I found you!!

[abefroman]

I followed this to the dot and it was epic. thanks!

[claudinedecarlisle]

Great point on the panade being made from fresh bread. And I love the tip to use gelatin in stock! Thank you.

[Frie_Jemi]

everything looked superb, great recipe! only thing... mini meatballs have a different ratio of browned outer to greyed inner...which gives a HUGE flavor boost, if you try 1/3 the size... and poll the 2 types side by side, i know you will agree, smaller makes ALL the difference!

[LorenIpsem]

1. Sweat the onions and garlic with 3-4 anchovies until the anchovies dissolve. This boosts the umami in the meatballs. Allow to cool before mixing with the other ingredients.
2. There’s no need make the gelatin gel. Just add the gelatin to a small amount of the liquid you use for the parade, activate it with the microwave and mix it into the parade. The gelatin tenderizes the meatballs because of its liquid holding ability.
3. Use a food processor to grind the pancetta. Smaller pieces with much less work. You can also use it to chop the onions.

[geol]

Interesting take on meatballs. Lots of good advice including the hand mixing. I like the lift of the Chinese "soup in the dumpling" pull of the gelatinous chicken stock. Well done take.

One thing I like a bit better is Marcella Hazan's recipe advice of sweating the onions before mixing in. She didn't recommend garlic for her recipe, but I will sweat the garlic as well when I make the meatballs next time.

Thanks for an interesting recipe!

[abefroman]

Just followed this recipe and damn its awesome! Thank you!

[hardlinemonk]

I made this minus all the harder work like 80/20 beef. PANADE is the key! It is the only way to make it tender. I have been cooking for years and now I finally get it.

[bluetextonwhitebg]

my volume settings are all maxed out and i can still barely hear the audio. what gives?

edit: apparently firefox is having some weird issue with audio for youtube videos.

[dannyvo]

Awesome explanations and tips. Will definitely give this a try

[benschoenbachler]

thanks for uploading this. I've been looking for a good recipe for a while