John Myers
To prepare meatballs, you need fresh minced meat, a dry roll or white bread, eggs, milk, onions, as well as salt, pepper, and parsley. For frying, you also need some clarified butter, greaves lard, or high-heat cooking oil. These ingredients can be used to make meatballs from any minced meat, which are also called meatballs or meatballs in other regions.
If you’re using a mixed ground beef that’s equal parts beef and pork, the fat in the pork will keep the patties juicy and prevent them from falling apart. Bread rolls, milk, and eggs are not absolutely necessary when preparing the meat dough.
If you opt for low-fat minced beef or – like our poultry meatballs – poultry, soak the roll or dry white bread in milk for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, you can peel the onions and cut them into fine cubes, which you sauté in a pan with a little fat until translucent. Meanwhile, wash the parsley, pat dry, and chop finely.
If necessary, squeeze out the soaked roll well, tear it apart, and put it in a bowl with the parsley, the diced onions, the minced meat, and the egg. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and knead the ingredients into a firm meat dough. Incidentally, this can not only be varied with different types of meat, but also supplemented with spices, herbs, vegetables, and other ingredients.
Form evenly sized meatballs from the dough. This works best if you wet your hands with cold water beforehand. That way, the meat dough won’t stick to your palms as easily. Heat some lard or cooking oil in a pan and sear the meatballs on both sides. In this way, tasty roasted aromas develop. The meatballs are then covered and placed in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius (circulating air: 180 degrees Celsius). After 10 to 15 minutes they are ready.
