making meatballs

They say pepperoni is the number one requested topping on pizza. However, when eaters know they can have fresh homemade meatballs on their pie, often that’s what they choose. 

Many pizzerias will use commercially obtained meatballs, frozen, boxed and delivered to their doorstep. Ordinary, boring, nothing special. Word spreads quickly when the words “freshly made in house” are used and people view that as a good thing, a quality thing. They realize that some effort went into producing these meatballs for their benefit. A meatball pie is a classic favorite and is the perfect compliment to onions, black olives, peppers and mushrooms etc.

The following is an excerpt from the pizza menu at Zuppardi’s Apizza in West Haven,Ct (one of the best pizzerias in the U.S.)

Meatball Marinara (mozzarella added upon request) Looking for a red pizza without mozzarella? This is the one! An extra helping of tomato sauce blended with minced onion, topped with chunks of Zuppardi’s homemade meatballs and a generous covering of grated Pecorino Romano cheese. 

Let’s make meatballs? Making meatballs to me is a perfect example of a process that can easily get out of control. Overdone, too many ingredients and steps that fail to add any value. For meatballs, the saying “less is more” is appropriate. A minimum number of simple quality ingredients along with a few well executed steps rings true for me.

 basic guideline for homemade meatballs

1 lb. ground beef (ground round or ground sirloin)
½ lb. ground pork
1 extra large egg
approximately 1/3  cup finely processed pecorino romano
approximately 3/4  cup unseasoned (preferably homemade) bread crumbs
approximately 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
approximately ½ cup milk (any kind or half and half)
2 finely minced garlic cloves
approximately 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Morton coarse kosher salt ( moderation,the pecorino romano has sodium)
coarse(table grind) black pepper

Bake at 425° for about 10 minutes then rollover the meatballs and bake for  another 8 minutes.  Yields about 14 meatballs(roughly 2.8 ounces each) 

85/15 ground round or 90/10 ground sirloin are good for meatballs because they have just the correct amount of fat to complement the fat from the ground pork. Years ago I would add a half lb of ground veal to the mix. However its availability locally is hit or miss and did not seem worth the effort to locate some. Additionally, our family finds little difference if any with the veal being omitted. Just do a good job with what you bring home from the store.

I suppose meatballs do not have to contain breading, however meatballs taste so much better, lighter and tender with it. Many cooks will take white sandwich bread, cut off the crusts, cube it and soak the bread  in milk.  What I prefer is to make my own bread crumbs out of saved up  bread ends and unwanted pieces that I store in a bag placed in the freezer. You will be surprised to notice how fast the bag gets filled up. Since we make our own bread there always seems to be enough left over. Homemade bread does not last too long (no preservatives) unless you slice it then freeze it. 

Remove the bag from the freezer and when still partially frozen, cut up the bread in cubes and place on a baking pan in a 170° oven set on convection, then bake for 30 minutes or less. Next I grind the fully dried out cubes in a food processor and I’m ready to go. If I run out of homemade crumbs, I always have a can of store bought plain bread crumbs on hand. Bread crumbs do not have to be soaked in milk and broken up like the slices of bread. Just spread the crumbs over the other ingredients and pour in the milk last. This way you could regulate the amount of milk needed. You will be able to feel when the mixture has just enough milk to make a tender meatball.

When working in the pizzeria we would  fill up a full sized baking tray with meatballs and bake them off in the pizza oven. Perfect. I still bake meatballs in the same fashion at home. Bake at 425° for about 10 minutes then rollover the meatballs and bake for  another 8 minutes.  Yields about 14 meatballs(roughly 2.8 ounces each).Turn the meatballs once after 10 minutes then bake an additional 8 minutes.You’ll find the meatballs have just the right amount of caramelization. Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to keep cleanup to a minimum.

Making a good sized meatball serves a couple of purposes. A larger meatball will produce large slices with a more appealing look topped on the pie. Additionally it looks better on top of a plate of spaghetti, wouldn’t you say?. Also when small meatballs are required for a dish, for example baked ziti, I will quarter the large meatball instead of making a bunch of smaller meatballs. Many cooks like large meatballs that they can mash up with a fork, add a little sauce, and use as an excellent layer for your baked lasagna.

For pizza I cut  the meatball in half then slice and get roughly12 + slices. Two large meatballs usually does the trick. Don’t go too thin and don’t go too thick. Possibly the thickness of two slices of pepperoni stacked on top of each other is about right. Too thin a slice falls apart and gets lost on the pie while too thick makes the pie look out of balance. Lastly top with a blast of pecorino romano and a classic tradition lives on.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post
better pizzamaking
Jimmy

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