Excellent Meatballs

Article by Layla Khoury-Hanold

Homemade meatballs are a comforting dish, but juicy, supremely flavorful meatballs are an impressive feat. To elevate meatballs to restaurant-worthy status, try these expert tips from chef Anne Burrell’s aptly named Excellent Meatballs recipe. Discover the best meat to use for meatballs, how to boost flavor in your binding mixture, the secret to creating depth of flavor and the key step you shouldn’t skip to help meatballs hold their shape.

How to Make Meatballs Like a Pro

Choose a blend of meats. Anne relies on three different kinds of ground meats to ensure juicy, flavorful meatballs: Beef for big flavor, pork for its mouthfeel and veal for its mild flavor and ability to hold everything together.

Build a flavor base with aromatics, herbs and seasonings. Anne cooks onion with salt until it’s soft and aromatic but has no color, then adds garlic and a pinch of red pepper. She also incorporates finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, grated Parmigiano and salt to season the meatball mixture.

Use breadcrumbs and eggs to bind your meatballs. Combining the ground meats with breadcrumbs and eggs is key to ensuring that the meatballs hold their shape.

Cool the aromatics before adding to the meatball mixture. Ensure your garlic and onions have completely cooled before adding them to the meatball mixture to avoid scrambling the eggs.

Use your hands to mix the meatball mixture. Anne uses her hands to incorporate the meatball ingredients by squishing together the meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, seasonings and aromatics. This technique is fast, easy and ensures your meatballs don’t fall apart – the heat from your hands releases the proteins in the meat, binding the meat together.

Add water to help fully incorporate meatball ingredients. Gradually add water to the meatball mixture until it’s quite wet and use your hands to do one final, really good squish. Water hydrates the breadcrumbs further, lightens the meatballs and ensures they’re really juicy.

Make a tester meatball to check seasoning. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini hamburger-size patty and cooking it. The mixture should taste really good! If it doesn't it is probably missing salt. Add more.

Brown the meatballs two ways for maximum flavor. Brown them in a pan heated with olive oil over medium-high heat. Work in batches to avoid crowding and to ensure even browning on all sides. Then, add even more deeply browned, caramelized flavor by baking the meatballs. Finishing them in the oven helps them keep their shape so that when you add them to sauce, they stay firm and don’t break apart.

What to Make with Meatballs

Anne pairs meatballs with a homemade marinara sauce to serve with spaghetti as part of a classic spaghetti and meatballs dinner. You can stay with the Italian theme and serve meatballs with polenta or pile them onto a crusty Italian roll for a hearty meatball sub sandwich. For more meatball recipe inspo, check out our collection of 50 Meatball Recipes You'll Make Again and Again.

Can You Freeze Meatballs?

Yes, if you’re not using them right away, you can freeze meatballs for later use. Allow meatballs to completely cool, then place in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (without meatballs touching) and freeze for 2 to 4 hours, or until meatballs are frozen solid. Transfer frozen meatballs to a resealable, freezer-safe bag or container, label with contents and date and store in freezer for 2 to 3 months.

For ideas on what to make with frozen meatballs, check out our recipe collection 14 Frozen Meatball Recipes That Make Quick Work of Dinner.