As an Amazon Associate, KitchenWithMommy.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
This is a batch recipe. It makes roughly two dozen meatballs, which is dinner tonight and at least one more meal in the freezer. That is the whole reason to make meatballs rather than just a bolognese.
What keeps them tender
Two things, and both are easy to get wrong.
The breadcrumbs need to be wet. Soaking them in milk first (a panade) is what stops the meat tightening into rubber as it cooks. Dry breadcrumbs stirred straight in absorb moisture from the meat and give you bouncy meatballs.
Mix as little as possible. Combine with your fingertips until it just comes together. Working mince like dough makes it dense.
Cook them through
Beef and pork mince should reach 160°F (71°C) all the way through — the USDA sets this for ground meat specifically, higher than for whole cuts, because grinding distributes any surface bacteria through the mixture. A probe thermometer in the centre of the largest meatball is the only way to actually know. Cutting one open tells you about colour, not temperature.
If you are using turkey or chicken mince instead, the USDA figure is 165°F (74°C).
Freezing
Cool within two hours of cooking, in shallow containers rather than the pot, as covered in our storage guide. Freeze the meatballs in their sauce — the sauce protects them from freezer burn. Best quality within about two to three months.
Raw meatballs freeze well too: open-freeze on a tray, bag, then cook from frozen adding about ten minutes to the simmer.
Serving to younger children
A whole meatball is a choking hazard for a toddler. Quarter them, or squash them flat. General choking guidance from the NHS and the American Academy of Pediatrics is worth following over anything we would suggest.
