Moochie mixing the dry ingredients
Years ago, these meatballs beat Bobby Flay’s on show Throwdown! Despite the fact that it’s a 100 year-old recipe that isn’t supposed to be messed with, I’ve been… um… messing with it. (Usually because I don’t have an ingredient on hand, or I don’t have enough of something, like eggs, because I didn’t realize that Phin had used eight when he cooked breakfast for himself and Mooch.)
So trust me when I say Grandma Maroni’s Meatball recipe is really forgiving. I’ve tried it with whatever I had on hand — only two eggs, half the cheese, 1.5 times more meat (I prefer this, in fact), fried garlic instead of fresh, no onion, etc. All versions were light and delicious.
I expected to miss browning the meatballs in a skillet, but I didn’t after trying this recipe. I do tend to cook them about ten minutes longer than the recipe indicates, so they’ll brown up a bit. I also turn them over halfway through the cooking time, otherwise they flatten out since they’re so soft.
My favorite substitute is to use a ground beef, pork and veal mix instead of the straight beef. And I use panko crumbs, because that’s usually what I have on hand.
Expert testimony: they’re really good!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
YES! It's all in the filler added.
Mine? Are turkey. Mixed in with kellogg's corn flake crumbs and A-1 sauce.
The peanut gallery goes nuts over them.
Cool. New recipes to try out after Lent! Who ever heard of an almost 18 year old giving up meat AND Facebook???
Mmmm. Hungry…. Feels like – Homer Simpson. *drool* Comment temporarily unavailable till I can get my hands on some meatballs…
Mooch is looking SO grown up! Can I have her come and visit to cook with Les Petits Chefs? 😉