Comments on: Make Ahead Frozen Meatballs Recipe

By: thatgirl

thatgirl — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:01:03 +0000

Thanks for the 4th of July pointer back to these! I’ve been trying to sort out a good meatball recipe to replace the rather tasteless ones from Trader Joe’s. Their ingredient list isn’t exactly horrid, but they’re pretty bland (at least to me, my toddler loves them). But the convenience of having meatballs in the freezer? Priceless! They’re my go-to dinner when I need a Plan B.
thatgirl´s last blog post …A Month of Pastured Chickens

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:15:37 +0000

Made these today, they came out perfect! I had a little bit of leftover mashed Kumara (like a sweet potato) that I mixed into them as well, not sure yet if it really added anything but I figured it would be a good way to use up leftovers. Thanks for the recipe!
Sarah´s last blog post …A Clay Bouquet

By: hippygirl

hippygirl — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:28:04 +0000

I’m going to make these today with quinoa instead of rice or bread. I think that will increase the protein, reduce carbs, and work like rice or bread crumbs. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’m currently on a no yeast, no sugar, gluten free diet. So I’m going to check out the natural Worcestershire sauce I have and if it won’t work then I’ll experiment a bit.
hippygirl´s last blog post …Winter Highlights

By: hippygirl

hippygirl — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:40:29 +0000

I made a double batch of these last week and they are delicious. I didn’t have enough bread crumbs, so I put some oats in the food processor and ground those up as a substitute.

Anyway, I got 4 quart sized freezer bags full, plus enough for dinner the night I made them. And, it forced me to c lean out the freezer that’s in the kitchen (if it weren’t for the outdoor cats I could have flash-frozen them outside! haha). So it was all good. Thanks for the recipe!
hippygirl´s last blog post …Winter Cakes

By: Gillian

Gillian — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:46:44 +0000

Would you mind posting rough proportions for the worcester sauce you make? I haven’t been able to find any local to me and have all though ingredients already but would be helped along by some hints to start with.

By: Elise

Elise — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:39:30 +0000

Kristen,
Matt has been craving meatball subs for awhile now. It just seems like too much work for a sandwich. I don’t know why but I never thought of freezing, it would be easy to defrost meatballs for a sub! I know he will appreciate this blog entry.

By: Whitney

Whitney — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:30:05 +0000

I just made these and they are FABULOUS! Thank you for the simple, nourishing recipe.
BTW, I made them about 1/2″ – 3/4″ balls so they’d appeal more to my children and the recipe made about 250 small meatballs. YUM

By: Mason

Mason — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:02:45 +0000

There are plenty of alternatives, although none are as straightfoward as using bread crumbs, or cracker crumbs. No other starch (included to absorb the exuded meat juice from the ground meats as they cook) can match their savory quality, since yeast-fermented breads have a special sensory ability to highlight umami flavors in meat and cheese (as do other foods like mushrooms, soy sauce, tomato paste, wine, and so on — this magnifying effect is one reason that pizza is so popular). The next best options are ‘besan’ (ground chickpea flour from India), or toasted, ground oatmeal flakes. Other starches like cornstarch, tapioca/cassava starch, arrowroot, etc. add no flavor and tend to create a gummy texture since they soak up much more liquid than crumbs do. I did find moderate success with “yam starch” from Taiwan (somewhat coarse and white; the plant is halfway between a potato and a sweet potato). Masa harina might be a useful substitute as well.

For someone trying to low-carb their meatballs, one can try using ricotta cheese, whey powder, or powdered gelatin in place of crumbs. These proteins help prevent meat proteins from interlocking as they cook (which toughens the meatballs) although they do not soak up exuded juices in the way that crumbs do, so the final product will still be a little substandard. A little bit of whey powder or gelatin goes a long way; one can use more significant amounts of ricotta, but it adds a “fluffiness” that may require more egg than in the original recipe to keep the meatballs bound together.

I haven’t tried nut meals, but I can nearly guarantee that they won’t work well. They don’t soak up much liquid, and even finely ground they are kind of “heavy”, and they contain significant amounts of oil, and their flavor is more assertive and less of a harmony to the melody of the ground meat.

By: hippygirl

hippygirl — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:12:23 +0000

Thanks for this. I think I might do this this weekend… have a freezer full of grass-fed beef and lots of eggs from pastured hens. And the kids have been loving meatballs.

I also like the Worcestershire sauce alternative.
hippygirl´s last blog post …Winter Cakes

By: KristenM

KristenM — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:23:46 +0000

Heather — See my answer to Christy above.