3 recipes that will change the way you make meatballs

There are no strict rules for meatballs, as my 15 years of professional cooking experience have shown me.

Meatballs, in essence, are just meat, seasonings and a binder. They can be mixed delicately or vigorously, made from a meat substitute, flavored with a variety of ingredients and cooked any number of ways.

But while there’s no single formula, there are a few principles for ingredients and techniques that will help you make better meatballs every time.

These three recipes yield meatballs that are all quite different from one another, but each one holds important lessons. Make them all, and you may very well end up a meatball master.

I was taught that a classic Italian American meatball should be a delicate one. So my recipe is a mix of fattier ground pork and beef, lightened with Pecorino Romano and ricotta, which adds milkiness without milk. If that sounds pretty rich, that’s the point: Fat creates tenderness.

Look for a ground beef that’s has a high ratio of fat: 80% lean to 20% fat is good, but if you can find 70% meat to 30% fat, you should get it. And it should go without saying that whole-milk ricotta is preferred.

How you handle the mixture matters, too, and for a classic Italian American meatball, avoid overmixing. The more you mix meat, the more its proteins tend to bond, which can cause the meat to be chewy and dense. (That can be a good or a bad thing, depending on what you want to achieve.) Here we want a loose, tender meatball.

When you’re ready to cook, searing the meatballs creates a seal and also flavor in the now-burnished crust. That good flavor ends up in the sauce when they all cook together.

Just like gentle mixing, vigorous mixing has its place. You want it when handling lean meats and for dishes that actually benefit from a dense texture. Both are true in my chicken meatball recipe.

The reasoning is this: Since there’s less fat, the proteins need to be developed. When you knead the meatballs, those proteins start to stick to one another, which helps prevent crumbling. Vigorous mixing also pulls out whatever fat is in the chicken as well as the water, which can help bind, but I also have a little insurance.

I add an egg, a classic binder, and cook the meatballs in the oven, a less intrusive method of cooking that helps keep them from breaking. (Like in the Italian American meatballs, I use a spoon to shape the meatballs — but not to avoid overmixing. Instead, the spoon helps more easily form a shape from a sticky mixture.)

In short, loosely mixed meatballs end up delicate and crumbly, good for absorbing sauces. But meatballs that are mixed more? They end up springy, and hold their shape better, making them good for frying and dipping (or if you just like a dense meatball).

Various ingredients can bind and add texture. Understanding what certain binders do can help you manifest the kind of meatball you want to eat.

Notice there’s an egg in all of the recipes. That’s because it acts like a glue in how it binds, but it also adds fat. You could also use fresh or dried breadcrumbs, which lend structure and absorb moisture, or cooked grains like rice or quinoa, which can bind and add a little bite. In the lion’s head meatballs, silken tofu helps out the egg as a binder, which makes them light and bouncy, much like the tofu itself.

The meatballs are dipped into a slurry made from water, soy sauce and cornstarch, which helps create a crisp, flavorful crust when they are seared.

Then they’re steamed until springy, or QQ, a Taiwanese term for a bouncy, pleasingly chewy texture. It’s the best kind of meatball: one that warms from the inside and tastes like home cooking.

Serves 4 (12 meatballs).

For the meatballs:

For the sauce:

Directions

Prepare the meatballs: In a large bowl, whisk to combine the egg, ricotta, Pecorino Romano, parsley, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and 1½ teaspoons pepper. With your hands or a spatula, mix in the ground beef and pork until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Form the meatballs: Using a standard soup spoon, scoop a scant ¼ cup of the meatball mixture into the palm of your hand, and use the spoon to scrape the mixture against your palm and shape it into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture to form 12 meatballs.

Cook the meatballs: Heat the ¼ cup olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmery, add half the meatballs and sear until golden brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the browned meatballs to the prepared sauce and repeat with the remaining meatballs.

Simmer the seared meatballs in the tomato sauce until they are cooked through and tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve the meatballs with the tomato sauce, more Pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 4 (8 meatballs).

Lion’s head is a traditional Chinese stew, a comforting staple in many Chinese households. The dish features tender meatballs, made even more delicate by the inclusion of silken tofu. The meat mixture is vigorously worked to ensure the meatballs hold their shape and achieve a slightly springy texture. These meatballs are seared then stewed while nestled in napa cabbage leaves. As the cabbage softens, its juices infuse the broth, creating a delicate and delicious flavor profile. Steamed rice is the perfect accompaniment. From Sue Li, the New York Times.

Form the meatballs: In a large bowl, mix the pork, tofu, egg, scallions, ginger, sesame oil, white pepper and 2 teaspoons salt. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, vigorously stir the mixture until combined and the tofu and meat are not distinguishable.

Divide the mixture into 8 portions, about ⅓ cup each. Using a standard soup spoon, scoop one ball and scrape it against the palm of your hand to shape it into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture to form 8 meatballs.

In a medium Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon water. Working with one meatball at a time, coat it in the soy sauce mixture and immediately transfer the coated meatball into the pot; repeat with 3 more meatballs.

Sear the meatballs, flipping once, until two sides are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. With a spatula, gently transfer the seared meatballs onto a plate and repeat to coat and sear the remaining 4 meatballs. (The meatballs will flatten slightly and will be imperfect.)

Separate the cabbage leaves, set aside 4 large outer leaves for the top of the meatballs, and layer the remaining leaves in the bottom of the pot. Transfer the meatballs on top of the cabbage leaves and try to spread them out in a single layer. Cover the meatballs with the reserved cabbage leaves and add 1 cup water and the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Set the pot over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Once the liquid comes to a simmer, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer the meatballs and cabbage until the cabbage leaves are very tender and meatballs are cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.

Serves 4 (about 20 meatballs).

This recipe transforms ground chicken into flavorful meatballs using warm spices, like paprika, cumin and coriander, and fresh herbs, like parsley, mint and cilantro, for binding instead of breadcrumbs. Like Turkish kofte, these tender meatballs pair perfectly with a simple, lemony yogurt sauce. Serve them with salad, rice pilaf or on toasted bread for a balanced and satisfying meal. From Sue Li, the New York Times.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, drizzle with the olive oil and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, egg, shallot, garlic, parsley, mint, cilantro, paprika, cumin, coriander, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, vigorously stir the mixture until well combined. With a standard soup spoon, scoop about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and scrape it against the palm of your other hand to shape it into a meatball. Drop the meatball onto the prepared baking sheet and repeat to form the remaining meatballs. (You should wind up with about 20 meatballs.)

In a small serving bowl, whisk together the yogurt and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.