Meatballs
also called polpette · italian meatballs · meatballs in sauce · spaghetti and meatballs · meatball · meatball parm
- Pizzeria
- serves 6
- about 1 hr 45 min
- Stews & Braises
Three ways to read this recipe
The table
| 3 slices(crusts off, torn small)stale white bread | soak the bread to a paste | mix by hand, and stop early | roll 18 balls, chill 20 min | brown all over, 8 min | simmer 45 min in the sauce |
| 3/4 cup(180 mL)whole milk | |||||
| 1 lb(450 g; 80/20)ground beef | |||||
| 1/2 lb(225 g)ground pork | |||||
| 1/2 lb(225 g)ground veal | |||||
| 3/4 cup(75 g)grated pecorino | |||||
| 2 large(100 g)eggs | |||||
| 4 cloves(minced)garlic | |||||
| 1/4 cup(chopped)flat-leaf parsley | |||||
| 2 tspkosher salt | |||||
| 1 tspblack pepper | |||||
| 1/4 cup(60 mL)extra-virgin olive oil | |||||
| 5 cups(1.2 L; from the recipe on this shelf)marinara sauce | |||||
| Fry a teaspoon of the mix flat in the pan and taste it before you roll the rest because raw meat cannot be tasted and pecorino is saltier than anyone expects. The three meats are not a flourish: beef alone goes dry pork carries the fat veal is what makes the crumb tender. Working the mix past the point where it holds together is what turns a meatball rubbery which is why the instruction is to stop early rather than to mix well. They can be baked at 425°F for fifteen minutes instead of browned which is easier and less good — the crust is paler and less of it dissolves into the sauce | |||||
What to lay out
Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.14 things to get out.
Pans and tools
1soak the bread to a paste
2mix by hand, and stop early
goes in with what step 1 made
4brown all over, 8 min
goes in with what step 3 made
5simmer 45 min in the sauce
goes in with what step 4 made
Cooking it
Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.
The clock
- Start to finish
- at least 1 hr 23 mintwo waits that overlap count once
- Needs you
- 8 minof the steps that give a time
One of the 5 steps never says how long it takes, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 1 hr 45 min.
soak the bread to a paste
10 minwalk awayfrom the start
mix by hand, and stop early
not timed10 min in
roll 18 balls, chill 20 min
20 minwalk away10 min in
brown all over, 8 min
8 minneeds you30 min in
simmer 45 min in the sauce
45 minwalk away38 min in
- needs you
- you can walk away
- never timed
Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them.
You'll need pan
Goes with
See how it is written
>> title: Meatballs
>> category: Stews & Braises
>> tags: beef, pork, veal, tomato, italian, braise
>> counters: Pizzeria
>> aka: polpette, italian meatballs, meatballs in sauce, spaghetti and meatballs, meatball, meatball parm
>> pairs-with: marinara-sauce, fresh-egg-pasta
>> servings: 6
>> time: 1 hr 45 min
>> step.1: soak the bread to a paste
>> step.2: mix by hand, and stop early
>> step.3: roll 18 balls, chill 20 min
>> step.4: brown all over, 8 min
>> step.5: simmer 45 min in the sauce
Soak @stale white bread{3%slices}(crusts off, torn small) in @whole milk{3/4%cup}(180 mL) ~soak{10%min}, then mash it to a smooth paste with a fork.
Mix @ground beef{1%lb}(450 g; 80/20), @ground pork{1/2%lb}(225 g), @ground veal{1/2%lb}(225 g), @grated pecorino{3/4%cup}(75 g), @eggs{2%large}(100 g), @garlic{4%cloves}(minced), @flat-leaf parsley{1/4%cup}(chopped), @kosher salt{2%tsp} and @black pepper{1%tsp} into @&(~1)panade{} with your hands, and stop the moment it comes together.
Roll @&(~1)meatball mix{} into 18 balls the size of a golf ball, wetting your palms between, and ~chill{20%min} on a tray.
Brown @&(~1)meatballs{} in @extra-virgin olive oil{1/4%cup}(60 mL) in a wide #pan{} over medium-high heat ~brown{8%min}, turning them onto three or four faces rather than rolling them about.
Simmer @&(~1)browned meatballs{} in @marinara sauce{5%cup}(1.2 L; from the recipe on this shelf) ~simmer{45%min}, half covered, until a spoon goes through one without resistance.
Fry a teaspoon of the mix flat in the pan and taste it before you roll the rest, because raw meat cannot be tasted and pecorino is saltier than anyone expects. The three meats are not a flourish: beef alone goes dry, pork carries the fat, veal is what makes the crumb tender. Working the mix past the point where it holds together is what turns a meatball rubbery, which is why the instruction is to stop early rather than to mix well. They can be baked at 425°F for fifteen minutes instead of browned, which is easier and less good — the crust is paler and less of it dissolves into the sauce.