Barbecued Meatballs
I realize this is a fall dish. Call me nuts, but I've got a hankering for this sort of thing right about now.
OK, I'll make a confession. I don't tell this to just anybody. I'm a Henry James fanatic.
I told you I shouldn't tell it to everybody. People look at you like you're nuts. Anyway, I am--and I'm in the second year of a five-year plan to read everything old Harry ever published: every novel (all twenty of them), every travel piece (a whole set, several books plus lots of articles, from many trips to Europe--and then his final sojourn there), every short story (about 122 of them), every piece of published literary criticism, his three-part autobiography, and his two unfinished novels.
See? A nutso fanatic. I've already done this, believe it or not, with William Faulkner and Willa Cather. When I go, I really go.
In the last few weeks, I've been reading a bunch of chilly James short stories, all about how a hostile world chews up the innocent at every turn.
Naturally, I crave comfort food. Which is why I made these meatballs late last week.
They're an adaptation of the meatball technique in COOKING KNOW-HOW--which explains the whole science and art behind perfect meatballs. These were my own whimsy--and ridiculously real food. So let's get to it. We're going to make four hefty servings, six moderate ones.
Start out with 2 cups torn-up, crustless, whole-grain bread. For me, that was three slices I'd left out on the counter overnight. Place them in a bowl and pour 1 cup milk over them. Set that bowl aside for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, slice up a couple of celery ribs and a small onion. The trick here is to make the pieces of each pretty small--and uniform.
I diced the onion into 1/4-inch bits, then I cut the celery ribs lengthwise before thinly slicing them into small pieces. Nothing's as irritating as a hunk of celery in a meatball. (Unless it's someone who can't stop talking about Henry James while eating said meatball.)
Mince a medium garlic clove and cook it with these other vegetables in a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, just until softened, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Set the skillet aside while the bread continues to soak.
After an hour of soaking, you have to squeeze the bread to get rid of a lot of its moisture. You'll never get it dry, but you want to force out a great deal of that milk. It's gross and messy. Not an activity old Henry James would approve of. But it's important to reduce the amount of liquid in the meatballs, lest they get sloppy. And I can tell you old Hank would NEVER approve of sloppy meatballs.
Put the squeezed bread in a big bowl. Scrape in the contents of the skillet: the veggies with any remaining oil. Add 1 pound lean ground beef, 1/2 pound ground pork, 1 large egg, a few tablespoons minced fresh sage leaves, a tablespoon or two stemmed thyme leaves, several minced sun-dried tomatoes, about 1 teaspoon salt, and many grinds of black pepper.
Make sure your hands are clean and dig them into the bowl, stirring up the mixture, getting it all uniform, the vegetables even throughout, the egg as well, and the bread essentially dissolved and invisible. It'll take some doing--but as James would say, stiffen the courage of your aspirations.
Form this mixture into golf-ball sized balls, about twenty of them, maybe a few more, depending on their exact size. Again, uniform is important. (If you want, you can put them uncooked meatballs on a plate and stick it in the fridge, covered, for up to 24 hours.)
Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a big skillet over medium heat. Add as many meatballs as will fit in the skillet without crowding. This last is very important. If they crowd, they'll start to braise, their own juices filling the pan before they can boil off.
And don't be impatient--you really want to brown them, first on one side, then on the other, and then around the sides. Brown is flavor, pure and simple.
One note: I find it best to turn them with a large flatware tablespoon in one hand to cup the meatball and a spatula in the other to get underneath it and tip it into the spoon. If you find they're sticking, add a little more oil. And add more oil when the second batch goes in. The skillet will eventually get brown and crusty. Forgo the nonstick in favor of a little more oil and the stuck bits. Hooray! More flavor.
Once all the meatballs have been browned and are on a plate, pour 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth and 1/2 cup bottled barbecue sauce into the skillet and scrape up all those browned bits as the sauce comes to a simmer.
Return the meatballs to the skillet as well as any juices on the plate. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and cook at a fairly slow bubble until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of several meatballs registers between 165F and 170F in each, about 10 minutes, maybe a little more.
And that's the dish. I served it with kale and rice I had cooked together in the rice cooker.
It was quite a meal. Real comfort food. And an antidote to the chill brought on by too much James. Or whatever reason you have for wanting meatballs this time of year.
barbecue, barbecued meatballs, ground beef, ground pork, meatballs
Reader Comments (8)
I'm not sure if it's necessary to wait for fall, but some cooler weather would be nice! When it's too hot and humid outdoors to breathe -- well, I'm not happy.
I generally cook for one. When I make meatballs, I package them in baggies in individual servings then reheat with whatever sauce I want.
Sally: Yep, it's been too hot to even move. That said, tonight it's in the mid-50s here in New England and dry as a bone. You can't beat it. I think I'm going to bed early just so I can be assured of a good night's sleep after all the humidity.
M.
I think I need to plan a trip to New England! It's still mid-70s here. Of course, last week at this time (nearly 11 PM) it was still in the 80s.
It seems you and I are on the same page. You're making meatballs -- and I'm working my way up to making chili. Comfort food knows no season, and occasionally no reason. :D
I was initially confused by your recipe. I thought it was initially a recipe for how to barbecue meatballs (which would make them far easier to make in the summer hot months than standing over a skillet of oil). But, now that I've read the recipe, which is at its base similar to my own, you've got me hungry for meatballs and barbecue sauce. Sounds delicious!
I made these last night except I used lean ground turkey meat and a tomato sauce. They were amazing! My boyfriend couldnt stop raving about them and the complex flavor the sun dried tomato added. Thanks for a great recipe I cant wait to try out more. I'm picking up a copy of Real Food Has Curves this weekend and am excited to read up!
Lara: Welcome here! And they are pretty amazing (if rather labor-intensive). Still, I love the ground turkey idea--although give that barbecue sauce a try sometime, especially if you've got some mashed potatoes on the side!
M.
Hey Mark and Bruce,
I just wanted to stop by and say thanks. I don't know where the two of you find the time and energy to cook and photograph such beautiful food, write so many wonderful cookbooks, keep up multiple blogs, dance with collies... and knit!
I actually found the two of you through a couple of youtube videos you had created (au gratin potatoes and microwave mashed potatoes). Both of those recipes were awesome, and I've since bought several of your cookbooks -- all of them fab as well.
As a funny side note, I also worked as a content producer on AOL back in the mid-90s. I wrote, did graphic design and hosted center stage events for one of the humor areas on the service. Small world.
So, that's it. Thanks and keep up the good work. If you guys ever teach a class on land and near me, I'm there!
Best,
Desiree :)
Thanks, Desi. You're too kind.
I'm not sure how we do it either!
M.