© Copyright 1995-2023, Clay Irving <clay@panix.com>, Manhattan Beach, CA USA
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1 pound ground chuck
2 slices homestyle white bread, crusts removed
½ cup milk
¼ cup minced onion
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
½ teaspoon salt (approximately)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
fine dry breadcrumbs, optional
Tear the bread into pieces. Bring the milk to a boil and pour over the bread stirring so the bread absorbs the milk. Let cool then add to a large bowl with all other ingredients except the bread crumbs. Mix gently but thoroughly using your fingers.
A prime cause of rubbery meatballs is too much handling, so take it easy! The goal is not a completely uniform paste but a mixture where some pieces of bread are still distinct. Pinch off a tablespoon of the mixture and cook in in a small frypan. Taste and add more salt to the mixture if needed.
Form into balls 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter, again being as gentle as possible. At this point in the recipe, opinions diverge as regards cooking the meatballs.
There are three schools of thought: