Better to outsource this one

Meatballs. Meatballs. Meatballs. I had this romantic vision of the kids helping me and my husband make meatballs on a recent rainy Saturday. Once prep time came around, however, the wee people’s services were nowhere to be found. I am sure that’s a whole another entry about why they didn’t want to help. So much for that vision. As a result, my husband and I set out to make them; the two of us prepping and rolling, and me working the sauce and browning the meatballs.

Several hours later, I now truly appreciate why good meatballs are so expensive when you go to a restaurant. I have always scoffed at the cost on menus. “How much for some balls of ground meat, noodles, and sauce?” Now I understand it. They take forever to make/roll/brown/simmer or bake. The ingredients were frankly pretty expensive when you add all the meats and good canned tomatoes I bought. Oh, and they dirty just about every dish in the kitchen. And did I mention the kids despised them?

My husband summed it up well . . . the tremendous effort put into them did not equate to a tremendous meatball. A much better effort/satisfaction ratio occurs with a bag of frozen turkey meatballs from Trader Joe’s. True, very true.

What went wrong? Some post-mortem analysis:

Recipe choice: I used a highly rated Epicurious recipe–Spaghetti and Meatballs from Gourmet, January 2009 . These meatballs were browned and then finished cooking in the sauce. This may have contributed to the soft, “mushy” texture my kids found offensive. I did end up baking a few meatballs that I couldn’t fit into the pan of sauce, which definitely resulted in a firmer meatball. They have been frozen to be consumed by the few brave souls at a later date. Maybe they’ll be better? I know I have made beef/pork/veal meatballs before and also been underwhelmed. Turkey meatballs I have had better luck at, so maybe if  I get any more “romantic meatball visions” I will stick to turkey meatballs.

Operator error: Am I meatball challenged? Perhaps. Admittedly, I struggled like crazy trying to brown them evenly without them disintegrating in the pan. Any tips on that would be appreciated.

And finally a note to myself: Life is too short to be irritated by recipes that I cook for my family. Lesson learned: Leave the meatballs to the professionals or the freezer section. Stick to meat sauce or a good ragu. One of my favorites is actually the meat sauce I use in a favorite lasagna: Three-Cheese Lasagna with Italian Sausage. It usually makes more than I need for the lasagna and always tastes fantastic with noodles. I’ve even just made the sauce without using it in lasagna. Way easier for me and most importantly, much more satisfying for all involved from beginning to that last drop of sauce in the bowl.

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