Meatballs With a Chance of Disaster

Hey everybody, happy Monday. I hope everyone is doing well today. There’s a lot going on in the outside world and I can feel the pressure creeping in. Winter is coming. Here in Ontario, we’re not sure whether or not we’ll be getting out of our modified Stage 2 COVID (re)lockdown. South of the border, the election shenanigans are getting ugly. I wanted to turn a blind eye to all of that this weekend and make some comfort food.

What could rank higher on the comfort scale (that I haven’t already blogged about) than spaghetti and meatballs? It’s a true childhood dish. Whenever I think of it, I picture a great big cartoon plate. Maybe with two dogs. In an alley. You know what I’m saying.

In hopes of having my own romantic dinner, I decided that Sunday night would be spaghetti and meatballs night. Liz is just as fond of this old dish as I am, and I wanted to impress. So, I tried a meatball recipe I’ve never tried before. Let me tell you what happened:

If you’ve ever gotten a new recipe out of a cookbook or from a reputable website (or, this website, if you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel) you can appreciate hardly being able to wait to try it. I like to assume that recipes that I get from the sources I trust have been meticulously tested. I assume they’re gonna work. But you know what they say about when you assume.

These meatballs were meant to have none of the problems that I find so often in meatballs. In that, they would be flavourful on their own, moist and delicious, not dry and crumbly. And indeed, they were. But the mix was so wet, that it was nearly impossible to roll them. I got them into rough ball shapes, chilled them for over an hour and even then, they were too fragile to pan-sear.

Now this is the point I want to address. I could have chucked the mix in the bin. I could have panicked, bemoaned that dinner was ruined, and ordered something. But I didn’t. Because even if something in the kitchen doesn’t go exactly as you want it, there’s always a backup plan.

I chucked those meatballs into the oven and baked them, before searing them as best I could. No, I didn’t get uniform, crisp seared crusts on them. There was a distinct lack of that Maillard reaction I love so much. But the meatballs delivered on their promise of being super flavourful and not even the littlest bit dry.

So, in the end, I had to go off-recipe, use my wits and hope for the best. And it worked. We were rewarded with the best plate of spaghetti and meatballs I’ve had in some time. I’ll give you the amended recipe that I cobbled together here. This adjusts the amount of liquid in the meatball mix, so you won’t have the same problems I did. Yes, I used some jarred sauce (boo!) but I spiked it with a bunch of fresh ingredients (yay!) so judge me if you will.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 454g (1lb.) ground beef
• 454g (1lb.) ground pork
• 18g (1TBSP) Kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 118mL (1/2 cup) 35% cream
• 1 packet powdered gelatin
• 4 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• 4-6 anchovy fillets, mashed into paste with a fork
• 10mL (2TSP) soy sauce
• 2 eggs
• 113g (4oz.) Parmesan cheese, grated
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
• 5-6 sprigs thyme, leaves only, finely chopped
• 4-5 sprigs Italian parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
• 2 medium white onions, peeled and finely diced
• 14g (1TBSP) butter
• 2g (2TSP) dried oregano
• 2g (2TSP) red pepper flakes
• 1 650mL jar pasta sauce (your choice, or make one if you’re not as lazy as me)
• 1 28oz. can peeled Roma tomatoes
• As much spaghetti as you wanna eat
• Parmesan cheese, grated on a Microplane, to garnish

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, ground pork and salt until well combined. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Pour the cream into a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over top of the cream, let bloom for 10 minutes. Add the bread, coating well to soak. Let the bread absorb the cream and gelatin for 10 minutes. Mix again into a slurry (called a panade)
3. To the meat mixture, add the anchovy paste, soy sauce, eggs, cheese, garlic, thyme, parsley and panade. Mix well, until everything is incorporated, then scoop a teaspoon-sized chunk of the mix onto a microwave safe plate. Microwave on high for 15-20 seconds and taste for seasoning, adding more salt and black pepper to taste.
4. Roll the mixture out into balls of your desired size. Place the balls on a parchment-lined tray or plate, reserving about 110-115g (roughly 4oz.) for the sauce, and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
5. Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, heat a film of canola oil over high heat. Smash the reserved meatball mix onto the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, allowing it to cook and form a crust, 3-4 minutes. Break it up with the wooden spoon, then add the butter and onions, reducing the heat to medium-low. Allow the onions to soften and turn translucent, about 7-10 minutes. Stir often, using a few drops of water if needed to deglaze the pan.
6. Add the oregano and pepper flakes. Stir to combine, then add the sauce and tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer, and let reduce and thicken for 1 hour. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Hold the sauce warm over a low back burner.
7. Heat a film of canola oil in a cast-iron pan over high heat. Sear the meatballs in batches, trying to get a good crust on them, 2-3 minutes per side. Don’t overcrowd the pan. If you’d rather bake them as I did, pop the tray into a pre-heated 400°F oven for 15-20 minutes. Whether seared or baked, place the meatballs into the warm sauce, and carefully stir to combine, so not to break the balls.
8. Heat a large pot of well-salted water over high heat. Add your desired amount of spaghetti and cook al dente, usually about 7-8 minutes. Before draining, stir a large ladle or so of pasta water into the sauce. Drain the pasta, toss in olive oil, then toss with the sauce and meatballs, garnishing with grated Parm.

That’s amoré on a plate, right there. As stated before, the lesson I want you guys to take from this is to never panic. Use your smarts, 99% of the time, there’s a way to fix any mistake, whether it’s yours or the recipe’s. Home cooking is about serving food made with love to people you love. So, don’t let your self get stressed when things don’t always go according to plan.

Have you ever had to change plans mid-recipe? Ever used a recipe that didn’t quite deliver as promised? I’d love to hear about it. Shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment down below! See you all next time!