Smoked meatballs


 
J

JSMcdowell

TVWBB All-Star
I was eating a slice of smoked meatloaf the other day when a commercial was on showing some meatballs being simmered. Smoked meatloaf is wonderful, so why wouldn't smoked meatballs be wonderful. I would like to work on finding a recipe I like then make a large batch and freeze them so I can just reheat when needed.

Problem is, I have never made meatballs in my life. I am sure I could whip something up, but does anyone have suggestions? Has anyone smoked them before to good results ?

Thanks!
 
You can start by making your meatloaf recipe into meatballs instead. Works well in most cases. From there, it is easy to vary the mix, as desired, to achieve different flavor results.

I smoke them on a perfed pan. This allows good heat and smoke pass-though with easy rolling-around capability; needed, imo, depending on size, so that they don't wedge into the grate or get too dimpled from it.
 
Thanks Kevin. My plan was to use my meatloaf recipe if I didn't get anything back on here, so thanks for a vote of confidence on the idea.

I was going to use parchment paper as I had great success using it on the meatloaf. I still had smoke penetration all the way around and it was easy to get on & off.

I am not sure of the size I want to do yet. I think 2 inch would be a good start. I prefer smaller meatballs, but want to give them a decent amount of time to bring in the smoked flavor. For me, anything over 2 inches gets to be a pain for some applications and will take longer to reheat.

For freezing I was going to cool in a 13x9 and then into the freezer, then bag up once frozen so I can grab them individually as needed. See any issue with this ?
 
Line your pan with parchment before freezing. Don't crowd. When solid you can transfer to a Ziploc.

I usually go 1.5". This is small enough for 'cocktail size', large enough for other applications.
 
Josh,

I have not tried smoking, but your post will make me try it the next time I make a batch.

My wife does not eat red meat so I make turkey meatballs that are quite good. As Kevin indicated, mine are also about 1 1/2 inches.

My recipe is listed below. You vcan probably use ground beef instead of turkey.
Ray

Ray’s Turkey Meatballs

1 to 1 ¼lb ground turkey
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1 egg – beaten
1 TBS Half & Half
¼ cup chopped onion
2 TSP minced garlic
2 TBS grated parmesan cheese
1 TBS parsley
1 TBS basil
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Dash of hot sauce
1/8 TSP grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
olive oil


? Sauté onion in oil until translucent – set aside.
? Lightly mix all ingredients together except onion and turkey. Add onion and turkey at end and mix well.
? Shape into equally sized balls (size depends on personal preference).
? Put on cookie sheets and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes
? Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 13 minutes in convection oven (14 minutes in regular oven)
? At this point, they can be cooled and frozen.
? Serve over pasta with the sauce or serve as Meatball Stroganoff (see separate recipe)
 
Kevin,

They came out good. Some of mine were closer to 2 in, mainly because I quickily realized how many I was going to end up with at 1.5 in. Flavor was good, but it could have been better.

Ray,

Thanks for the recipe, I will give yours a shot next time. I have had bad experiences with ground turkey (I have personally never cooked it though) being very chewy/tough. I am sure it has just been overcooked in the past.

Definitely try smoking some, they will be wonderful. Here are the pics of the cook:

http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...1078595/m/2551055206
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Flavor was good, but it could have been better. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Figure out what was lacking while still fresh in your mind and make alterations for the next go.
 
I use a slightly altered version of Alton's meatloaf. I think the meatballs could have used some more seasonings that I would not want in my meatloaf.

I definitely took notes on what I liked and didn't like since my memory is not the best.

I am looking forward to seeing how these come out of the freezer and reheat in dishes and seeing if I still feel the same way.

Thanks again!
 
I don't find AB's recipes remarkable - not necessarily bad but not most of the time either pedestrian or not very well thought-out. The meatloaf recipe strikes be as fairly crummy though.

The two cuts of beef thing is pretty pointless. Storebought garlic croutons are an over-the-top addition. The mix is underseasoned and needs more body. And merely mixing everything together without first sautéing the aromatics robs the result of additional flavor.

You might feel differently, but the lacking stuff is what I would want in meatloaf.

Play with it.
 
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