To make meatballs tasty you can brown them in the skillet before adding them to sauce and you can also add some seasonings and herbs and even fresh garlic, fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, ground black pepper even some eggs.
Making a good meatball marinara sauce is also another way of making meatballs more tasty and delicious.
To make your own sauce for meatballs you can make a good meatball marinara sauce by placing some tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a food processor and then blend the ingredients until they're smooth.
Then heat some oil in a large skillet over medium heat on the stove and add onions and cook until they are slightly softened which takes around 2 minutes.
Next stir in the blended tomato sauce and white wine and simmer and stir the marinara sauce occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, which takes around 30 minutes.
The ingredients list for the best marinara sauce for meatballs includes.
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
⅓ cup finely diced onion
½ cup white wine
Avoid overcooking the meatballs in the sauce as when overcooked the meatballs can become tough, dry and even mushy and the extended cooking time can also result in the meatballs losing their structural integrity and cause the meatballs to fall apart in the sauce.
The sauce itself can also over reduce and could even lead to a thick, burnt and overly concentrated flavor, especially if the meatballs and sauce are cooked at too high of a temperature.
A gentle simmer of the meatballs allows the flavors to meld together nicely without drying the meatballs out or causing the sauce to reduce too quickly.
Small meatballs in sauce takes around 30 minutes to cook and larger meatballs in sauce can take 35 minutes to 40 minutes to cook.
To know when meatballs are done in sauce you can check with a meat thermometer to see if they reach an internal temperature of 160 F.
Another way to know when meatballs are done in sauce is to touch them, as when meatballs are done in the sauce they should be firm to the touch but spring back when they are lightly pressed.
You should add sauce to your meatballs once the meatballs have been browned by either baking them or pan frying the meatballs.
Browning of the meatballs before adding them to sauce helps to develop a good flavor and prevents the meatballs from falling apart in the sauce.
After you brown the meatballs you can add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer them until they are cooked through.
Meatballs can be cooked in sauce raw but it's recommended to brown them first and then add them to the sauce for best results.
You should cook the meatballs in the tomato sauce for at least 30 minutes or until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 160F.
Larger meatballs may need to cook in the tomato sauce for 35 minutes to 40 minutes.
You should leave raw meatballs in sauce for as long as 30 minutes and simmer the raw meatballs in the sauce until they reach an internal temperature of 160F which takes at least 30 minutes.
Smaller meatballs may cook in the sauce in 15 minutes to 20 minutes and larger meatballs can take 35 minutes to 40 minutes to cook in the sauce.
Browning your meatballs before adding the meatballs to the sauce can help with the flavor and texture but it's not required.
To stop meatballs from falling apart soak the breadcrumbs in milk to make a panade and only cook the meatballs in the sauce just long enough for them to cook.
Also ensure that you have proper binding with eggs and breadcrumbs for the meatballs and handle the meatball mixture gently.
You can also chill or bake the meatballs for better structure.
Adding an egg to the meatball mixture acts as a binder and the breadcrumbs help to absorb any excess moisture.
And avoid overworking of the meat and add a bit more egg than you think you may need.
To make meatballs juicy and not dry you can soak the breadcrumbs in milk which is also known as panade.
Soaking the breadcrumbs first also makes the breadcrumbs pliable and soggy.
You can also soak the meatballs in some milk which also adds flavor and keeps the meatballs juicy and not dry.
You can also pour some milk over the breadcrumbs or meatballs and allow them to soak for awhile.
Meatballs that are fully cooked should not be a little pink as that means they are not fully cooked.
Meatballs are ground meat rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning.
Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce.
There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices.
A really good meatball is about 50 percent meat and 50 percent breadcrumbs.
The true secret to good meatballs is day-old bread, soaked in milk or water, to bring lightness to the mixture.
When you cook beef, pork or veal for too long, it starts to get tougher.
But the bread in meatballs never gets tough.
Baking the meatballs gives the meatballs a little more flavor without additional oil since you are searing the outside under the broiler in your oven.
Raw meatballs can be cooked in with the tomato sauce without cooking them first.
I prefer to brown the meatballs first a little and then add the browned meatballs to the tomato sauce for additional cooking.
The browning of the meatballs makes the meatballs in the tomato sauce taste better and they cook faster in the tomato sauce as well.
But you can always just add the raw meatballs in with the tomato sauce and cook them that way.
Just make sure to cook the meatballs in the tomato sauce until the meatballs are fully cooked and are no longer pink.
If the meatballs have some pink to them then they need cooked longer.
It takes around 25 to 30 minutes to cook meatballs in sauce.
Or you can add tomato sauce to a slow cooker and then add meatballs to the tomato sauce and cook them overnight slowly.