The best meat mixture for meatballs is to use a combination of ground pork as well as ground beef.
Many recipes for meatballs suggest that you use a 50/50 or 70/30 beef to pork ratio.
And some traditional Italian meatball recipes also incorporate ground veal into the meat mixture for meatballs for a more richer flavor and more tender texture and they often use a 2:1:1 ration of beef, veal and pork.
The ground beef provides a sturdy base and savory flavor for the meatballs.
The ground pork adds richness, moisture and a slightly sweet flavor for the meatballs.
And the ground veal offers a delicate texture as well as subtle flavor, which complements the other meats in the meatball meat mixture.
To enhance the flavor of the meatballs you can also add some eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, onion and garlic, salt and pepper and Italian herbs.
The seasoning to use for meatballs is garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
You can also add some fresh herbs to your meatballs like oregano, basil and parsley and even a pinch of some red pepper flakes if you want to add a bit of heat to the meatballs.
If your meatballs are always tough it could be a result of using too lean of a meat or overworking of the meat.
Other things that can cause your meatballs to be tough are overcooking the meatballs or using too many dry ingredients and not using milk or the panade method to soak the bread in to add moisture to the meatballs.
Mixing of the meat too much causes the meats proteins to bind tightly and creates a dense and tough texture.
To fix this, you can use your hands and gently combine the ingredients for the meatballs, just until everything is incorporated.
Avoid over mixing and use a fork or a spatula instead of your hands if you think you may be over working the ingredients.
Also pre mix the dry ingredients for the meatballs and add in the meat last and mix it in as little as possible.
The secret to moist meatballs is in the bread and liquid component using panade method, as well as fat content and the proper cooking method.
A panade is made by soaking some bread or breadcrumbs in milk or other liquid, which helps to create air pockets and keeps the meatballs tender and moist.
Also using ground meat that has a higher fat content such as 80/20 fat content and also avoiding over mixing of the meat will also help contribute to juiciness in the meatballs.
And simmering the meatballs in sauce instead of pan frying the meatballs also helps to retain moisture in the meatballs.
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.