How to Keep Meatballs From Being Hard

Use simple techniques to keep meatballs soft and moist.

Making moist meatballs requires using milk-soaked Italian bread, the correct amount of eggs and fresh ingredients that will not dry out the meatball mixture. Cooking meatballs until they are golden brown helps them retain their juices, preventing hardening. Adding meatballs to tomato sauce allows them to absorb the moisture from the sauce for a soft texture and robust flavor.

Instructions

things you'll need:

• 3 cups Italian bread
• Bowl
• 3 cups milk
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 cup, 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• Saute pan
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Mixing bowl
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 3/4 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 lb. ground pork
• 1/4 lb. ground veal
• Food processor (optional)
• Deep frying pan

1. • 1
     Remove the crust of day-old Italian bread. Chop the sponge part of the bread into 1-inch cubes until you have 3 cups worth. Place the bread cubes into a bowl and fill the bowl with 3 cups of milk until the bread cubes are submerged. Put the bowl in the refrigerator for one hour so that the milk can soak into and moisten the bread.
   • 2
     Chop 1 onion into fine pieces. Mince 3 cloves of garlic. Pour 1 tbsp. of extra-virgin olive oil into a saute pan. Cook onions over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for two to three minutes. Remove the onions and garlic from the heat once they are softened and place them in a mixing bowl to cool.
   • 3
     Beat 3 eggs. Grate ¾ cups of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Wash and finely chop 1/4 cup of Italian parsley. Add the ingredients to mixing bowl. Add ½ tsp. of salt and ½ tsp. pepper. Add ¾ lb. of ground beef, ½ lb. of ground pork and ¼ lb. of ground veal.
   • 4
     Take the bowl containing the milk and bread out of your refrigerator. Squeeze the bread cubes over your sink to drain milk from them. Add the milk-soaked bread cubes to the mixing bowl.
   • 5
     Wash your hands and keep them wet. Combine your meatball mixture with your hands so that the ingredients become dispersed throughout the meat or blend the ingredients in your food processor. Roll the mixture in your hand to form about 15 meatballs the size of golf balls.
   • 6
     Pour 1 cup of extra-virgin olive oil or cooking oil into a frying pan and allow it to heat on medium-high until hot. Drop each meatball into the oil with a ladle or spoon. Cook the meatballs for about 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Eat the meatballs or add them to your sauce to retain moisture from the sauce and to enhance the flavor of the sauce.