Go to the Recipe: Sous Vide Italian Meatballs
Any thoughts on doing these wheat/gluten free? Would crisped rice cereal work as a substitute?
I would say that any store bought gluten free bread or crackers would work out great as a sub.
I would think that keeping their shape would be hard if put into the bag one on top of the other. Also, I was expecting their to be a sear after they were done cooking. I won't waste the step if there is no need. Thank yall for this recipe and the work yall are doing - it is very much appreciated.
As the bread (gluten) is a bulk-up filler and moisture retainer, any other filler of your choice with similar characteristics should work too...might change the flavour profile though....hey, give it a try!
The essence of what it is that makes a meatball great is the pre cook pan fry. Those babies must have to have that texture and flavor. Otherwise, they'll resemble a store bought, frozen meatball. There has got to be an Italian roaming the ChefStepss halls, got to be.
Thank you for recipe. Question:
Would searing add flavor? Why don’t we sear the meat at all?
Also: can the meat mixture be over-beaten with a mixer?
Hi guys! I tried this recipe yesterday and the mixture was very liquid. 400 g of milk per 1 kg of meat is a lot.
I assume that the sous-vide bag should NOT be vacuumed? sans-vide and not sous-vide?
I had a few fears about this:
Surprisingly, it worked really well. Texture was super tender. I cooked a standard red sauce (similar to the one on this site) for 10 min and threw that in the bag with the meatballs.
Definitely missed the crust on the outside of the meatballs. Next time, I will pour the contents of the bag back in to the skillet I used to make the sauce, then stick the whole thing under the grill (broiler for US).
They will get squished. Or you can freeze the meatballs(if smaller/will take less time I guess) and then vacuum seal.
Mama Mia! These were the best meatballs I’ve ever had...I was originally going to sous vide them, but when I vacuumed out the air, it turned into one large hamburger patty. I was really hungry at that point, so I got out the cast iron skillet and cooked them in there instead. Delish! I couldn’t imagine them being better.
Evening - Tried the recipe this evening, and yes, the mix is very wet. When put in the pan they fell apart which was disappointing... more bread? less milk? more egg? the binding just didn't work well..... any suggestions? (cant easily go and get replacement ingredients right now though...)...
it can vary depending on the baguette and how crusty it is. if you are using the same baguette next time use more of the center than the crust. that should help
With 2.5 in diameter meatballs, what is the total yield, is it about 30 meatballs? I want to make the Meatball Pomodoro over fusilli for 6 people and would like to know if one recipe of meatballs is enough.
No real way to know on the size Paul unless you make one the size you want and weigh it to get the total amount you need. Or you can give the whole batch a weigh, and divide it by the amount you need to yield, then portion them to that weight.
How would grind the meat if you did it yourself
Hands down the best meatballs! Especially with the sauce!! Thanks Chefsteps!
I use parmigiano instead
Thanks for the recipe. I thought it was great and have cooked it few times.
I was hoping you at chefsteps might try to make an eggplant version? I have this great memory of one of my friend's mum cooking these eggplant koftas/'meatballs' in a sauce similar to the one you make with these meatballs. Olly's mum used to get her koftas to be springy, and delicious. Mine are ok... a bit of a sludgy mess by comparison.
Has anyone got any helpful tips or secret ingredients to make the perfect eggplant kofta... that possibly only exists in my head? lots of gluten? It doesn't have to be vegetarian but would be useful if cooking for people who insist on it.
Thank you for all the excellent recipes.
Just finished the recipe. Doubled it. However, the mixture is so soggy that I can’t even begin to make a meatball. How would Chef Steps thicken this up on the fly? I added a packet of gelatin and some Panko breadcrumbs and threw the mixture in the refrigerator overnight. Hopefully tomorrow it will be suitable for meatballs. By the way, a test fry patty was outstanding in flavor.
The first time I made this recipe, it turn out to my liking. The cinnamon was over powering. Well I wasn't thinking and used 7g of ground. The recipe states 7g of cinnamon, is that 7g stick or 7g ground? The second time I made it using 1 1/2 tsp. and it turned out really good.
As far as other comments about being too soggy, Your recipes states to soak the baguette in the milk but doesn't say anything else about it. I did this and when ready to add everything together it was like soup. So I strained the excess moisture then added everything. The texture was great.
What is the serving size?
Yeah they need to either clarify or redo the recipe i assume you did this right
I made this for dinner tonight and really appreciate the wisdom found in the comments. I sliced then dried my baguette 100g, instead of using soft bread, and halved the amount of milk. I used the mixer to combine, but it was still too soft to form balls, so I added more dried bread cubes. I omitted the cinnamon, I just don't like it in savory dishes ... As a test, I put a couple meatballs next to each other in a baggie, and they melded together, so I agree with others that sous vide doesn't seem feasible, and I hope Chef Steps might weigh in on that. I made 60g balls and got 22 altogether. Baked low and slow at 175F for an hr, then seared in cast iron to finish. The flavor was great! Thanks to all!!!
I don’t get this recipe! It is completely unsuitable for vacuum packing prior to sous vide as others have found out. Also 400g liquid to 100g bread would create a soup. I used about 275g to 100g bread and achieved a manageable consistency. bearing in mind that egg and oil are to follow. Having said that I made some very nice meatballs using the recipe as a guide only. I cut back on many of the ingredients. I mean come on, 4g chili flakes is a lot of flakes. Was this recipe conceived on a typewriter. If so I expected better from Chefsteps.
for those of you using doing sous vide, you have to realize that they are using water displacement methods. That's why their meatball isn't getting crushed, if you use vacuum sealer, you will definitely crush them
