Being Italian-American, my dad is big on meatballs. That said, he often makes chicken meatballs for cholesterol reasons, and we all agree they’re…just fine, but every now and then, he makes real-deal meatballs with beef and a fresh sauce and it is quite the (cholesterol-damning) treat.
He, like many others, knows that The Correct Way to Meatball is to let the meatballs and the sauce hang out together on the stove for hours so their flavors can meld. The only problem is that this leaves his otherwise perfect meatballs a bit dry. Indeed, through the testing required to perfect his popular slow-cooker meatball recipe, Kenji found this method of leaving the meatballs to cook on the stove that so many people swear by isn’t actually a great idea. In his development processes, he found that simmering meatballs in sauce for more than 45 minutes turns them from tender and moist to tough and dry.
So on the one hand, you (and I) (and my dad) want tender meatballs, but on the other, you want that meatball flavor in your sauce. There’s no way to have it all! Right?! Wrong!!!
Kenji’s solution to impart flavor wherever possible without compromising meatball quality is to reserve a bit of the meatball mixture and sauté it in some olive oil to create a flavorful base for the tomato sauce; then the meatballs themselves are added just at the end of cooking. This extracts the same flavors you would get from simmering meatballs in tomato sauce, but avoids the risk of overcooked meat. It’s a trick Daniel also employs in his spaghetti and meatballs recipe to ensure meatball flavor in every bite—which truly is my kind of dinner. Or at least it is more so than chicken meatballs, which I write with love and respect for my wonderful father!
How to Use This Tip for the Juiciest Meatballs and Flavorful Sauce
After you make your mixture for the meatballs, sauté a little less than a quarter of the mixture in olive oil until brown, before adding onion, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt, and then, of course, the tomatoes. The sauce can simmer on the stovetop or in a slow cooker for up to 10 hours, and the remaining meat mixture is formed into meatballs and refrigerated until later in the process.
Keep in mind that the longer your sauce cooks, the more it will reduce, so you’ll end up with less sauce if you cook it for a long time—but it’ll be a very flavorful sauce. “Ultimately cook it until it tastes well rounded, and is delicious to you, the one who will be eating it!” says Leah Colins, Serious Eats’ senior culinary editor. “The longer you cook it, the more it will thicken and be more intense in flavor, and the tart acidic tomatoes will start to take on a sweeter flavor the more they cook down.”
As for your meatballs, you can cook them by browning them in the broiler or in a skillet and then dropping them into the sauce just until they’re cooked through, or dropping them into the sauce raw and letting them cook all the way through there (though you’ll miss out on the flavors from browning). This should take about 10 minutes if you’ve browned the meatballs or about 30 if you haven’t; no matter what, you shouldn’t leave the meatballs in the sauce for more than about 30 minutes total (provided they are cooked through) if you want to keep their melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Serve with pasta and Parmesan, and you have yourself a dish with tender meatballs and a rich, thick sauce full of intense meaty flavor. One my dad would be impressed by, I might add!