Baked Meatballs with Parmesan and Tarragon

Name: Baked Meatballs with Parmesan and Tarragon
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 28 pieces
Ingredients: 750g mixed ground meat (equal amounts of beef chuck + veal + pork belly, ground together); 1 smaller onion (about 50g); 2 cloves garlic; 100g bread crumb (without crust); 100ml milk; 30g grated parmesan; 1/4 bunch parsley; 2 sprigs tarragon (about 1 heaping teaspoon chopped tarragon); grated zest from 1/4 lemon; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 heaping teaspoon salt; yield: 28 meatballs

April 11, 2016

Appetizers Pork Veal Easter Recipes Meat Dishes

Recipe: Baked Meatballs with Parmesan and Tarragon

I'm back! I don't think you missed me, I left you busy with homemade chicken ham. Tomorrow I'll tell you about where I wandered, what I saw, heard and especially what I ate on this mini-vacation.

But today I also have something interesting to show you. These are my weekend meatballs. I've made them every weekend for the past 3 weeks because they're baked and because I like them even after they cool down, unlike the classic ones. They're more meticulous because you have to grind the meat yourself, but I assure you it's worth the effort. To make it more convenient, I ground more meat at once and portioned it in the freezer.

The meatballs come out very light (you've noticed, light is the key word in recent recipes), very aromatic and very succulent, so you won't miss the ones fried in oil. They go well with an arugula salad and parmesan strips, drizzled only with lemon juice. I suppose they would be extraordinary marinated in a light tomato sauce (it can't be otherwise; lemon, parmesan and tarragon go well with tomatoes), but so far I haven't had enough left for that. Maybe you'll try first and tell me if I was right.

Ingredients

750g mixed ground meat (equal amounts of beef chuck + veal + pork belly, ground together)
1 smaller onion (about 50g)
2 cloves garlic
100g bread crumb (without crust)
100ml milk
30g grated parmesan
1/4 bunch parsley
2 sprigs tarragon (about 1 heaping teaspoon chopped tarragon)
grated zest from 1/4 lemon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 heaping teaspoon salt

Yield: 28 meatballs

How to prepare baked meatballs with parmesan and tarragon

Keep the beef, veal and pork belly in the freezer for 1-2 hours before grinding. This makes them easier to grind. Then pass them once through the meat grinder.
In a bowl put the bread crumb torn into small pieces and pour the milk over it. Let it sit until needed.
In another bowl, dice the onion into small cubes and sprinkle with a little salt. Let it sit until needed (about 10 minutes).
* the juice from the onion should be eliminated if the onion is pungent; you can also opt for very light sautéing of the onion, without browning it, just a bit to lose its raw smell, but I prefer to squeeze it because it's faster.
In a large bowl put the ground meat, chopped herbs, crushed garlic, grated lemon zest, grated parmesan, salt and pepper. Add the soaked bread (don't squeeze it at all) and the onion well squeezed of its juice. Mix all of these very lightly with a spoon, just enough to distribute evenly in the bowl.
Pass the entire contents of the bowl through the meat grinder once more. Now all the elements in the meatballs will combine well. You'll get a uniform paste.
From the meat mixture, form balls the size of a walnut. When you've finished forming all the meatballs, grease your palms with a little oil and roll the meatballs once more between your palms. Grease your hands with oil every 5-6 meatballs. Place the greased meatballs in a tray lined with parchment paper, without crowding (about 15 meatballs per tray).
Bake the meatballs at 250°C for 10 minutes. The meatballs will be pale after this time. Switch the oven to broil/grill (heat coming only from above; at 220°C if you have a thermostat for the grill) and leave until the meatballs brown nicely (about 3-4 minutes).
* if you have an electric oven with an extra-browning program (i.e. heat comes from above and below, but predominantly from above) then you can leave them on this program for 13 minutes at 250°C, without needing to switch to grill; they will brown just as nicely
The meatballs are best warm, but they're also good at room temperature. They can be reheated.