Have a Ball!
Wow your loved ones with this appetizer and spaghetti topping.
Meatballs are a ubiquitous addition to sandwiches and pasta dishes, but few rise to the status of memorable. Why settle for unremarkable when you could enjoy mouthwatering meatballs made with high-quality ingredients and expert cooking methods?
“Meatballs are definitely a comfort food appetizer,” says Rade Hendrix, sous chef at Nevada Steak in South Reno’s Tamarack Casino. “My mother-in-law, I love her to death, makes these crazy meatballs that are really big meat wads. They are five inches around, and they are so dense… It’s a meal for two days.”
While Hendrix and Ryan Goldhammer, owner of Noble Pie Parlor in Midtown Reno, both appreciate their nonnas’ old recipes, they say it’s possible to improve on these methods to make something better.
“We make a really tender meatball that’s strong enough to hold together but tender enough to cut with a fork, like butter,” Goldhammer says.
Nevada Steak serves a double meatball appetizer, while Noble Pie dishes out three as an entrée.
“The meatballs are the best-kept secret on the menu, by far,” Goldhammer says about the meatballs that have been on Noble Pie’s menu since 2010. “People who order them will order them every time, and people who don’t order them don’t know about them at all.”
Both restaurants dedicate at least four hours to preparing their meatballs, using prime lean beef and pork. Nevada Steak’s chefs add veal to their recipe. At both restaurants, the meat is combined with seasonings and mirepoix (diced celery, carrots, and onions), breadcrumbs, and eggs. But the heavy flavor lift comes from the cooking methods and ball formation. Goldhammer says forming the ball takes patience to avoid toughening the meat.
“A bowl of water will help you form the meatballs, so they don’t stick to your hands,” he says. “Don’t overwork the meatballs; instead, lightly toss them back and forth in your hand and give a light roll. They don’t need to be perfectly round spheres. You want them to look handmade. Each one is a special snowflake.”
The Noble Pie team steams the meatballs in red wine, balsamic vinegar, and soda water to soak up flavors, then lets them bake to create a light crust before simmering them in a Brooklyn red sauce for several hours.
Nevada Steak goes the opposite route, deep frying them quickly to form a crust and lock in juices, then braising them in Italian Sunday gravy (marinara) for up to three hours.
Either method creates plump and juicy balls. Put them on pizza, in a bowl by themselves, on focaccia bread, on top of spaghetti (all covered with cheese), or anywhere else your heart desires.
RESOURCES
You can enjoy delicious meatballs at these locations:
Noble Pie Parlor
777 S. Center St., Ste. 100, Reno
775-323-1494 · Noblepieparlor.com
Nevada Steak
Inside Tamarack Casino
13101 S. Virginia St., Reno
775-384-3630 · Tamarackcasino.com/nevada-steak
Dopo Pizza & Pasta
Serving all-beef, kosher meatballs
18 St. Lawrence Ave., Reno
775-848-8180 · Dopopizzapasta.com
Ingredients
- 3 pounds ground beef 80/20 advised
- 1½ pounds pork sausage 80/20 advised
- 18 cloves garlic minced
- 2 yellow onions minced
- 4 eggs beaten
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup milk
- 1⅔ cups breadcrumbs
- 6 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2½ tablespoons salt
- 1½ tablespoons ground black pepper
- 1½ cups red wine
- 1½ cups balsamic vinegar
- 3 cups soda water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Beat eggs, buttermilk, and milk together in large mixing bowl. Add minced onion, garlic, and all dry seasonings, including breadcrumbs, to egg/milk mixture. Mix well. Add beef and sausage and mix by hand.
- Set up 1 large hotel pan and 1 large perforated pan (or 2 half-sized) to create a steam bath as follows: Fill the large hotel pan with balsamic vinegar, red wine, and soda water. Nest a shallow, perforated hotel pan (or 2 half-sized pans) inside, so that its bottom sits above the bath. (A pasta pot with perforated strainer also works for this.)
- Use a 3-ounce measured scoop to form meatballs, checking for consistency. Form each meatball without overworking the meat, then space them out so they are not touching their neighbors.
- Cover pans with foil to trap the steam, then cook in oven for 20 minutes. Uncover, and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- Scoop meatballs into saucepan and simmer in marinara sauce until ready to serve (can simmer for hours).
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