Basic Meatballs Recipe And Freezing Instructions

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (85/15)
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 thick slice of bread
• 1/4 cup milk (whole, reduced far, or milk alternative)
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 garlic cloves (pressed)
• 1/4 cup minced yellow onion
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp coarse salt (more or less to taste)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper (more or less to teste)

Instructions

1. 1

   Combining all of the ingredients, except for soaked bread, in the mixing bowl. Squeeze out the milk from the soaked bread slice and crumble the bread into the mixing bowl. Discard squeezed milk. Mix well the meatball mixture until all evenly incorporated.

2. 2

   Grease your hands with some cooking spray. To get even meatballs, use a cookie scoop. (I use #40 scoop but you can use a slightly larger one.) Try to keep the meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. (You can make meatballs a little bigger or smaller according to your own preference. Just remember to adjust cooking time if making bigger or smaller meatballs.)

3. 3

   Lay out the meatballs on a parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet, side by side but leave a little space in between.

4. 4

   Preheat the oven to 400° and bake for 18-22 minutes, depending on the size of the meatballs.

5. 5

   --- Freezing Cooked Meatballs: ---

6. 6

   Cover a large cutting board with parchment paper and lay cooked meatballs out on the paper to cool to room temperature.

7. 7

   Once the meatballs are at room temperature, place the cutting board with meatballs in the freezer for about 2 hours. SET A TIMER!

8. 8

   Once the meatballs are frozen, divide them among the freezer bags, close air-tight, label, and place back in the freezer. Freeze for 2-3 months.

9. 9

   --- To Thaw Cooked Meatballs: ---

10. 10

    Pull the bag with meatballs out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator to thaw. This can take a few hours or overnight, depending on size of meatballs and how many are in the bag.

11. 11

    --- To Freeze Raw Meatballs: ---

12. 12

    Prepare the meatballs mixture and mix it very well. Use a cookie scoop to scoop out the meatball mixture and quickly roll them.

13. 13

    Place rolled meatballs on parchment paper covered cutting board and make sure to leave some space in between each meatball.

14. 14

    Place the cutting board with the meatballs into the freezer for about 2 hours. SET THE TIMER! Once the meatballs are frozen, transfer them into a freezer friendly zip-top bag, label, and freeze for up to 2 months.

15. 15

    --- To Thaw Raw Frozen Meatballs: ---

16. 16

    Raw or cooked, meatballs need to be thawed slowly, in the refrigerator. Line a rimmed baking sheet (or baking pan) with parchment paper. Take the bag of frozen meatballs out of the freezer and separate them on a parchment paper.

17. 17

    Cover the baking sheet air-tight and place into the refrigerator for the meatballs to thaw slowly. Bake them or cook them on stove-top according to the recipe.