How to cook meatballs from minced meat. How and how long to fry meatballs in a frying pan, in the oven or in a slow cooker. Necessary products for half a kilo of minced meat and half a glass of short grain rice

Alexander Gushchin

I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

Content

Various dishes migrated from Asian to European cuisine. For a couple of centuries, some seemed like a curiosity, but in today’s realities, finding many among the dishes of a home menu or cafe is commonplace. Recipes include choosing minced meat to taste, cereals, vegetables, gravy, but how to make meatballs tasty?

Cooking meatballs

The juicy meatball in the photo beckons with its appetizing appearance. Some people want to feel the delicate taste, while others prefer meat balls with a crispy crust, but not many people know how to cook meatballs so that they turn out like that. The classic recipe involves a combination of minced meat and rice, forming the resulting mass into balls and then simmering them in sauce. You can do this on the stove, in the oven or in a slow cooker; it is better to choose a low saucepan or frying pan from the dishes.

Ground meat

This is the main component that directly affects the taste of the finished dish. The classic recipe stipulates that the minced meat for the meatballs is taken from meat (pork, beef), often these types are mixed in equal proportions. For dietary option famous second The dishes chosen are chicken and turkey. How to cook meatballs with original taste, but useful? Take minced fish, for the preparation of which inexpensive types (pollock, hake) are suitable.

Sauce

This second main component has its own special mission. If you choose and prepare the sauce for the meatballs correctly, the finished dish will turn out juicy, tender, and appetizing. The gravy will turn them into an independent hot main dish or allow you to choose any side dish to your taste: mashed potatoes, spaghetti, vegetable stew. A common sauce option is sour cream or tomato, but the most delicious meat balls are obtained by mixing these types.

Meatballs - recipe

The methods of preparing a well-known dish are not very different from each other. In order for the meat balls to look as appetizing as in the photo of the culinary resource, you will have to strictly observe the proportions of the ingredients. Any step-by-step recipe for making meatballs contains a description and recommendations that reveal culinary secrets so that the “hedgehogs” turn out soft, with a crispy crust, and do not fall apart. Among the options, it won’t be difficult to find a recipe with an original taste that will surprise your guests.

Meatballs with gravy

Juicy, with a delicate taste and always with golden brown crust- this is what ideal balls with meat and rice look like. How to cook meatballs with gravy in a frying pan without them falling apart? First you need to fry them: to do this, take a frying pan without a lid, carefully turn the balls over a couple of times, and then transfer them to another deep container, pouring them with sauce.

Ingredients:

minced meat (pork, beef) – 800 g;
egg – 1 pc.;
boiled rice – 150 g;
onion - head;
sour cream – 3 tbsp. spoons;
tomato paste – 3 tbsp. spoons;
spices, herbs - to taste.

Cooking method:

Combine boiled rice with fried onions and minced meat.
Place in a bowl, add egg, rice, stir.
Form balls and spread in an even layer.
Prepare the gravy by mixing tomato paste with sour cream and spices.
Pour in the sauce and simmer for half an hour.

In the oven

With this culinary recipe It’s very easy to learn to cook a dish familiar from childhood. How to cook juicy meatballs? Before forming the balls, the minced meat should be “beaten”, i.e. pick it up, pick it up, throw it on the table, repeat this several times. Helps you avoid unpleasant surprises step by step description process, and making meatballs in the oven tender in taste - useful tips.

Ingredients:

minced meat – 800 g;
egg – 1 pc.;
rice – 100 g;
sour cream – 100 g;
tomato juice – 0.5 cups;
flour – 1 tbsp. spoon;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Mix cooked rice until half cooked with minced meat and onions.
To prepare the gravy, take tomato juice and dilute with sour cream.
Form into balls, roll in flour, fry in a frying pan
Pour in the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes in the oven.

With rice

The classic recipe for preparing a dish familiar from childhood assumes that in addition to minced meat, its second component will be this cereal crop. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking, you can serve this nutritious dish. How to cook minced meatballs with rice? First, select large grains, boil and cool, and then proceed to the main process.

Ingredients:

minced meat – 500 g;
rice – 200 g;
water – 400 ml;
egg – 1 pc.;
onion – 1 head;
garlic – 2 cloves;
cream or sour cream - 2 tbsp. spoons;
tomato paste – 1 tbsp. spoon;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Mix the egg with the minced meat, add salt, finely chopped onion, garlic, and boiled rice.
Form into balls and fry in a frying pan. Transfer to a saucepan.
Make the sauce: dilute cream (sour cream), tomato paste hot water, pour meat balls with rice.
Simmer the dish covered for a quarter of an hour.

In a slow cooker

Useful and convenient kitchen appliance ideal for preparing a delicious second. Anyone will do type of minced meat, you can choose pork or turkey, a good option– assorted. It is better to mix it with coarse white rice, and the remaining products should be added strictly according to the recipe to prevent the formed balls from falling apart. It's time to get down to business and learn how to cook meatballs in a slow cooker.

Ingredients:

minced pork – 500 g;
egg – 1 pc.;
rice – 120 g;
water – 200 ml;
onion – 2 heads;
sour cream – 2 tbsp. spoons;
ketchup – 1 tbsp. spoon;
flour – 2 tbsp. spoons;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Chop the onion, add minced meat, egg, thoroughly washed rice, salt.
For the gravy, combine sour cream, ketchup, flour, stirring until smooth. Then pour in a glass of water and whisk the sauce again.
Form into balls and fry for a few minutes.
When a crust forms, pour in the sauce and set the “Stew” mode, which will take about half an hour.

From minced chicken

Poultry meat is considered dietary, representing an easily digestible protein. A well-known dish will also be low-calorie, but how to cook meatballs so that they turn out tender? To do this, it is better to take the breast, and before preparing the minced meat, marinate it for a couple of hours in mustard or kefir. If you want to make the dish spicy, then you should cook chicken meatballs in the oven with curry or a mixture of peppers.

Ingredients:

minced chicken – 600 g;
boiled rice – 200 g;
onion – 1 head;
garlic – 2 cloves;
egg – 1 pc.;
sour cream – 2 tbsp. spoons;
tomato paste (ketchup) – 1 tbsp. spoon;
breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp. spoons;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Finely chop the onion and garlic, fry, add to the minced meat with rice.
Beat the egg separately, pour the egg mixture into the mixture, stir.
Form into balls and fry in a frying pan.
Make the sauce by mixing sour cream with tomato paste and pour into a saucepan.
Simmer until done for no more than 15 minutes.

From ground beef

Another version of a dish familiar from childhood, which proves how nutritious the combination of meat with rice, pearl barley or buckwheat can be. How to cook beef meatballs so that they retain a delicate taste and are soft? It is better to make the minced meat yourself, then beat it well, and any cereal should be boiled first.

Ingredients:

minced beef – 500 g;
rice (buckwheat, pearl barley) – 100 g;
onion – 1 head;
garlic – 1 clove;
water – 1 glass;
sour cream – 200 g;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Finely chop the onion and garlic, pour into the minced meat, add rice. To stir thoroughly.
Form balls, roll in flour, fry over hot vegetable oil until golden brown.
Place in a saucepan, pour in sour cream, add water.
Simmer for about 40 minutes on low heat.

In sour cream sauce

The taste of this dish that melts on the tongue finished form captivates immediately. Children will especially like chicken meatballs in creamy sauce, and adults can add mustard or ketchup to make the taste more piquant. How to cook chicken meatballs? Involve your child in this process; he will definitely enjoy mixing products and sculpting meat “hedgehogs” with his own hands.

Ingredients:

chicken fillet – 600 g;
egg – 1 pc.;
cheese – 200 g;
onion – 1 head;
sour cream – 300 ml;
garlic – 2 cloves;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Finely chop the onion, combine with the minced meat, add the egg, and stir.
Squeeze the garlic into the sour cream under pressure and mix well.
Form “hedgehogs”, place in one layer on the bottom of the dish, put in the oven for a quarter of an hour.
Pour the grated cheese into the sour cream and garlic, dilute with hot water, pour over the dish, and leave for another 20 minutes.

From pork

Nutritious, but light on the stomach - this is what explains the popularity of this second dish. To make meatballs from minced pork and with the gravy they turned out fluffy, you should add soaked white bread. A vegetable stew is suitable as a side dish, and for dinner it is better to serve meat balls with gravy as an independent dish in combination with a salad (cabbage, greens, cucumbers, etc.).

Ingredients:

pork – 1 kg;
egg – 2 pcs.;
rice – 200 g;
tomato paste – 3 tbsp. spoons;
carrots – 2 pcs.;
onion – 1 head

Cooking method:

Twist the meat and make minced meat.
Boil rice, mix with minced meat, eggs, finely chopped onion.
Form into balls, roll in flour and fry.
Then pour in tomato paste, a glass of water, and add chopped carrots.
Simmer covered until done.

From fish

This cooking option is inferior to the meat recipe, but it cooks faster and turns out healthy. How to cook fish meatballs? If you do everything correctly, it will be difficult to refuse the supplement. The gravy helps preserve the delicate taste, and the finished dish will be to the taste of even those who are not particularly fond of healthy sea or river fish on a person’s menu.

Ingredients:

fish fillet – 800 g;
milk – 200 ml;
white bread – 50 g;
tomato paste – 60 g;
onion – 1 head;
spices - to taste

Cooking method:

Crumble the bread, soak in milk, mince the fish along with the onion.
Roll into balls, bread, and place in one layer.
Fry the tomato paste with flour in a frying pan, pour in half a glass of water, and simmer.
Pour the filling onto the fish balls and bake in the oven for half an hour.

Egg meatballs

The taste of the finished dish is almost no different from chicken cutlets. If you want to make a quick dietary dish, then egg meatballs are perfect for this. It is better to serve them with vegetables, herbs, and boiled potatoes. This version of a familiar dish will complement the daily menu of fans healthy eating and is suitable for those who are watching their weight.

Ingredients:

eggs – 5 pcs.;
potatoes – 1 pc.;
bread –300 g;
onion – 1 head;
lard - 2 tbsp. spoons;
flour – 1 tbsp. spoon;
spices - to taste.

Cooking method:

Break 4 eggs, beat as for an omelette, add onion, fry.
Pass bread soaked in milk and boiled potatoes through a meat grinder along with fried eggs.
Add a raw egg and a tablespoon of flour to the resulting mixture.
Form into balls and simmer until done.

Bake, stew, or fry minced meatballs is a matter of taste. In order for the meat balls to turn into a delicious treat reminiscent of a carefree childhood, you will have to get acquainted with some culinary tricks. Here are some practical advice from the masters, with the help of whom you can prepare an appetizing second dish that will not disappoint in either taste or appearance:

Before adding to the future dish, the cereal should be boiled.
To create a crispy crust, you can use wheat, rice flour, and breadcrumbs.
Use one pan for frying and the other for stewing, i.e. transfer the half-finished dish into it.

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How to cook meatballs: recipes

The article introduces the reader to a variety of recipes for stewed meatballs. This dish can be very versatile in taste. Some practical advice will help you cope with cooking for the first time, and for experienced cooks there is a special recipe that they will definitely like.

How are meatballs different from cutlets, meatballs and meatballs?

A novice cook can easily get confused in the whole host of dishes if he doesn’t know how to distinguish kebab from meatballs, zrazy from meatballs, and stewed meatballs from steamed cutlets. So, how to distinguish meatballs from other products? Here some characteristic features:

The shape of the meatball is perfectly round, and not flattened like a cue ball or cutlet.
The usual diameter is 5-6 cm. The meatballs are also round, but they are smaller - no more than three centimeters.
Classic stewed meatballs are prepared with rice; this grain is not added to other types of minced meat products. This is the main identification sign that this is a meatball (although there are exceptions).
Most often, meatballs are stewed in gravy, unlike meatballs and zraz (they are simply poured with sauce on top).

Stewed meatballs in tomato sauce: classic recipe

This dish is known to many from kindergarten, because it was there that the meat balls were the most delicious (judging by the recollections of adult gourmets). Children remember small meat balls generously flavored with gravy more often than pancakes and casseroles. In combination with mashed potatoes and fresh cabbage salad, stewed meatballs can become a real teleport to childhood, bringing back the almost forgotten taste of the dish.

To prepare meatballs, you need to prepare the following products:

1 kg of meat fillet. It is better if it is a combination of beef and pork meat in free proportions;
2-3 onions;
1 cup boiled rice until half cooked;
two raw eggs;
a generous pinch of salt.

For the gravy:

70 grams of flour;
1/2 liter of water;
60 grams tomato paste;
2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream;
1/3 tsp each black pepper and nutmeg;
salt to taste.

It is also worth adding that you can use any spices in the gravy to suit your taste, as long as they go well with the meat and tomato gravy.

Subtleties of preparing minced meat

The process of preparing meatballs stewed in tomato sauce begins with the preparation of minced meat. To do this, you need to pass the meat through a meat grinder along with peeled onions. Some skilled chefs prefer to finely chop the onion, but to do this you need to have the necessary skills so that the pieces of this vegetable are tiny and do not spoil the taste of the finished meat balls. Rice for meatballs should be boiled only halfway, since during the stewing process it will absorb liquid, giving the gravy the necessary thickness and the meat looseness.

Some ignorant people put raw rice in the minced meat, and then lament that the meatballs turned out to be too dense, tough and tasteless. The reason is ignorance the right technology preparation: during the stewing process, raw rice absorbs all the liquid from the minced meat first, making it dry, and the gravy in the center of the meat ball cannot be absorbed due to the fact that the rice absorbs it first. As a result, the dish disappoints with its taste and is gradually removed from the list of desired dishes.

How to cook meatballs in gravy?

Add salt to taste, eggs to the minced meat with onions and knead it well with your hands, whisking vigorously. This is necessary so that during the frying process the meat balls keep their shape perfectly without falling apart. Then add the rice and stir again so that it is evenly distributed throughout the minced meat. Next, lightly wetting your hands warm water, form the meatballs into round balls with a diameter of five centimeters. It is better to roll them in flour, then during frying a nice crust will form, which will additionally preserve the integrity of the products during the stewing process. Fry the meatballs in a frying pan in vegetable oil (1 cup) until golden brown, place them in a saucepan or wide pan with a thick bottom.

In the same frying pan where the meatballs were fried, dilute the tomato paste with one and a half glasses of water, add spices and salt, let it boil and pour the gravy over the meatballs. Place them on low heat and simmer covered for twenty minutes. Then, in a separate bowl, mix the remaining water and sour cream to a uniform consistency, pour over the gravy in the meatballs and mix lightly with a spatula. Let them simmer for another ten minutes and then turn off the stove. You can serve these meatballs with stewed vegetables, and not with classic mashed potatoes or pasta, as was the case in kindergarten. Buckwheat porridge and pickled cucumbers are ideal as a side dish.

Fish balls in cream sauce

If you move away from tradition and prepare meatballs not from minced meat, but from fish, then you can discover a new dish of a more dietary nature. Its energy value is only 153 calories per 100-gram serving, in contrast to meat (230-250 kcal). You can prepare stewed meatballs in sour cream like this: step by step recipe:

First boil 130 grams of rice until half cooked, then drain in a colander, rinse lightly with water, removing excess mucus, and cool.
Pass 800 grams of fish fillet through a meat grinder along with one onion. Mix the minced meat thoroughly with your hands, adding two eggs, 1/2 tsp. allspice, salt to taste and a little oregano for flavor. Finally add the rice and mix well again.
Form small meatballs, fry them in vegetable oil until lightly browned and place in a small wide saucepan.
Prepare the sauce: chop one onion very finely and fry until transparent in two tablespoons of oil, add two glasses of sour cream and 150 grams of water, salt to taste and a small pinch of nutmeg. Let it boil and pour the resulting sauce over the meatballs.

Simmer them over low heat for twenty minutes and serve the stewed meatballs with tender mashed potatoes, lightly sprinkled with grated cheese.

Flavorful meatballs in Greek style

Mediterranean cuisine has always been famous for the special aroma of its dishes, so meatballs are no exception. A skillful combination of spices will turn ordinary meat into a delicious gourmet bliss, and a thick gravy will add juiciness and bright colors. For preparation you will need the following ingredients:

400 grams each of pork and beef;
160 grams of stale bread;
1-2 eggs;
20 grams of fresh mint leaves;
10 grams of ground oregano and the same amount of basil;
80 grams olive oil;
1/2 teaspoon salt;
1 tbsp. a level spoon of granulated sugar;
2-3 bay leaves;
2 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste High Quality;
three large tomatoes;
half a glass of purified water.

Preparation

The first step is to prepare a fragrant sauce: put the tomatoes in boiling water for half a minute, make a cut crosswise in the center and remove the skin with a knife, cut the tomatoes into small cubes. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a saucepan or deep frying pan, place chopped tomatoes there, add sugar and tomato paste. Stir and let it boil. Reduce heat to low and add basil and oregano to the sauce. Simmer for ten minutes (during this time you can form meatballs).

Pass the meat through a meat grinder or use another grinder, add bread and eggs soaked in water, mix thoroughly with your hands. Chop the mint leaves very finely and add them to the mince along with a good pinch of salt. Knead vigorously with your hands to mix the ingredients evenly and form balls about 4 cm in size. Typically, fifteen pieces are obtained from this amount of minced meat. Fry the resulting meatballs in the remaining oil in a frying pan, giving them an appetizing golden brown color, ready to be added to the gravy. The stewed meatballs will simmer in it for ten minutes, after which they can be served to the table along with a side dish of vegetables.

If there is no rice

Sometimes it happens that, having planned to prepare a certain dish the day before, at the beginning of the process you realize that one ingredient is missing, for example rice. Of course, you can cook without it, but what if the minced meat is not enough to make meatballs for the whole large family? In such cases, they come to the rescue versatile vegetables, which can be chopped and added to minced meat. The same method is good for those whose children are reluctant to eat boiled vegetables - they simply won’t notice them in tender meatballs. For example, you can cook stewed meatballs with potatoes, carrots and a small amount of cabbage of any kind.

List of necessary products for meatballs without rice

Here's what to prepare:

500 grams of minced pork;
two medium-sized potatoes;
two eggs;
onion, carrot and bell pepper- one by one;
150 grams of cabbage;
a small bunch of parsley;
two tbsp. l. tomato paste + 2 glasses of water;
1 teaspoon salt;
4-5 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil;
1 tbsp. spoon without top of sugar;
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and the same amount of black pepper;
a little dried oregano or basil (your choice of one).

How to cook?

Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots, and Bell pepper cut into small cubes. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan, add the onion and sauté until transparent state. Then add carrots and peppers there too. While the vegetables are stewing, cut the cabbage into small cubes, add to a common frying pan and simmer for five to eight minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, grind the cooled vegetables in a blender, mix with minced meat, add finely grated potatoes and finely chopped parsley.

Send eggs and salt there too. herbs and nutmeg, actively mix the minced meat with your hands to mix the ingredients evenly, and then form meatballs and fry, rolling in flour or breadcrumbs. In the remaining oil in which the meatballs were fried, dilute the tomato paste with water, add sugar and black pepper. Let the gravy simmer for three minutes, then immerse the meatballs in it and simmer for twenty minutes over low heat, covered. You can serve stewed (cauliflower or broccoli), as well as with regular fried potatoes.

Unusual sauce for meat balls

Stewed meatballs in sauce can be prepared not only in standard tomato sauce, but in more interesting variations:

Finely chop one onion, fry until transparent in two tablespoons of oil and pour in a glass of cream. Send 1 tbsp there. spoon of white wine and soy sauce good quality, as well as 1 teaspoon of mustard. Let the gravy boil over low heat and pour it over the fried meatballs, cooked according to classic recipe.
Boil 300 grams of water in a frying pan, add four tbsp. spoons of tomato paste, six tbsp. spoons of sour cream and three teaspoons of ground ginger. Also add a pinch of sugar, a little salt to your taste and nutmeg on the tip of a knife into the sauce. Let the gravy boil and then use it to prepare stewed meatballs.

Vegan meatballs with spicy sauce

If a person does not eat meat for ethical reasons, this is not a reason not to cook it tasty dish like meatballs. What about without meat? Vegans can do just fine without this product, replacing it with other protein ingredients. So what you need:

300 grams of potatoes, boiled until half cooked “in their jackets”;
200 grams of walnuts;
a small bunch of parsley;
one large onion;
2 tbsp. spoons oatmeal;
two cloves of garlic.

For the gravy:

60 grams of soy sauce + 150 grams of water;
1 heaped teaspoon of cornstarch and the same amount of grated ginger (fresh root);
1 teaspoon light sesame seeds;
2 tbsp. spoons of cane sugar.

Peel the potatoes and pass through a meat grinder along with onions and nuts, add chopped herbs and garlic, as well as oat flakes. Knead the mass well with your hands, turning it into minced meat, and then mold it into round balls. Roll in flour and place in the oven for 15 minutes to form a crust. Temperature oven - 230 degrees. Next, prepare the gravy by mixing all the ingredients and letting them simmer over medium heat. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce and simmer covered for five minutes, then carefully turn over and continue heat treatment for the same amount of time. Let them sit for a few more minutes and then serve while still warm with fresh vegetables.

Meatballs- a dish made from minced meat in the form of balls, and you can use any minced meat to your taste. Meatballs differ from cutlets only in that rice is added to them. Many housewives also call meatballs hedgehogs, precisely because when cooked, the rice expands and the meat balls become like hedgehogs, as the rice sometimes sticks out of the cutlets. For example, I really like meatballs more than cutlets. Because they taste much more tender and it seems to me that they taste better.

Meatballs can be prepared in small balls or vice versa, making the shapes large, but this is entirely up to your taste and habit. In our family, meatballs are made into large balls, approximately the same size as cutlets. To put meatballs with a side dish, as they say, and immediately eat to your heart’s content. Sometimes, if necessary, meatballs can be frozen and, if necessary, cooked by simply boiling them in broth or making them into gravies. The gravy can also be very different, creamy or vice versa - tomato. Every housewife does everything the way her family loves it. Today we will cook homemade meatballs with rice in tomato sauce.

Required:

Minced meat - I have homemade pork - 1 kg. (with the addition of lard, onion, garlic, eggs, salt and ground black pepper to taste)
Rice - 1.5 cups (semi-cooked boiled)
Salt and ground black pepper - to taste
Egg - 1-2 pcs.
Water - 2-3 glasses
Flour - 2-3 tbsp. without top
Tomato paste (ketchup) - 3-5 tbsp.
Sour cream - 2 tbsp. (optional)
Bay leaf 1-2 pcs.
Vegetable oil

How to cook meatballs with gravy in a frying pan:

We make minced meat. I use homemade pork and layers (lard). I also add 1-2 onions and 2-3 cloves of garlic into the minced meat.
Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. I beat the eggs.
Separately, boil the rice until half cooked and add 1-1.5 cups to the minced meat.
I stir.

The minced meatballs are completely ready. Pour water into a saucepan or deep frying pan, lightly salt and bring to a boil. I roll the meatballs to the desired size and drop them into boiling water. I add Bay leaf and let the meatballs cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes. If necessary, I remove the scale.

Separately, I make a preparation for the gravy from a glass of water with flour and mix it thoroughly so that there are no lumps.
I also add tomato paste to the flour water,
I stir.

When the cooking time is up, add the gravy mixture and let it boil.
By this time the gravy should thicken. You are in control at this time required quantity gravy and its thickness. Do not forget that after cooling the gravy will become even thicker, so do not try to add more flour to the water. It is best if the gravy does not reach the required thickness, add a little more flour to a small part of the water and pour it into the gravy again and bring it all to a boil again.

Be sure to taste the gravy and add salt if necessary; you can add different spices to taste. Meatballs with gravy turn out very tasty and tender. Both adults and children eat them well.

Serve the meatballs with mashed potatoes, pasta or any side dish of cereals: rice, buckwheat porridge, etc. Meatballs with gravy will be good simply with fresh vegetables or in combination with homemade preparations.

Svetlana and my home site wish you all a bon appetit!

Thousands of delicious and healthy dishes can be prepared from meat. Today we offer a recipe for meatballs with gravy.

Before we start processing meat, let’s find out how to choose the right one in a store or market:

Firstly, fresh meat should not have an unpleasant odor.
Secondly, if you press on the meat, the indentation from your fingers should quickly recover. If this does not happen, it means the meat is old and spoiled.
Thirdly, if you blot raw, unfrozen meat with a napkin, there should not be any noticeable stains on it. If the meat is fresh, the napkin will be almost dry.
Fourthly, the meat should not be slimy or too wet.
Fifthly, fresh meat has the color of ripe raspberries.
Sixthly, the fat of the meat should be white, but not gray or pink (if the fat is pinkish, it means that the meat was dyed in potassium permanganate, giving the spoiled meat color).
Seventh, the color of the meat should be uniform, the meat should not have blood clots or stains.

To prepare delicious meatballs, let's make minced meat.

Ingredients for the meatballs and gravy recipe:

egg - pcs.
onions - 1-2 pcs.
garlic - 3 cloves
white bread or bran bread
milk
potatoes - 1 pc.
black pepper
spices

To prepare the gravy you will need:

tomato paste
garlic
sugar
carrot

Making delicious meatballs

1. So, let's start with bread. We take bread and milk. Pour milk into a separate bowl. Cut white bread, 2 pieces are enough. Soak them in milk.

2. While the bread is soaking in milk, add onions, garlic, potatoes to the ground meat, passing them through a meat grinder. We don’t use all the onions, leave half the head for gravy. Potatoes are essential if you want to keep the meatballs from falling apart in the water. The starch contained in it will give the minced meat viscosity and stickiness.

3. When the bread gets wet, take it out and squeeze out the milk. It is necessary to squeeze the bread thoroughly so that the minced meat does not turn out too watery.
4. Pass the soaked squeezed bread through a meat grinder.
5. Mix all the minced meat ingredients.
6. Add the egg to the minced meat.
7. Stir the minced meat thoroughly.

8. Now we need salt, pepper and all the necessary spices. Add all this to the minced meat, stir it again.
9. You can add a little more to the minced meat tomato ketchup, it will give the dish a spicy aroma.
10. So, our minced meatballs are ready. All that remains is to roll the balls approximately 3 cm in diameter.

11. There are two ways to prepare delicious meatballs - dip raw meatballs in gravy or pre-fry them.
12. Meatballs must be fried on both sides until a golden film appears.

13. While our meatballs are frying, let's make a gravy in which they will be cooked. To do this, pour water into a pan and put it on gas.
14. After the water boils, add chopped onions, garlic, and grated carrots. You can add tomato paste diluted with water. To do this, first dilute 3 tablespoons of tomato paste in water.

15. So, the meatballs are fried, the gravy is ready. We put the meatballs in there.
16. About 15 minutes before readiness (the minced meat will be half-baked), add diluted or fried flour to the meatballs. I dilute flour in warm water. For a mug of water you will need 3 tablespoons of flour.
17. Add the diluted flour to the gravy and meatballs. Let it cook further.
18. Taste the gravy. If it is undersalted, add more salt and 2-3 teaspoons of sugar.
19. The water from the flour will gradually begin to thicken. Now you need to carefully monitor the dish so that it does not burn.

Pasta is perfect as a sauce for meatballs.

How to cook meatballs

The recipe for meatballs in tomato sauce is considered quite unusual.
There are two options for preparing such meatballs - you can stew on the stove, maybe bake in the oven. To stew on the stove, you should first fry them in sunflower or olive oil.
Before this, bread the meatballs in flour, fry in oil and place in a thick-bottomed saucepan or saucepan. If there are a lot of meatballs, stack them in several rows.
They need to be cooked in the sauce over low heat for 30 - 50 minutes.

Let's look at the recipe with a photo of meatballs in the oven.

For the second option - baking in the oven - you should grease a deep baking dish with oil. Form meatballs from the minced meat with your hands dipped in water and place them in a baking dish (as close to each other as possible).

Now put them in the oven, the temperature of which will be 200 degrees, reduce it to 180 degrees and bake for half an hour.

During this time, your meatballs should brown a little, now it's time to pour them tomato sauce and place in the oven for another half hour.

You need to add cooked rice or half cooked rice to the minced meat; if your dish contains rice and carrots, they need to be sautéed a little. Although, you can add raw vegetable ingredients.

Finely chopped greens, which should also be added to the minced meat itself, will significantly improve the taste of the dish.

Classic recipe for mixed minced meatballs step by step with photos

For this recipe you will need half a kilogram of minced meat ( pork mixed with beef), 400 grams of boiled rice or 150 grams of rice cereal, onion, carrot, 50 grams of butter, a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, an egg and salt with pepper and spices.

Let's start cooking

If you use uncooked rice - Boil it completely or until half. Rinse it in water several times (it is recommended to rinse the rice up to 8 times), until the water becomes clear. Dilute the washed rice with water, one to two, add salt, add water and bring to a boil.

Then turn the heat to low, cover the pan with a lid and cook 10 minutes. Now add it butter. cover with a lid, cover with a towel and let leave for 15 minutes. While the rice is steeping, peel the carrots and grate them on a medium grater.

Peel the carrots and grate them on a medium grater. Prepare the onion - peel it and chop it finely. Saute onions and carrots in oil until they form a light golden crust. Now you need to wait for the rice and vegetables to cool.

When all the ingredients are at room temperature, mix the rice with the minced meat, add the egg, salt and pepper, add the onion and carrots and mix thoroughly again. The minced meat should become homogeneous. Now form it into meatballs.

As always, it is better to work with minced meat with your hands moistened with water. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking dish, placing them as close together as possible. Place the pan in the oven (200 degrees), lower the temperature a little and cook the meatballs at a temperature of 180 degrees within half an hour.

When the meatballs have a light golden brown color, it’s time to remove them from the oven; if you leave them in it too long, the taste will deteriorate.

What to serve meatballs with

You can serve the meatballs with any porridge (except rice, of course) or potatoes and sauce of your choice. While your dish is baking, you have half an hour to prepare a delicious and unusual sauce to make the dish irresistible. For example, pink garlic onion sauce.

To prepare it you will need: a small onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, 200 grams of sour cream, the same amount of tomato juice, salt and pepper. First, chop the garlic, fry it a little, then peel and chop the onion and add to the garlic. When the onion turns golden, pour sour cream into the pan, let it steam for a couple of minutes and pour in tomato juice. Simmer all ingredients over low heat for 8-10 minutes.

Meatballs are very nutritious and healthy dish, and the unusual sauce added to them will not leave even the most picky gourmet indifferent.