Meatballs

Grandpa and Lukas  June 2011

My Grandpa used to make meatballs for Oma soup, and frankly it was my favorite part as a kid. One day my Grandpa was making a bunch of meatballs for the freezer and had just gotten a vacuum sealer. He was excited to have them all ready for when he wanted to make Oma soup. So he got them all rolled out and ready to seal, he pressed the button and SMASH! all the meatballs turned to mush! Ha silly Grandpa didn't think about it completely destroying his perfectly shaped meatballs. He had to start all over again and first freeze then vacuum seal. Yet this is only 1 of the many funny stories about my grandpa. He was an AMAZING cook, and I know that's where I get my passion for food.
I'm not sure if there was an official recipe that my Grandpa used, but mine is pretty close. I use meatballs in many different dishes from spicy BBQ meatballs, spaghetti, soup and sandwiches.  I like to make medium ones, but small or big ones are good too. For soup I suggest smaller so it can be picked up with a spoon. And maybe later I can get the recipe for Oma soup from my Dad fast Erny and share it.


Meatballs:
2 pounds ground beef/ pork/or turkey
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup dried basil
3 TBS dried oregano
3 TBS dried onion
3 TBS garlic pepper
3 TBS dill weed
2 TBS worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
1-3 TBS red pepper flakes- optional
2 tsp salt

Combine everything in a big bowl. Mix together with your hands till well mixed. if it seems too wet add more breadcrumbs. Sometimes I mix beef and pork together and turkey meatballs are great too!  Now this makes alot of little meatballs- I got about 60 meduim ones, depending on how lean the meat is they might shrink. I try and buy 93/7 or at least 90/10 ground beef, and mine don't really shrink. There are a couple ways of cooking the meatballs. I favor the oven get them browned up before I add them to my sauce or soup. Bake them at 350 for 15-20 min (depends on size). But if you are out of time they can be put directly into sauce or soup. Just be careful so they don't stick to the bottom, and over stirring can cause them to break.  I hope you enjoy the meatballs in whatever you decide to put them in.