Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Tender Meatballs


pinktroll

Recommended Posts

pinktroll Apprentice

Hello,

I am hoping for help from all the great cooks out there. I want to make some meatballs for New Years Eve but every time I make meatballs they turn out kind of .. the best way I can think to describe it is the texture is course. I used to buy the meatballs from Costco and they have a much smoother texture, very tender. My meatballs are like ground beef smushed together. Does that make sense to anyone? Anyway, do I need to knead and process them more or is there a secret ingrediant I don't know about? I usually use ground beef, onion, egg and gluten free bread crumbs. I just blend it all together with my hands and then make it into balls. Any suggestions? Also, what is that sauce for meatballs that involves grape jelly? I think you can also use it with little smokies. Thank everyone!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Mistilyn Rookie

Hello pinktroll :)

This is the recipe that I use. I love them with spaghetti and my gluten loving fiance also loves them. He's Italian and says they are better than his mother's!

Gluten Free Italian Meatballs

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup gluten free bread crumbs (See below for what I use)

1/4 cup milk or milk substitute of your choice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 egg

1/2 tsp dried Basil

1/2 tsp dried parsley

Breadcrumb Mix:

1/3 cup tortilla crumbs (that come in the round can)

1 tsp Italian Seasonings

1 tsp Dried Basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

dash of pepper

Procedure:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees

2. Mix bread crumb ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Add all other ingredients to breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. (I use my hands to mix it)

4. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs and place into a 13x9x2 rectangular pan.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the centers are no longer pink.

I have found that if you rinse your hands frequently in a bowl of warm water as you form the meatballs, they don't stick to your hands as much. Also, it is important that these bake in the deeper pan. I tried making them on a cookie sheet and they stuck to the pan terribly. I use a glass baking dish for my meatballs.

kbabe1968 Enthusiast

Mine are usually pretty tender. I add ketchup or tomato sauce to mine too...so they're a little wetter than the normal meat ball.

It also helps to sear them THEN add them to sauce first. This keeps the juices inside instead of cooking the juices out of the meat.

I scoop mine with a small cookie scoop and then round them a little then put in a LOW pan and put a lid on until the outsides are completely cooked (okay, so this isn't really a sear, but a steam). THEN I put them in sauce.

The grape jelly sauce is one jar grape jelly to equal size jar of chili sauce (I think Heinz is gluten free or was the last time I used it). this makes a nice sweet & sour meatbal. I always mix the grape jelly and chilli sauce together really smooth before adding to the meatballs.

You can vary it a little too by using cranberry sauce instead of grape jelly. :D

missy'smom Collaborator

I find that when I ask the butcher to grind it fresh for me it is finer than some of the pre-packaged ground meat. I also deep fry my meatballs sometimes :o . it makes them nicely browned on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. A little tomato product, milk or other liquid added to the breadcumbs helps. It is possible to overmix. I usually mix with a fork but sometimes use the food procesor, which grinds it a little finer ut have to be careful not to overmix or they'll end up hard.

lpellegr Collaborator

Don't overmix - that will toughen it up. The more liquid you add, the softer the finished meatballs will be. The crumbs will soak it up. I make Italian meatballs - ground beef, gluten-free crumbs (lots), lots of minced garlic, parsley, salt, one egg per pound, and while I mix it with one hand I use the other hand to add water a little at a time from a cup I have ready, until it feels moist enough. My father, the Italian who grew up in the Depression, says if you don't have breadcrumbs you can use things like cooked rice or potato or even cooked lentils to stretch the meat - anything moist. I roll it into 2" balls and saute in olive oil, repeatedly turning, until crunchy on all sides, but if you have enough time you can drop them, raw or cooked, into tomato sauce while it cooks and they will come out extremely tender - you just have to make sure they're in there long enough. At least an hour would be my guess, although I don't do the raw ones myself. If you're going to simmer them in sauce you could bake the whole batch in the oven to get them cooked through, then transfer to the sauce. We usually like ours crunchy, so frying does it for us.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,162
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Jean Kemling
    Newest Member
    Jean Kemling
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • DAR girl
      Looking for help sourcing gluten-free products that do not contain potato or corn derived ingredients. I have other autoimmune conditions (Psoriatic Arthritis and Sjogrens) so I’m looking for prepared foods as I have fatigue and cannot devote a lot of time to baking my own treats. 
    • Scott Adams
      I am so sorry you're going through this. It's completely understandable to feel frustrated, stressed, and disregarded after such a long and difficult health journey. It's exhausting to constantly advocate for yourself, especially when you're dealing with so many symptoms and positive diagnoses like SIBO, while still feeling unwell. The fact that you have been diligently following the diet without relief is a clear sign that something else is going on, and your doctors should be investigating other causes or complications, not dismissing your very real suffering. 
    • Oldturdle
      It is just so sad that health care in the United States has come to this.  Health insurance should be available to everyone, not just the healthy or the rich.  My heart goes out to you.  I would not hesitate to have the test and pay for it myself.  My big concern would be how you could keep the results truly private.  I am sure that ultimately, you could not.  A.I. is getting more and more pervasive, and all data is available somewhere.  I don't know if you could give a fake name, or pay for your test with cash.  I certainly would not disclose any positive results on a private insurance application.  As I understand it, for an official diagnosis, an MD needs to review your labs and make the call.  If you end up in the ER, or some other situation, just request a gluten free diet, and say it is because you feel better when you don't eat gluten.      Hang in there, though.  Medicare is not that far away for you, and it will remove a lot of stress from your health care concerns.  You will even be able to "come out of the closet" about being Celiac!
    • plumbago
      Yes, I've posted a few times about two companies: Request a Test and Ulta Labs. Also, pretty much we can all request any test we want (with the possible exception of the N protein Covid test and I'm sure a couple of others) with Lab Corp (or Pixel by Lab Corp) and Quest. I much prefer Lab Corp for their professionalism, ease of service and having it together administratively, at least in DC. And just so you know, Request a Test uses Lab Corp and Quest anyway, while Ulta Labs uses only Quest. Ulta Labs is cheaper than Request a Test, but I am tired of dealing with Quest, so I don't use them so much.
    • Scott Adams
      PS - I think you meant this site, but I don't believe it has been updated in years: http://glutenfreedrugs.com/ so it is best to use: You can search this site for prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
×
×
  • Create New...