Many of us are very fond of vegetable and cereal soups with tender balls made from minced meat or fish. After reading today's article, you will learn how to cook meatballs so that they do not turn into tasteless lumps.
A bit of history
There is still no unequivocal opinion on the origin of meat balls. Those who don’t know how to cook pork, turkey or beef meatballs will be interested in Persia as one of the existing theories. The inhabitants of this country prepared them in several different ways.
Unlike other dishes based on minced meat, nothing extra is added to minced meatballs. The size of the balls used for diet and baby food should be no more than a walnut.
What are delicious balls made of?
Those who want to figure out how much to cook meatballs should remember that they are not an independent dish, but an addition to soups. It should be noted that their taste largely depends on the quality of the raw materials used for cooking. For these purposes, it is recommended to purchase only fresh meat or fish.
Meatballs can be made from chicken, lamb, pork, veal or ground beef. According to experienced chefs, the most delicious dish is obtained from a mixture of several varieties of meat. In balls that are not intended for dietary nutrition, you can add a little smoked meat. They will give the finished product an indescribable flavor. Meatballs with smoked meat in combination with bean and pea soups are especially good.
General recommendations
Those who want to understand how much to cook meatballs should definitely get acquainted with the basic secrets of their preparation. To get juicy balls, they add finely chopped onions. Its taste will not be felt in the finished dish, but thanks to its presence it will become more delicate and aromatic. Moreover, onions can be not only raw, but also slightly fried.
In many recipes, it is recommended to add a chicken egg to the minced meat balls. However, experienced chefs advise against this. They claim that this ingredient coarsens the taste of meatballs, making them tougher.
Stuffing should be twice passed through a meat grinder with a fine grate and well mixed. Then the balls are guaranteed not to lose their original shape. You can add a little salt and spices to it. To make the meat balls especially soft, you can introduce bread or semolina into their composition. For a pound of meat, one tablespoon of cereal is enough.
The fattest and most nutritious are balls made from beef, lamb and minced pork. But they are absolutely not suitable for those who follow a diet.
The human body is well absorbed meatballs from poultry meat. Chicken and turkey contain many useful trace elements. To give these balls a richer flavor, various herbs and spices can be added to the minced meat.
For children's and diet menus, rabbit balls are ideal. It is this meat that contains a minimal amount of fat, but is rich in vital vitamins and minerals.
How and how much to cook meatballs?
To date, there are many recipes for first courses with delicious meat balls. Despite the fact that they add various ingredients, they are prepared according to general principles. First, pre-prepared vegetables (onions, carrots and bell peppers) are sent to a pot of boiling water. After a couple of minutes, chopped potatoes are added to them and left to boil for a short time. After a few minutes, the meat balls are gently lowered into boiling water with vegetables. When all of them are in a pot with soup, the fire is increased to medium, salted and boiled for about fifteen minutes.
Those who already understand how much to cook beef meatballs need to remember that frozen balls cook a little longer. As a rule, in this case, the time increases to thirty minutes. In the process of cooking, you can not cover them with a lid, since you will have to periodically remove the resulting foam. Shortly before the end of cooking, you can add a little vermicelli to the pan. The finished dish should be infused for five minutes. After that, it can be seasoned with sour cream greens and serve.
How to cook turkey meatballs in soup?
It will take a little time to prepare this tasty and healthy first course. For minced meat in this case, it is better to buy a turkey breast. But if necessary, it can be replaced with meat from the hips or legs. To prepare you will need:
- A pound of turkey pulp.
- One hundred grams of rice.
- One carrot.
- Five potatoes.
- One onion.
In addition, the list needs to be supplemented with two liters of water, salt and spices.
Action algorithm
First you need to put a pot of water on the fire. While it will boil, you should do the turkey. It must be washed, dried and passed through a meat grinder. Ready minced meat needs a little salt and pepper.
Formed meat balls are carefully placed in boiled water. Five minutes later, pre-cut potatoes should be sent there. Then, chopped and fried in vegetable oil vegetables (onions with carrots) are added to the pan. Ten minutes before being prepared for the soup, well-washed rice, salt and spices are sent. Now you know how to cook turkey meatballs.