Have you ever made simple Meatballs? Have you ever made Pan-Fried Meatballs for Kids? What do you think changes between the first and the second? Many might say nothing, in my opinion, but after making Meatballs with Gemma, I can tell you they change a lot. Naming parsley or basil, rosemary, oregano and always hearing blaaaa is one of the things that made me reflect.
Being older now, without children around, the nephews practically go around on their own, I never had to deal with the tastes of a little one, or a four-year-old girl holding her ground to her mom and her friend (which is me). But then I think, how do I sometimes fool my father? With him, I have to think about how to use ingredients without him noticing, like pepper, onion, garlic, or other things he doesn’t eat, they bother him, like the poor barattiere cucumber a few days ago. But then if he doesn’t see them, he doesn’t notice them, and if he doesn’t notice them, they’re not there, but I assure you they are.
To manage the preparation with little Gemma, we adopted a little trick (almost funny, I know): she would add the ingredients, so she would take it as a game and wouldn’t realize she was adding scents and aromas to the meatballs. You will hear and see in the video recipe that we prepared things to add for her throughout the time, involving her in the steps. This will ensure that the child doesn’t think about things they don’t like. Of course, if you tell them, “you don’t eat this and that,” I can’t guarantee it will work with your kids, but I can tell you everything went smoothly with Gemma!
Cook with Me has been online for about a month , a shared space with you in my kitchen, where we create recipes chosen by you together. A time to be together, to understand how it works and what’s behind a recipe blog. The time and dedication, the photography and videos, the lights, the timing, and everything that revolves behind Le Ricette di Bea! The guests are random, in fact, you write to me in chats and, above all, decide the recipe of that day.
This time, Tania wrote, along with little Gemma. They wanted to prepare the Pan-Fried Meatballs for Kids, simple meatballs that they could make together at home. If you watch the video to the end, you’ll understand that Gemma loved them! As you can see below, you’ll find the video recipe with complete step-by-step instructions. I warn you, it’s about 20 minutes, but all super fun. There aren’t many cuts because you can hear the little one and the mom in the background talking while we prepare this simple main dish.
When Tania wrote to me in chat asking to participate in making meatballs, I thought she was joking. For us food bloggers, many things are, I wouldn’t say obvious, but very simple, that we often underestimate them. As Tania wrote, meatballs often turn out either too soft, sometimes they fall apart, and other times they are too hard. She wanted to learn all the tricks, the steps of this basic kitchen preparation. So we set a day and all three of us put on our aprons and got to the stove.
The greatest satisfaction for me came in the end, a few hours after my two wonderful guests had left. The phone rings, a message, Tania: Thank you, truly a beautiful experience! I chose to open Le Ricette di Bea more than 13 years ago out of passion and today I think I will continue following the most beautiful passion in the World!
So enjoy this recipe, call your children, nephews, friends’ kids, and have fun preparing these pan-fried meatballs for kids with them!
Below, I’ll also leave you the links to the other Meatball Recipes I’ve prepared over the years, from those with turkey and sage to those I mention in the video recipe, that is rosemary and lemon which I adore! Then you’ll find the classic Meatballs in sauce and those made for lactose intolerants, namely Meatballs without cheese and milk, very simple, digestible, and at the same time delicious! Every link is clickable and will take you directly to the recipe you chose to read.
I also remind you that I await you every morning in the group and on the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the RECIPE OF THE DAY and many other curiosities live from my kitchen!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 588.66 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 15.97 (g) of which sugars 2.23 (g)
- Proteins 48.78 (g)
- Fat 34.98 (g) of which saturated 5.88 (g)of which unsaturated 5.72 (g)
- Fibers 1.73 (g)
- Sodium 651.80 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 220 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Pan-Fried Meatballs for 4 People
- 12 oz ground pork (or other meat of your choice)
- 12 oz ground chicken (or other meat of your choice)
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 oz cheese (grated, in my case lactose-free)
- 2.5 oz breadcrumbs (approximately)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 tablespoon parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano (finely chopped)
- 1 pinch nutmeg (if you like it)
- Half white onion (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 espresso cup white wine
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley (finely chopped)
As I explained during the video recipe to Tania, in my meatballs you won’t find milk, stale bread, whole eggs, and now I’ll explain why. Stale bread works if you’re experienced, if you know how to balance it with the other ingredients, like with milk that you’ll need for soaking. As Tania said: “Sometimes I obviously overdo it with the bread and so they become hard while other times I overdo it with milk and eggs and so they remain soft and sticky.”
If you watch the video recipe, you’ll see that Tania is initially almost hesitant toward the mixture, as if getting her hands dirty was the strangest thing about the recipe. But then, once she understood and felt the right consistency of the meatball mixture, she realized they were literally different from hers.
Tools to Prepare Pan-Fried Meatballs
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pan
- 1 Stovetop
- 2 Small Bowls
- 1 Lid
- 1 Spoon
Steps for the Pan-Fried Meatball Recipe to Prepare with Kids
Let’s start with choosing the meat: you’ll need two types of meat or rather animal to make a nice mix. I chose ground chicken and pork. This way, we’ll achieve a well-balanced meat mix, soft and flavorful. It won’t be heavy and will be easy to work with. Try to have your butcher grind two different types of meat without doing it together; we’ll do it at home in our bowl. Choose the meat you like best, whether it’s turkey or chicken, pork or beef, feel free.
Then the eggs: for 600 – 700 grams of mixed ground meat, I use only one egg yolk, but I don’t throw away the egg white. First, because it might be needed if I see the meat doesn’t bind well, and second, I can always make fantastic pancakes.
Let’s talk about the breadcrumbs: mine are from Grandma Sandrina, a great breadcrumb supplier. A certainty, not too fine and not too large, it works perfectly for all preparations. To be stored strictly in a plastic bag with a perfect closure directly in the freezer. All year long, no day or month excluded! Using breadcrumbs means we don’t need to add milk to our meatballs since we don’t have to soften slices of old bread.
Now let’s move on to the cheese: for 600-700 grams of ground meat, about 60 grams of grated cheese is enough. Whether it’s Pecorino Romano, aged Pecorino, Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, salted ricotta, or any aged cheese you can think of, 60 grams is enough. However, keep in mind the saltiness level of the cheese you’ve chosen to avoid messing up the salt during the preparation and the relative cooking of the Pan-Fried Meatballs!
Second-to-last tip: Tania, what shouldn’t you do during meatball cooking? Don’t touch, don’t flip, don’t poke, don’t approach with any utensils or tools! Why? Well, look at how beautiful ours are; we never touched them, just tossed them, and trust me, the difference is visible and noticeable!
Last but not least in terms of importance: the lid! Ah, how wonderful they are, useful if you fully appreciate their use. What shouldn’t be done during the cooking of pan-fried meatballs? If you ask Tania now, she’ll know what to answer! After the first 10 minutes of cooking over low heat with a lid, we can also wash it and put it away; it won’t be needed anymore, or it will create humidity.
Now you have in hand and in your head, I hope, all my tricks for perfect pan-fried meatballs! I hope you make good use of them and, above all, that you’ll send in your photographs via chat! As I told Tania, in response to her message: every time you now make meatballs, they will have a whole new flavor, reminding you of the day spent together and will be better each time!
As anticipated, let’s prepare the meatball mixture. Take a nice large bowl, with high sides, so even kids can help without making a mess. Pour in the two types of ground meat, add the portion of breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Break the egg and pour only the yolk into the bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the chopped parsley and oregano, in our case, both dried. Then the nutmeg if you like it, I highly recommend it!
Now we start working the mixture, with hands and without gloves; we need to feel the meat to realize the stickiness level (I don’t even know if that’s the right term, but it gives a good idea) of it. Don’t make faces like Tania that I see you! You should have a sticky mixture but not too much, easy to work with, that stays compact but not hard. In short, get familiar with it, feel the meat and don’t add other ingredients than those indicated, talking about quantities, otherwise, you’ll end up with meatballs, at best, hard; at worst, ones that open like a shell.
Let’s place a plate in front of us and start taking parts of the mixture to create the meatballs. Stay between 30 and 40 grams per meatball; if you don’t trust yourself and your eyes, initially use a scale. Or you can purchase the meatball maker (you can do it by clicking here) like the one I gave to Tania to make meatballs with Gemma. Gradually place all the meatballs on the plate and then set aside.
Let’s move on to preparing the onion soffritto. I chose a white onion, I already had half cut in the fridge, but golden onion is also perfect for this recipe. Finely and roughly chop, during cooking it will wilt and disappear, leaving only its best, its unmistakable aroma. Pour into a non-stick pan and possibly with nice high edges, two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and add the onion chop. Bring the pan to the stove and turn on the flame, medium power.
Let the onion fry which will soon start to sizzle, then it’s time for the espresso cup of white wine. Pour it into the pan and let it flame out, slightly lowering the flame’s power. Before the wine completely disappears, add the meatballs, gently, without pulling or stacking them on top of each other. I remind you, in this step, we helped Gemma by making it easier for her with the wooden spoon. From this moment on, cover the pan with the lid, make sure it closes well, lower the flame almost to the minimum and don’t touch the meatballs anymore! Let 10 minutes of cooking pass.
After this time has passed, continue cooking for about another 10 minutes with the medium-low flame and still without touching the meatballs, at all! Add a pinch of salt, pepper, a few more leaves of parsley and oregano and let it go. Just toss, with upwards and downwards motions of the pan handle and mainly using the high edges of the pan itself. If Tania managed after just one explanation and after seeing me do it once, you can do it too! In the video recipe, this weight throw, as my guest called it, is very visible and you can hear Gemma’s squeals!
And now? And now, my friends, you just have to plate the pan-fried meatballs. Gemma chose a Meatball Cake, more or less a tower; we armed ourselves with forks and started lunch! “Yummy Meatballs!” What to say, two beautiful hours spent together among stoves, minced meat, dog and cat, laughter and chats, a few small whims, and a fragrance that binds everything together!
I wish you all enjoy your meal and I hope I’ve managed to convey both through the video and the words the tricks for perfect pan-fried meatballs, the fun of that morning spent with Tania and little Gemma! I also thank Michele, the dad, because if we had fun, it’s also thanks to him, such a fun and spirited kid is a joy to have at home (for a few hours, of course, haha). Thanks a lot and I hope you enjoyed seeing yourselves!
Storage and Tips:
Storing Pan-Fried Meatballs is really simple, just let them cool completely and then place them in a container with a lid. You can then choose to store them in the fridge for about 2 or 3 days, or keep them in the freezer for a maximum of two weeks. Remember to defrost them by transferring them to the refrigerator to avoid excessive temperature changes.
Tips have already been indicated during the recipe text both in the written version and in the video version, so please pay attention to avoid the same mistakes Tania made during the preparation of Pan-Fried Meatballs.
For any further questions or clarifications I am at your complete disposal, you can write in all the chats or comments on the social profiles listed below.
