Why do meatballs fall apart?
There are quite a few reasons for this, we will list them, explaining how to avoid, or at least reduce, the inconvenience when cooking. It’s definitely worth starting with minced meat as the main ingredient.
The dish is prepared from almost any type of minced meat and even fish, and the techniques for preventing the meatballs from falling apart are also similar. First of all, the structure of the minced meat is important: neither liquid nor dry mass is suitable. It is no easier to select minced meat based on its fat content; a mass with a high fat content falls apart when heated almost as surely as a lean one.
A lot also depends on the size of the pieces, and if coarsely ground minced meat can be twisted again so that the meatballs do not fall apart during frying, then too mashed meat will not have the best effect on the taste of the dish.
In addition to minced meat, meatballs also contain various fillings. As a rule, these are chopped onions, juicy greens, partially cooked cereals and soaked bread. We’ll talk about the last two ingredients in more detail in the second part of the article, telling you what to do to prevent the meatballs from falling apart using additional products. For now, let’s discuss additives that have a greater impact on the taste of meatballs.
Dry herbs, if you are going to use them to give the meatballs an aroma and spicy taste, will have to be ground almost into powder. The only option is not to do this if your minced meat is too juicy and you need to absorb more moisture. But even in this situation, large pieces of spicy leaves will have to be chopped.
If after adding onions the meatballs fall apart, what should I do? The answer is simple: it is best to grate or grind onions in a blender, both onions and green ones. You will have to do the same with any vegetables if you are supposed to use them according to the recipe.
What to add to meatballs so they don't fall apart
We have already briefly mentioned two additions. Cereals are most often represented by rice, but meatballs with buckwheat are also popular. The technology for preparing buckwheat meatballs is somewhat different from other meatballs, and we will skip it for now, but it’s worth talking about rice at least briefly.
Long grain rice is not suitable. In any case, gluing the remaining ingredients together so that the meatballs do not fall apart during cooking will not help. Therefore, it is better to make do with more affordable “round” rice with small grains. Before boiling, the cereals are sorted and washed, but extremely sparingly. Then they weld it, but not completely, and do not rinse it, just carefully drain the water.
Meatballs with rice in sauce
Meatballs with minced rice - preparation:
Pour boiling water over the rice, add salt and a small piece of butter. You will need 2.5 times more water than cereal. Cook for 15 minutes and leave to cool with the lid tightly closed.
Grind the meat, add finely chopped onion, salt, pepper, seasonings and 2 tablespoons of water. Add cooled rice and stir.
Knead the minced meat thoroughly. This determines whether the meatballs will fall apart.
Roll meat balls with a diameter of 4-5 cm between your palms. To prevent the minced meat from sticking to your hands, wet your hands with cold water. Dip the meatballs in flour and fry in vegetable oil on both sides.
After this, the meatballs can be:
Pour sauce for meatballs and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 180-200 °C.
Pour in a small amount of broth and simmer for 5 minutes in a frying pan.
Fry until golden brown and serve with more meatball sauce or without it, but with vegetables.
Steamed meatballs without adding oil will be lower in calories - this is a completely dietary dish, well suited for children.
I am sometimes perplexed by the question of how to properly cook something.
But it seems to me that when it comes to meatballs, “cooking it right” means that the meatballs should be fried, tasty, round and whole.
If there is a lot of rice. For meatballs, it is better to use unsteamed rice, the kind that is used for cooking viscous porridges - it contains more gluten.
How to make meatballs without falling apart
Meatballs with rice are a real lifesaver. Fast and tasty. You can change the sauces and freeze the meatballs for future use.
Products (for 6 servings) Rice – 250 g Minced pork and beef – 500 g Onion – 1 pc. Chicken egg – 1 pc. Garlic – 2-3 cloves Tomato paste – 1 tbsp. spoon Cream - 2 tbsp. spoons Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. spoons Salt - to taste Pepper - to taste Water - 400 g
Step-by-step photo recipeMeatballs with rice
How to cook meatballs with rice in sauce:
Rinse the rice well. Fill with cold water. Add salt. Boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Place in a colander to drain excess liquid. Cool.
Salt and pepper the minced meat. Add one egg.
Peel the onion and garlic. Wash the onions. Finely chop the onion and garlic with a knife.
Add onion, garlic and rice to the minced meat.
Mix the minced meat thoroughly.
Form the resulting mass into balls the size of a walnut. Heat a frying pan, pour in vegetable oil. Place the meatballs in hot oil and fry on all sides over medium heat.
Place the meatballs in a saucepan.
Boil the kettle. Make the sauce. Dissolve tomato paste and cream in boiling water. Salt and pepper.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Simmer covered for 10 minutes.
Meatballs with rice in sauce are ready. Serve with your favorite side dish.
Recipe: Meatballs with rice. How to cook Meatballs with rice?
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Minced chicken meatballs in the oven in milk sauce
Chicken or turkey meatballs are a healthy and dietary dish.
We know how to cook them delicious! Write down the recipe:
Ingredients:
- chicken or turkey fillet - 500 g
- cabbage - 200 g (can be without it)
- small onion - 1 piece
- garlic - 2 cloves
- milk - 100 ml
- chicken egg - 2 pcs
- breadcrumbs - 1 cup
- salt, pepper - to taste
For the gravy (sauce):
- chicken broth - 400 ml
- butter - 70 -80 g
- flour - 2 tbsp. spoons
- milk - 180 ml
- salt - to taste
Preparation:
Cooking minced meat. To do this, pass the meat, onions and cabbage through a meat grinder. Add spices to taste.
Beat eggs, milk, breadcrumbs in a separate bowl.
Then add to the minced meat. Mix everything together thoroughly.
We form small balls and place them on a baking sheet, on a sheet of foil, greased with oil.
Bake at 210 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
This recipe has a very tasty milk gravy. While the meatballs are baking, we will prepare it.
Melt the butter in a saucepan or frying pan, add flour to it. Lightly fry it for 2-3 minutes, without letting it darken, over medium heat.
Next, pour hot milk and broth into it. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Once they are ready, remove them from the oven and place them in the gravy.
Simmer everything together for another 5-7 minutes over low heat. Then we serve it to the table!
A very tender and tasty dish.
Meatballs that never fall apart
The meatballs turn out juicy and hold their shape well.
INGREDIENTS
Minced meat - 500 g
Onion - 1 pc.
Dried herbs - 1 tbsp. l.
Black pepper - to taste
HOW TO COOK
Boil the rice until half cooked, rinse. Finely chop the onion. Add rice, onion, sour cream, garlic, salt, herbs to the minced meat. Mix the minced meat. Let stand in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Form meatballs, roll in flour. Place on a baking sheet, pour in sour cream, place in a preheated oven at 200 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Watch my short video below to see how I prepare these delicious meatballs.
The recipe is great!! Thank you, no flour is needed here, the top part remains cooked and that's not very good, the bottom thickens the sauce, that's good. You could use a spoon to pour sour cream over the meatballs while baking. In my opinion, it is better to pour bechamel, red main or 22% cream. I saw sour cream in minced meat for the first time, it’s good, I’ll take note. I would add an egg to the minced meat. We exchanged recipes and tips, so to speak, ++++
I make meatballs in a silicone mold, like for muffins, they never fall apart and are always juicy
Alexander, thank you, I’ll take note of the bechamel sauce
The recipe is great!! Thank you, no flour is needed here, the top part remains cooked and that's not very good, the bottom thickens the sauce, that's good. You could use a spoon to pour sour cream over the meatballs while baking. In my opinion, it is better to pour bechamel, red main or 22% cream. I saw sour cream in minced meat for the first time, it’s good, I’ll take note. I would add an egg to the minced meat. We exchanged recipes and tips, so to speak, ++++
How to cook “Meatballs with gravy in the oven”
First, we need to boil the rice, so we thoroughly wash it several times and then set it to simmer over low heat. When the rice is half cooked, turn off the heat, drain the water and wait until it cools a little. Then we wash it and mix it with minced meat.
Add eggs and one teaspoon each of salt, pepper and meat spices.
Mix all ingredients very thoroughly until smooth.
We make small meatballs from the prepared minced meat and place them in a baking dish.
Finely chop the onion and grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the onion in it first, and then add the carrots. Fry until the vegetables become soft.
Pour a glass of water into the frying pan, add sour cream, a teaspoon of salt and all the remaining spices, mix thoroughly and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat.
Now we need to pour water into the form with meatballs so that the liquid reaches half of the meatballs. Then add the gravy and put chopped garlic on top. The liquid should eventually completely cover the meatballs.
Now we tightly wrap the mold with foil on all sides and put it in an oven preheated to 225 degrees for an hour. After half an hour, you can unscrew the foil and taste the gravy with salt and pepper, adding water if necessary. Serve the finished meatballs with any side dish of your choice. Bon appetit!
Meatballs with rice. A simple recipe for making meatballs
While experts in the Russian language are arguing about where exactly the emphasis should be placed correctly in the word “meatballs,” let’s not waste time and prepare this delicious dish for lunch. One of the main differences between meatballs and cutlets is the presence of rice or other grains in them. Meatballs can most often be cooked in sour cream or tomato sauce. Children love this dish for its excellent taste and appetizing appearance. No wonder they often call meatballs hedgehogs.
Recipe for meatballs with rice. How to cook delicious meatballs
To make the meatballs more juicy, it is better to take the meat with fat. Peel the onion and pass through a meat grinder together with the meat. Cook the rice in boiling water until half cooked. Pour the broth in which the rice was cooked into a separate container. It will be useful for making gravy. Cooked rice can be left unwashed under cold water and added to minced meat obtained from twisted onions and meat. To make the meatballs juicier, add 2 tablespoons of tomato juice or tomato sauce to the minced meat. Mix everything, add salt and pepper to taste.
Form small balls with a diameter of 3-4 cm, roll them in flour. In a frying pan over high heat, fry the meatballs on both sides until golden brown.
Place the fried meatballs in an unenamelled pan (so that they do not burn), pour in the rice water.
If you want to cook meatballs in sour cream sauce, then add at least 3 - 4 tablespoons of sour cream to the pan to taste. If in tomato sauce - then 3 - 4 tablespoons of tomato paste. For children, it is preferable to make meatballs in sour cream sauce. It is better not to add tomato sauce to make the dish more dietary.
The meatballs should be at least half covered with sauce. If there is less liquid, add a little water. Season the gravy with salt and add a little sugar to taste. Place the pan on the fire, bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the dish for 20 - 25 minutes.
To make meatballs with rice you will need:
0.5 cups rice
2 tablespoons tomato juice or tomato sauce (to taste)
salt, pepper (to taste)
Mashed potatoes or boiled pasta are good as a side dish for meatballs. Place the side dish beautifully on a plate, pour the sauce over it, and place a few meatballs in the middle of the dish.
We hope that the rice meatballs you prepared will delight your whole family with a pleasant taste.
Description of preparation:
To prepare meatballs with mayonnaise, use combined minced meat: beef and pork are an excellent option.
You don’t have to bother and buy ready-made. For such a dish, you can always use what is left a little: the remaining rice, the last egg. If you like it richer, then the more mayonnaise, the better. But then the dish will be high in calories. Recipe for meatballs with mayonnaise: 1. Mix minced meat with rice. 2. Finely chop the garlic, add it to the minced meat, as well as spices. Mix everything well. 3. Add an egg to the minced meat. We form balls and send them to the frying pan. Fry in oil. 4. Now place the fried balls in any baking dish. 5. Prepare the sauce: mix mayonnaise and ketchup, add spices. 6. Pour the sauce over the balls (if the meatballs are not completely covered, add water). Place in the oven for an hour at 180 degrees. Ready! Meatballs with mayonnaise can be served with any side dish: potatoes, porridge, spaghetti. If desired, sprinkle them with fresh herbs or garnish with vegetables. Bon appetit! Purpose: For lunch / For dinner Main ingredient: Meat / Minced meat Dish: Hot dishes / Meatballs
