Note!

A very delicate texture is obtained from meatballs with the addition of mashed potatoes to minced meat, and it is impossible to guess about its presence in the finished dish. There is no taste of potatoes at all.

The size of meatballs can be different - from balls, the size of Walnut and up to the size of a large apple.

They are steamed, fried or stewed, they use a frying pan, a saucepan, an oven, a slow cooker, etc. Many people think that meatballs are the same cutlets, but in fact there are differences and they are quite significant.

So, meatballs are never breaded in breadcrumbs. Sometimes they are added to minced meat, but they are dipped exclusively in flour before frying. It is best to use rice or corn for this, but for lack of it, premium wheat is also suitable. You can also distinguish them by the presence of additional ingredients in minced meat, and most importantly, meatballs are always served only in sauce. And often it is he who is largely given the primary role. It can both emphasize the charm of meat balls, and completely spoil their taste.

Cutlets and meatballs owe their differences to their origin. If the first ones came to us from France, where they were served immediately after frying along with mashed potatoes or other side dishes, then meatballs originate from the cuisine of the Turkic peoples. The first meatballs are hand-made meat balls that were boiled in a cauldron with vegetables and served with them. It turned out a kind of sauce and a completely independent dish.

How to cook minced meatballs


Meatballs are prepared from any minced meat. You can use the meat component of the same type, but meatballs made from mixtures are much tastier. You can use 2, and preferably 3 types of minced meat. They should be approximately equal parts, but it’s not scary if, let’s say pork is half of the total mass, and beef and chicken or turkey are a quarter each. It still tastes better than just one.

Minced meat should be of the same grinding. For meatballs, it is not necessary to make it too small, you can leave large pieces, so it will be even more original.

But if you add vegetables (onions, carrots, tomatoes, etc.) to the meat, then it is advisable to chop them until smooth, otherwise the pieces will simply fall out of the meatballs.


You can add grated raw potatoes to the minced meat, but if the recipe contains eggs, then this is not necessary. These products perform the same role - they “glue” the minced meat, and if there are too many of them, then the finished meatballs can turn out dry.

As for rice, or rather the degree of its readiness, there is no unambiguous requirement. If there is a little boiled from dinner left, you can use it, and if you specially boil it, then semi-preparedness is enough, because then it will still be stewed as part of the meatballs. You can not boil it at all, but simply pour boiling water over it and let it stand for a while.


Few people know that rice plays a much more important role than just adding minced meat and increasing the volume of the finished dish. Yes, it definitely makes meatballs more satisfying. Thanks to rice, they are often served separately, without garnish and snacks. But in addition, it increases the benefits of meatballs, because it contains a lot of potassium, proteins and B vitamins that are very important for humans.

Long-grain rice is not recommended for meatballs. With it, the dish will be dryish. Round-grain (especially brown and steamed) is considered the healthiest and is often used to make meatballs, but medium-grain rice is still best suited for this dish. It is perfectly boiled soft, and also absorbs the aromas and taste of all other components.


As for spices in recipes, they most often write - add to taste. If you have a proven minced meat seasoning, use it. If not, add a pinch each of black pepper, just a little red and a little white. If it turns out bland to your taste, it is better to add seasonings to the finished dish.

Meatballs are very tasty with the addition of a mixture of Provence herbs, and if fresh dill is available, feel free to put more of it, it not only adds aroma and additional taste, but also makes the finished dish more juicy and airy.

Another mandatory rule for cooking minced meat. He must be beaten off. This is done not only when cooking meatballs, but also cutlets. Just take the stuffing in your hands and throw it on cutting board or tabletop. So you need to do 3-5 times. Thanks to this simple technique, the mass will become more homogeneous, and the finished dish will turn out to be more magnificent, airy and will not fall apart into pieces.

How to make sauce for meatballs


We have already said that a lot depends on the sauce. Properly cooked, it will emphasize the taste of meatballs, make them more tender and refined, or, on the contrary, add spiciness, as someone likes.

You can add the sauce while cooking the meatballs, or you can cook it separately and serve it to the table along with the already prepared ones. The first option is more common. Meat balls stewed in gravy become more tasty and fragrant.

Basically, meatball sauce is made by mixing onions and carrots fried in a pan with tomato paste, broth and flour, which is added to thicken. But there is more original recipes. They give the dish a completely different taste, avoid monotony in the diet.


For lovers of a delicate taste, sauces with the addition of milk, cream or cheese are suitable. And for those who like the original combinations more, you should try adding to regular recipe ready-made coriander or spicy sauce.

If you cook meatballs in ordinary tomato sauce, but add a little wine sauce to it, a dish from the everyday category will instantly be transferred to the category of festive and solemn ones.

Traditionally, tomato sauce is prepared for meatballs, but there are other options that go well with meat balls.

Take note of proven recipes for making sauces for meatballs:

Lactic


Melt 100 g of butter in a frying pan over low heat, add a spoonful of flour and knead so that in total mass there were no lumps. Add a glass of milk, a little salt and pepper. Boil 10 minutes. Pour meatballs with prepared sauce and simmer for another 25-30 minutes over low heat. 3 minutes before cooking, sprinkle with fresh herbs.

Mushroom


In a frying pan, simmer one large onion, finely chopped, add finely chopped champignons or oyster mushrooms (300-400 g), simmer under the lid until tender. Add 300 ml of warm milk, salt and a spoonful of flour. Wait while stirring until it thickens. Pour the meatballs and put them in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

For a richer taste, use mushroom seasoning.

Cream sauce


Pour 300 ml of milk into a non-stick container, add a spoonful of mayonnaise, a spoonful of sour cream, salt and a little pepper. Bring to a boil over low heat, put the meatballs in the sauce and simmer until tender. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, add a couple of bay leaves, 2-3 peas of allspice, a little basil or fresh herbs.

Try each of these sauces to find the one that suits you best.

Meatballs are easy to prepare, but also very profitable. For comparison, from the same amount of minced meat, cutlets are obtained almost two times less. This is explained by additional products and especially the presence of rice. And so that the result is always pleasing, follow the advice of professionals:


  • use several types of minced meat;
  • it is advisable to buy meat, and grind it at home. If this is not possible, purchase fresh chilled minced meat, frozen meatballs are not suitable;
  • minced meat should be moderately fatty, if it is lean, you need to add at least a small piece of ground lard to it;
  • if you add an egg, then grated potatoes should not be added, although the second option is still recommended for meatballs. eggs in classic recipe are not provided;
  • choose the right rice and do not put it in minced meat raw;
  • use proven spices in a minimal amount to emphasize the taste of meat, and not kill it;
  • be sure to beat the cooked minced meat on the table or countertop before sculpting the balls;
  • sculpt meatballs of the same size;

  • do not roll them in breadcrumbs before frying, use only flour for this.

When planning to cook meatballs, take more food than you need for one serving. Then part of the meat balls can be frozen. A semi-finished product will help out when there is no time to cook. You just have to stew the meatballs in the sauce and a delicious dinner for the whole family is ready in a hurry!

How to cook classic meatballs with gravy

This recipe is a must try for every housewife. There are many options for cooking meatballs, but the classics always remain the best and most proven.


You will need the following ingredients:

  • pork neck - 1 kg;
  • two large onions;
  • 100 g of rice;
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic;
  • 3-4 table. spoons tom. pastes;
  • 3 leaves of lavrushka;
  • 4-5 peppercorns;
  • salt to taste (about a teaspoon);
  • black ground pepper - ½ teaspoon;
  • paprika - ½ teaspoon;
  • ground ginger - ¼ tsp. spoons;
  • some oil for frying.

Rinse the meat, dry it, grind it in a meat grinder with a medium-sized nozzle. Boil rice until half cooked. Peel the onion and garlic, also grind in a meat grinder. Stir the minced meat, add salt and ground spices (about half of the total amount), mix thoroughly, beat off several times. Grease a frying pan with oil, put on medium heat. With wet hands, mold the meatballs of the same size, fry on both sides. Put in a saucepan. In another pan, you can cook the sauce in parallel. To do this, mix tomato paste, lavrushka, peppercorns and the remaining spices. Add 800-1000 ml of water, boil for 10 minutes. Then pour the meatballs and simmer after boiling over low heat for 40 minutes. You can serve it with any side dish, but it tastes best with mashed potatoes and buckwheat porridge.

How to make meatballs with gravy in a pan


If there are a small number of meatballs, or if a large frying pan is available, you can cook them directly on it.

Ingredients:

  • 300 g of pork and minced chicken;
  • 100 g of rice;
  • egg;
  • 5 spoons of tom paste;
  • medium bulb;
  • small carrots;
  • table. a spoonful of flour;
  • rast. oil;
  • salt and spices to taste.

Stir the minced meat, add the egg, half-cooked rice, salt and pepper to taste. Beat the minced meat several times on the table. Blind meatballs. In a frying pan, fry finely chopped onions and grated carrots until golden brown, add tomato paste to them. Fry for a couple more minutes. Pour in 500-600 ml of water, simmer for 10 minutes. Add flour, stir until smooth. Put the meatballs in a slightly thickened sauce, cook for about 30 minutes under the lid. Sprinkle with herbs before serving.

Recipe for meatballs with rice in tomato sauce

Many meatball recipes may seem similar, but even with a slight change in the classic list of products, as well as different ways cooking produces a completely different result. Do you want variety? Try to cook meatballs with rice in tomato sauce in a slow cooker.


This faithful assistant will take care of almost all the worries. You need very little preparatory work. Such meatballs are unusually juicy and tender.

Ingredients:

  • minced pork and beef - 300-350 g;
  • 3 tablespoons of rice;
  • large bulb;
  • table. a spoonful of salt;
  • a teaspoon of ground black pepper;
  • 3 table. spoons of tom paste;
  • 500 ml of water.

Pour boiling water over rice and leave covered for 15 minutes. Drain the water afterwards. Mix minced meat with chopped onion (it is better to grind it in a meat grinder, but you can just chop it very finely). Add rice, half salt and spices. Mix everything, beat off several times. Blind meatballs, put them in a multicooker bowl.

Mix tomato paste with water, salt and remaining spices. Pour over meatballs. Turn on the "Extinguishing" mode for 45-50 minutes. 5-7 minutes before readiness, add fresh herbs.

How to make minced pork meatballs without rice with gravy in the oven

Rice is one of the essential products needed for making meatballs, but you can do without it. It will turn out very similar to cutlets, only stewed in sauce and much more tender.


Ingredients:

  • pork - 800 g;
  • a couple of potatoes small size;
  • large carrot;
  • medium bulb;
  • 2 table. l breadcrumbs;
  • egg;
  • 3 tablespoons of flour;
  • 2 cloves of garlic in minced meat and 1 in sauce;
  • 500 ml of natural tomato juice;
  • salt and spices to taste.

Grind meat, potatoes, garlic and onions in a meat grinder. Grate the carrots very finely, send to the minced meat. Crack in the egg and mix well. Salt, pepper, sprinkle breadcrumbs.

If you add a pinch of ground nutmeg, the finished dish will have an amazing aroma and a more original taste.

Mix the mass until smooth. Blind the meatballs and roll each in flour. Pour a little rast into the pan. oil, heat over medium heat. Fry each meatball on both sides until golden brown. Transfer to a deep baking dish.

For the sauce, cut the onion into cubes, fry in the oil that remains after the meatballs. Add finely chopped garlic, tomato juice and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes, pour meatballs with sauce. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, cook meatballs in tomato sauce for half an hour.

Meatballs with rice in sour cream sauce in the oven, recipe


Any ground meat can be used for this recipe, but we recommend using ground turkey. In other recipes, meatballs from it can turn out to be dryish, but sour cream sauce gives the minced meat tenderness. The dish will be enjoyed even by gourmets. You can add a little minced chicken to the turkey, so it will turn out even tastier.

Ingredients:

for meatballs

  • minced meat - 400 g;
  • half a glass of rice;
  • bulb;
  • egg;
  • salt and spices to taste.

For sauce:

  • egg;
  • 50 gr finely grated cheese;
  • a glass of sour cream;
  • salt and spices to taste.

Rinse rice, boil until half cooked in salted water. Grind the onion in a meat grinder or grate on a fine grater. Beat the egg, add salt and spices, mix everything thoroughly with minced meat. Beat the resulting mass on the table several times.

Blind meatballs, put in a mold. Turn on the oven and while it heats up, prepare the sauce. To do this, mix all the ingredients. Pour sauce over meatballs. It must cover them completely. Cook for 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the meatballs.

Chicken meatballs with rice in the oven


Meatballs prepared according to this recipe can be classified as dietary, so those who follow their figure can cook them without fear. You can make meatballs from ready-made minced chicken, but it is better to cook it yourself. In store minced meat, in addition to fillets, there can be ground skins and cartilage, and this way you will be sure of the quality. In terms of price, there is no difference.

Ingredients:

  • chicken fillet - 500 g;
  • a glass of rice;
  • medium bulb;
  • small carrot;
  • 300 ml of broth;
  • salt and spices to taste.

Rinse rice, boil until half cooked. Mix it with minced meat, salt and spices, beat off several times. Blind meatballs, put in a deep baking dish.

Cut the onion into small cubes, grate the carrot. Fry the vegetables until golden brown, add the broth, simmer for 7-10 minutes, salt and pepper to taste. Pour gravy over meatballs. Bake in a preheated oven for about half an hour.

Ground beef meatballs with gravy

Beef is a drier and tougher meat than pork. But for meatballs, it fits perfectly. It turns out not so greasy, but no less tasty and appetizing. Try this recipe, you will definitely like it.


Ingredients:

  • beef - 350 g;
  • cream - 100 ml;
  • a piece of stale loaf;
  • clove of garlic;
  • 2 spoons of tom paste;
  • a spoonful of flour;
  • salt, sugar and spices to taste.

Rinse the meat, dry, grind together with a loaf. Add cream to the resulting mixture. Mix minced meat with cream and finely chopped garlic. Blind meatballs, roll them in flour, fry on both sides, put in a saucepan. In the remaining fat, fry the tomato paste with flour, add a little water, salt and spices. Pour the meatballs with the resulting sauce and simmer them under the lid for 25-30 minutes.

Fish meatballs with gravy


Minced fish meatballs are no less tasty than meat meatballs, and they have much more benefits. You can buy ready-made minced meat, but keep in mind that both bones and cartilage are ground in it along with the fillet. So it’s better to buy fish or a piece of it and cook minced meat yourself.

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg of fish fillet;
  • 200-300 g of roll or loaf;
  • 3-5 bulbs;
  • medium carrot;
  • a couple of spoons tomato paste;
  • salt and favorite spices;
  • vegetable oil for frying.

Rinse the fish, dry, remove the bones, if any. Soak the bun in water, peel half of the onion, cut into cubes and fry. Grind all products in a meat grinder, add salt and spices. Blind the meatballs and fry them on both sides. Put in a saucepan.

For the gravy, peel the remaining onions and carrots. Cut the onion, grate the carrot, simmer in a pan with a small amount of vegetable oil. Add tom paste, flour, mix everything, add water, boil for 10 minutes.

Pour the gravy over the meatballs and simmer for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with grated herbs before serving.

Meatballs with prunes and gravy

Marvelous tasty dish, in which there is only one secret - prunes. It is prepared simply and quickly, the aroma is such that everyone will run to the kitchen long before the meatballs are ready.


Ingredients:

  • minced pork and beef - 500-600 g;
  • a glass of rice;
  • two medium bulbs;
  • egg;
  • 2 tsp salt;
  • 1 tsp Sahara;
  • a pinch of black ground pepper;
  • 2 leaves of lavrushka;
  • 2 table. l. volume of paste;
  • 1 tsp vinegar;
  • prunes - 100-150 g;
  • 2 tablespoons flour;
  • 300 ml of meat or vegetable broth;
  • grow a little. frying oils.

Rinse rice, boil until half cooked. Chop one onion, add to minced meat. Whisk in the egg, salt and spices. Mix everything thoroughly. Blind small meatballs, each roll in flour.

Pour boiling water over prunes, leave for 5-7 minutes, then rinse, cool and finely chop.

Cut the second onion, fry until golden brown, add tom paste, broth, vinegar and sugar, season with spices.

Pour meatballs with sauce, add prunes and parsley, simmer under a closed lid for about half an hour. You can serve with any side dish.

Calamari meatballs with gravy

A chic recipe that, for all its sophistication and originality, requires a minimum of preparatory work and additional products.


Ingredients:

  • squid carcasses - 500 g (if frozen, then 650 g);
  • 2 large onions;
  • 3 table. l. flour;
  • incomplete glass of rice;
  • egg;
  • 300 ml of tomato juice;
  • salt and black hammer. pepper to taste;
  • oil for frying;
  • fresh greens.

Rinse squids, dry, peel, grind together with onions. Boil rice until half cooked. Minced meat mixed with rice, egg, mix thoroughly. Form balls with wet hands, roll in flour, fry in a pan. Pour tomato juice, stew for 20 minutes, add finely chopped fresh herbs, cover and let stand for several minutes.

Learn how to cook meatballs the right way. This simple dish will always help you out, help you diversify your diet and delight your family with tasty and healthy food.

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Almost every nation in the world has dishes of minced meat in the form of balls in the kitchen. Because the preparation of meatballs are very diverse. It is generally accepted that the recipe for how to cook meatballs is first found among the Turkic peoples. So the Turkic dish kyufta is popular in the east.

1. Meatballs with gravy

A delicious combination of dense beef meatballs with spicy garlic-mushroom sauce.

Ingredients:

  • lean ground beef - 0.5 kg
  • onion - 1 pc.
  • egg - 1 pc.
  • water - 100 ml
  • sour cream - 2 tbsp. l.
  • breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp. l.
  • dry dill

Gravy:

  • mushrooms - 200 g
  • garlic - 3 cloves
  • flour - 2 tbsp
  • water - 1.5 tbsp.
  • frying oil

Cooking method:

Mix sour cream with breadcrumbs, water and mix with other products for meatballs. Knead the mass thoroughly, and then beat off. Blind small balls, fry them over high heat. The purpose of roasting is not to bring to readiness, but to get a crust, even if they remain raw inside. Transfer them to a mold and bake. It will take about 15 minutes at 200 C.

Preparing the gravy:

Crush the garlic, but so that it keeps its shape. You can flatten with the side of the knife. Fry it for a few minutes, then remove it, transfer it to the oil and fry the sliced ​​mushrooms, and a little later add the chopped onion. Add the oil left over from frying the meatballs, pour in the flour and brown it. Then pour in water, salt and boil for several minutes until the gravy thickens. Meatballs can be garnished boiled rice, potatoes.

2. Meatballs with rice

More often, such meatballs are called "hedgehogs" because of the boiled rice sticking out of the ball. Children love them very much. To make the “needles” stick out, you need to use raw rice. It is better to take not round, but long, such as basmati. You can also put boiled, it will also be tasty, just the meatball will turn out smoother, without “thorns”.

We will need:

  • minced meat - 0.5 kg
  • rice - 0.5 tbsp.
  • onion - 1 pc.
  • ground black pepper

Fill:

  • sour cream - 200 g
  • tomato paste - 1 tbsp. l.

How to cook:

Chop the onion. Rice is either boiled until half cooked, or soaked for an hour. Mix rice, minced meat, onion, salt, pepper. Make balls (about 4-5 cm in diameter) and put in a pan greased with sour cream.

Mix the ingredients for pouring, add water, maybe a glass, maybe a little more. It is necessary that the sauce covers the meatballs almost with the head. And simmer over medium heat for about thirty minutes.

3. Meatballs in tomato sauce

You can mold ordinary meatballs and cook in the usual tomato sauce with tomatoes and tomato paste. It will be delicious but boring. And if you arrange an explosion of emotions and cook a dish that is quite simple, but tasty and extraordinary? Easily. The minced meat itself, where cottage cheese is added, and the sauce, which has a simply indescribable taste, will turn out unusual.

Necessary:

  • Minced meat - 0.4 kg
  • Curd - 100 g
  • Egg - 1 pc.
  • Onion - 1 pc. major
  • Garlic - 2 cloves
  • Bread - 2-3 slices (100-150 g)
  • milk or cream - 2 tbsp. l.
  • greenery
  • ready-made mustard - 1 tsp
  • salt, spices

Sauce:

  • Tomato - 2 pcs. big
  • onion - 2 pcs.
  • Bell pepper- 2 pcs.
  • carrots - 1 pc.
  • ketchup - 3 tbsp. l
  • tomato paste - 2 tbsp. l
  • starch and sugar - 1 tbsp. l
  • greenery
  • ground black pepper
  • garlic - 2 cloves
  • water or broth - 300 ml

Cooking:

Grind onion and garlic (on a grater, blender). Add minced meat and soaked in water (or milk) and squeezed bread. Knead. The next step is to add the egg, cottage cheese and mustard. Cut greens, pour in milk and knead again. At the final stage, salt, sprinkle with pepper. You can limit yourself to this, or you can add other spices - nutmeg Or Provence herbs, for example. Roll up meatballs in your favorite size. It can be like meatballs or smaller. The main thing is to get round koloboks. Roll them in flour, fry and set aside for a while.

Prepare sauce:

It is important for him to chop or grate the ingredients as finely as possible. So, heat up the oil. Fry a little onion in it, add grated carrots, fry for a couple more minutes, put bell peppers and tomatoes and fry a little more. Then add sugar, salt, ketchup and tomato. Simmer the vegetable mixture for three minutes.

Dilute starch in 50 ml of water and pour into the sauce. Stir, add water or broth (can be from a cube), chop the herbs and put the chopped garlic. Close the sauce with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes. The crucial moment comes: meatballs are immersed in the sauce. They need to be completely covered. Close this almost ready dish with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with any side dish - rice, vegetables, potatoes.

4. Meatballs in sour cream sauce

Meatballs are very soft, with a delicate taste. Any meat is suitable for them. You can take ready-made minced meat or scroll whole pieces through a meat grinder. If desired, the onion can be pre-fried, this will give the meat balls an original taste.

We will need:

  • Minced meat - 0.5 kg
  • stale white bread - 150 g
  • onion - 2 pcs.
  • eggs - 2-3 pcs.
  • salt pepper
  • Sauce:
  • Sour cream - 200 g
  • Flour - 2 tsp
  • water or meat broth - 100 ml

Cooking:

Soak bread in water (milk), squeeze lightly. It tastes better in milk, but you can also use water. If you will scroll the meat through a meat grinder, skip soaked bread and onions with it - fried or raw. Beat the eggs and fold into the bowl. It is the beaten eggs that make the meatballs tender and juicy. Add salt and pepper. Knead the minced meat well and, for airiness, beat a little.

Roll into balls, roll in flour, fry. Their size is small, so they are fried until fully cooked. Transfer the meatballs to a cauldron.

For the sauce, mix sour cream, broth (or water), salt, and flour. Pour this mass of meatballs and cook, stewing for five minutes.

5. How to cook meatballs in the oven

Delicious meatballs with cheese. It makes meatballs tastier, and the tomato mass in which they are stewed is more juicy.

Ingredients:

  • minced meat - 0.5 kg
  • cheese - 150 g
  • egg - 1 pc.
  • onion - 1 pc.
  • salt pepper

Sauce:

  • Tomatoes - 4-5 pcs. large,
  • Sugar - 1 tsp
  • salt pepper

Cooking:

Chop the onion very finely, grate the cheese. Mix everything with minced meat, salt and pepper.

Remove the skin from the tomatoes, finely chop the flesh. You can make it faster - cut the tomato into halves and grate. The pulp is gradually worn out, and the skin remains in the hands. Slightly salt the tomato mass, add sugar. Here you have to try. If the tomatoes are sweeter, put a little less sugar, and vice versa. Rely on your own taste. You can add herbs or allspice.

Pour the seasoned mass of tomatoes into a mold and put in the oven, or simmer on the stove for about 10 minutes, so that the juice stands out. Yes, this is an interesting turn of events.

While the tomatoes are letting out juice, mold the meatballs with wet hands and immerse them in the stewed tomato mass. Bake for 30 minutes until done (200 C).

6. Meatballs in a slow cooker

Cooking meatballs in a slow cooker is a real pleasure. All you need is to download the products, everything else is done by herself. No need to follow the process, nothing will burn and run away. And after a certain time, it remains only to pick up a delicious ready-made dish. Like meatballs, for example.

Compound:

  • Minced meat - 0.5 kg
  • egg-1
  • ground pepper
  • rice - 0.5 tbsp.
  • onion - 1 pc.

For sauce:

  • Bay leaf, salt, spices.
  • water or broth - 400 ml
  • flour, mayonnaise, sour cream, ketchup (tomato paste) - 2 tbsp. l.

Cooking method:

Boil rice. Chop onion and mix with other meatball ingredients. Roll into balls and place in a bowl.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sauce thoroughly and pour over the meatballs. Turn on the "Extinguishing" mode for 1 hour.

Cooking meatballs will turn out better and tastier if you do not take purchased minced meat, but cook it yourself from meat. It turns out more juicy, because. it retains meat juice.

To make the meatballs juicy and lush, soaked bread is added to the minced meat - it absorbs the meat juice, preventing it from coming out. It is better to use stale bread, because. fresh gives the meatballs a not very pleasant stickiness.

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There are dishes that are well known to everyone. Literally everyone. Most often, the roots of the origin of these dishes are lost deep in history, but their current popularity and wide distribution speak for themselves. So the heroes of our today's story, meatballs with gravy, can be safely categorized as the most popular, most common dishes that most of us have loved since childhood. Little meatballs soaked in aromatic gravy, hot, juicy and so delicious; they are easy to make, easy to modify to suit your own taste preferences, and nearly impossible to mess up. This dish fits equally perfectly into the menu of the most venerable chefs, and into the home menu of quite inexperienced housewives. Let's figure out how to cook meatballs with gravy.

The variety of recipes for this dish is literally amazing. Every country, every city, every family has its own special recipes and secrets that allow chefs and housewives to be sure that their meatballs are the most delicious in the whole wide world. And in fact, what these little tasty balls are not prepared from! Literally everything that is at hand goes into business. Any kind of minced meat in any combination, minced poultry meat, minced fish fillet, even minced vegetables and mushrooms for lean and vegetarian meatballs. Add indispensable spicy vegetables to the minced meat - onions, garlic, carrots, which give the meatballs additional juiciness and flavor; cereals - rice, couscous, bulgur, millet, semolina, making meatballs more tender and soft, absorbing all the juices that stand out; the most incredible seasonings, fragrant herbs, spices and spices, allowing you to endlessly diversify the taste and aroma of your meatballs. And add here an almost endless assortment of gravies and sauces in which your meatballs are cooked, and you yourself will easily see that this dish can never bore you with its monotony, but on the contrary, it will help you diversify your menu at least daily, delighting you and your loved ones with new and new shades of taste and delicious aroma.

Today the site "Culinary Eden" has collected and recorded for you the most important tips and small culinary secrets coupled with proven recipes that are sure to help even not very experienced housewives and tell you how to cook meatballs with gravy.

1. Without a doubt, meatballs can be safely called the most common and popular meatballs. Minced meat for them is prepared from one or two types of meat. Most often it is beef and pork. Of course, it is easiest to buy such minced meat ready-made in the nearest store, but believe me, home-made minced meat will turn out to be much tastier and will meet your requirements much more fully. To prepare minced meat for meatballs, you will need fresh, not too fatty meat. In order for your meatballs to turn out to be truly tender, pass the meat through the smallest grate of the meat grinder two to three times. Do not add eggs to minced meat! Meatballs made from well-mixed minced meat keep their shape perfectly even without them, but they will certainly add unnecessary hardness to your meatballs.

2. If you are going to cook meatballs in gravy, then you should definitely add rice to the minced meat, which will help preserve the juiciness and tenderness of the meatballs themselves even after a long stew in the gravy. Round or medium-grain rice is best suited for making meatballs. There is no need to cook it even until half cooked, as is often advised in recipes. It is much better to pour thoroughly washed rice with boiling water so that it completely covers the rice, leave for five minutes, and then rinse again in cold water. Such only rice brewed with boiling water perfectly retains all its absorbent qualities, which means it will keep for you all the most delicious and aromatic juices that will stand out from the minced meat during cooking.

3. In addition to rice and meat, fresh finely chopped onions must be added to minced meat for meatballs, and, if desired, garlic and coarsely grated carrots. All these vegetables will not only give your meatballs the necessary juiciness, but also add flavor and light sweetness. You can add your favorite spices, such as ground black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, and many more, to add a special flavor to your taste. You can also add a little finely chopped herbs - parsley, dill, cilantro, basil. All these additions will allow you to fully express your imagination and make your meatballs truly yours, a one-of-a-kind dish that you can be proud of.

4. Having prepared all the necessary ingredients, all you have to do is knead the minced meat and make meatballs out of it. This is easy and difficult to do at the same time. The thing is that minced meat for meatballs must be kneaded thoroughly. Having collected and mixed all the ingredients of the minced meat, knead it for at least 10 - 15 minutes. Well-mixed minced meat for meatballs should turn out to be dense, almost monolithic and in no case loose and crumbly. It is best to sculpt meatballs with hands slightly moistened in cool water. Just pinch off small pieces of minced meat and roll them into a ball the size of a small apricot.

5. Before you fill your meatballs with gravy and leave to languish under the lid, they must be fried. This will allow the meat to "grab" and retain its original shape even after a long stew. It is best to deep fry the meatballs. Pour so much into a deep frying pan vegetable oil so that the balls of meatballs lowered into it are completely covered with it. Heat the oil over high heat and lower the meatballs into it for a couple of minutes until a light, uniform golden crust forms. Take out the meatballs with a slotted spoon and put them on a separate dish. It is this method of frying that will help you maintain an attractive round shape meatballs, and besides, the boiling oil will instantly seal all the fragrant meat and vegetable juices inside your meatballs. If such a large oil consumption is not included in your plans today, then you can simply fry the meatballs in a pan with a small amount of oil over medium heat for three to five minutes on each side. In this case, your meatballs, of course, will lose their round shape, but they will remain just as tasty and fragrant. The choice of frying method is yours.

6. The gravy in which you will stew your meatballs not only gives them special juiciness and softness, but also allows you to infinitely diversify the taste and aroma of the finished dish, because there are an infinite number of recipes for various gravies. But there is one secret that unites them all - the gravy should be moderately thick. You can thicken the gravy with three ingredients: flour, tomato paste and sour cream or very heavy cream. These ingredients can be used individually or all together to achieve your desired taste. Just follow the proven recipe of your choice and you'll be fine. However, avoid recipes that advise you to thicken the gravy with starch, believe me, such a gravy, more like a paste, will only ruin your dish.

7. Let's try to cook our first meatballs with gravy. Pass through the meat grinder twice 200 gr. beef and 300 gr. pork. Finely chop one large onion. Boil and lightly drain ½ cup round rice. Combine all ingredients, salt and pepper to taste. Thoroughly knead the minced meat and form small meatballs. Fry the meatballs in small portions in deep fat (two minutes each) or in a small amount of oil in a pan for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the finished meatballs to a deep frying pan, greased with oil. In a glass of hot water, dilute 1 tbsp. spoon of tomato paste and pour into meatballs, add a couple of bay leaves, cover the pan with a lid and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix ½ cup of lukewarm boiled water, 3 tbsp. spoons of sour cream, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of flour, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper and salt to taste. Pour the sour cream mixture into the meatballs in the pan, cover with a lid and gently, in a circular motion, shake the contents of the pan so that the gravy ingredients are mixed. Return the skillet to low heat and simmer your meatballs for another 20 minutes at the lowest simmer. Remove the finished meatballs from the heat and let it brew for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

8. Fragrant and very tasty, spicy lamb meatballs are obtained. Prepare minced meat from 400 gr. low-fat lamb, ½ cup boiled rice, one chopped onion, two chopped garlic cloves, 1 tbsp. tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley, ½ teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Form meatballs and fry them in deep fat or in a pan. Prepare the gravy separately. In a skillet, heat 3 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, add one chopped onion and fry until golden brown. Then add three minced garlic cloves, finely chopped small chili without seeds, 1 teaspoon paprika and 1 teaspoon cumin. Heat everything together, stirring constantly, for one minute. Then add 400 gr. finely chopped fresh or canned tomatoes, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in the sauce and simmer over low heat, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put the fried meatballs in a greased baking dish, pour the prepared gravy, cover with foil and bake in an oven preheated to 200 ° for 20 minutes, after the time has elapsed, remove the foil and bake your meatballs for another 10 minutes.

9. It is very easy to cook tender and tasty meatballs from chicken fillet in mushroom sauce. Soak two slices of white bread without a crust in a little milk and squeeze. Pass through the fine grate of a meat grinder 500 gr. chicken fillet without skin. Finely chop one small onion. Mix bread, minced chicken and onion, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of chopped dill, salt to taste. Thoroughly knead the minced meat and form small meatballs. In a deep skillet, melt 3 tbsp. tablespoons of butter, add one chopped onion and fry until transparent, then add 400 gr. fresh or frozen wild mushrooms and sauté, stirring often, until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms are lightly browned. Then add 2 tbsp. tablespoons of flour, mix, pour in 250 ml. boiling chicken broth, 50 ml. dry white wine and 3 tbsp. tablespoons of fat (30%) cream. Stir, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to the smallest. Dip the chicken meatballs into the hot mushroom sauce, cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

10. Fans of fish dishes will surely like fish meatballs with white sauce. Pass through the fine grate of the meat grinder 700 gr. cod fillet or your favorite sea ​​fish. Soak three slices of white bread without a crust in milk and squeeze lightly. Finely chop half an onion. Mix minced fish, bread and onion, add a pinch of white pepper and salt to taste. Thoroughly knead the minced meat, form meatballs and lightly bread in flour. Prepare the sauce separately. In a deep skillet, heat 3 tbsp. spoons olive oil, add one chopped onion, one coarsely grated carrot and half a sweet bell pepper, cut into thin strips. Fry vegetables, stirring, until golden brown. Then add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of flour, pour everything with one glass of boiling water and simmer, stirring constantly, for five minutes. Then add 200 gr. sour cream, 2 tbsp. tablespoons chopped dill. Mix everything and heat, without bringing to a boil, for a couple more minutes. Remove gravy from heat. Lubricate the baking dish with oil, put your meatballs into it, pour hot gravy and bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° for 20 minutes.

And on the pages of "Culinary Eden" you can always find even more interesting tips and ideas that will definitely tell you how to cook meatballs with gravy.

Homemade meatballs are a wonderful hot meat dish that goes well with any side dish, from boiled rice to steamed vegetables. Most housewives have cooked meatballs with gravy at least once in their lives, and each already has her own favorite recipe for this dish. We offer you 3 easy-to-prepare, but no less delicious recipe meatballs, which are perfect for a family Saturday dinner.

Meatballs with rice and gravy

Meatballs with rice is a great dish for a hearty family dinner. They are prepared simply, quickly and are liked by everyone - from young to old. Even the most demanding meat dishes children are ready to eat such meatballs with gravy every day. Gravy is also useful if you serve this dish with a side dish. The main difference between hedgehogs with rice and meat and meatballs is that for meatballs with gravy, you must first boil the rice.

Ingredients

  • Minced pork or mixed - 300 gr;
  • Raw rice - 100 gr;
  • Chicken egg - 1 pc;
  • Vegetable oil - 4 tbsp;
  • Tomato paste - 2 tbsp;
  • Onion - 1 pc;
  • Sour cream - 80 gr;
  • Carrots - 1 pc;
  • Sugar - 0.5 tsp;
  • Wheat flour - 1 tbsp;

Cooking

So the first thing we need to do is boil the rice. To do this, fill it in a saucepan with clean water in a ratio of 1: 2, salt and put on medium heat. Once the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 15-18 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the gravy. In a frying pan, heat half the norm according to the vegetable oil recipe and fry 0.5 diced onion until transparent. Cut the carrots into thin sticks or chop on a coarse grater, add to the onion and fry together until the carrots are soft.

Then add the tomato paste and wheat flour, mix very well so that the flour does not form lumps, and fry together with the vegetables for 2 minutes.

Pour 100 ml of hot water into the pan and put sour cream, mix. Simmer the contents for 5 minutes. Finally add sugar, salt and black pepper to taste.

Due to the addition of flour, the gravy will not turn out to be a liquid, viscous consistency, but sour cream with tomato paste will give it a pleasant orange color.

In the meantime, rice for meatballs is cooked. Rinse it under running cold water and drain in a colander before adding to the minced meat, letting any excess water drain.

Minced meat for this dish is better to take pork, it is quite fatty, but rice will balance it. But if you are a supporter diet food- use minced veal or even chicken fillet.

Mix minced meat, finely chopped remaining half of the onion, egg in a deep bowl, and season to your taste with salt and black pepper.

Add washed chilled rice, stir. The mass turns out to be pliable, you can easily mold round meatballs from it.

Fry the formed meatballs in the remaining vegetable oil on one side until golden brown, turn over with a spatula.

On the other side, fry until browned as well.

Transfer the fried meatballs to a heavy-bottomed saucepan or a wide deep frying pan with a lid.

Pour in the prepared gravy, put the pan on a small fire, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid closed.

During this time, the gravy will soak a little into the meatballs, and they will become juicy and incredibly soft.

Serve meatballs with gravy and rice hot in portions with a side dish or as a separate independent dish. Thanks to the gravy, meatballs do not need additional sauce or sour cream. Bon appetit!

Chicken meatballs with sour cream sauce in a frying pan

The combination of tender chicken meat with fragrant creamy notes of sauce has long been familiar to everyone. Chicken and sour cream-based meatball gravy are very harmonious in taste and look like you spent hours preparing this dish, although this is not at all the case. Chicken meatballs in sour cream sauce are so easy to prepare that not even the most experienced cook can handle them.

Ingredients:

  • Minced chicken - 500 gr;
  • Onion - 1 pc;
  • Rice - 100 gr;
  • Sour cream - 200 ml;
  • Garlic - 1 clove;
  • Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp;
  • Salt, ground black pepper to taste.

Cooking:

  1. Boil the rice until half cooked, cool it. It is best to use long-grain rice, it will not stick together during the formation of meatballs.
  2. Use ready-made chilled minced meat or wind it yourself. The most useful and lean part of the chicken is considered to be its breast, so it is best to use it for minced meat.
  3. Finely chop the onion or pass it through a meat grinder along with the chicken. Add rice to meat bowl.
  4. Salt, pepper the minced meat and mix it thoroughly.
  5. To mold meatballs from minced chicken, you do not need to add an egg to it, since it is quite elastic without it. Wet your hands with cold water to keep the raw minced meat from sticking to them, and make a batch of small meatballs. Place them in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes to cool.
  6. Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan. Put chicken meatballs in it. Try to put them in one row. Turn the meatballs as they brown in the skillet.
  7. As soon as the meatballs are fried, add a little hot water to the pan, then immediately put all the sour cream and mix well. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. There is another option for making gravy. After the meatballs are fried, transfer them to a small saucepan.
  8. Fry in a separate pan onion and grated carrots, and only then add sour cream, garlic and hot water. Having prepared the gravy separately, pour it into a saucepan with meatballs and simmer under a closed lid for the same 15 minutes.
  9. Add a crushed clove of garlic, a little salt and black pepper to the chicken meatballs with gravy. Stir again and remove from heat. After 5 minutes spent under a closed lid, meatballs with sour cream sauce will be ready. Serve them with mashed potatoes or boiled rice, topped with fresh herbs. Bon appetit!

Cooking Tips:

  • If the gravy seems too thin to you, stir in a separate glass of 1 tsp. potato starch and 3 tsp. water. Stir gently and slowly so that the starch does not form lumps. Then pour the resulting liquid into the hot gravy. You will notice how it immediately begins to thicken. The same effect can be achieved by adding a few tablespoons to the gravy. wheat flour and mix thoroughly.
  • To make chicken meatballs more tender, simply omit rice from the recipe. The meatballs will still hold their shape well, but will become more uniform in texture.
Meatballs with tomato paste sauce in the oven (without rice)

When there is very little time to prepare dinner, dishes from the oven become a real salvation. I sent the necessary prepared ingredients to the oven and you can calmly go about your business, only occasionally looking at what is happening behind the door. Such simple dishes include homemade meatballs with gravy. The undoubted advantage of this dish is that simple and understandable products are used for its preparation, and the result will not disappoint with its taste.

Ingredients:

  • Homemade minced meat (pork + beef) - 500 gr;
  • Egg - 1 pc;
  • Onion - 1 pc;
  • Carrots - 1 pc;
  • Tomatoes - 2 pcs;
  • Tomato paste - 2 tbsp;
  • Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp;
  • Wheat flour - 3 tbsp;
  • Salt, ground black pepper to taste.

Cooking:

  1. To save time, use ready-made minced meat or wind it in advance and freeze it for future use. Fragrant and tasty meatballs are obtained from minced meat made from beef and pork in equal proportions.
  2. Salt, pepper the minced meat, stir in a raw egg. Form small meatballs with wet hands and refrigerate for 15 minutes. The smaller the size of the meatballs, the faster they will brown in the oven, and subsequently better soaked in the sauce. If you make large meatballs, then their upper part will be with an appetizing crust, and the lower part will be incredibly juicy from the gravy. The main thing is that they are all about the same size.
  3. At this time, prepare the gravy. Fry finely chopped onions and grated carrots in hot vegetable oil until soft. Send the tomatoes cut into small cubes there. Mix tomato paste with a glass of boiling water.
  4. Add flour to the pan and immediately pour water with tomato paste. Mix thoroughly so that lumps do not form from the flour and leave to simmer under a closed lid over low heat for about 5 minutes.
  5. Put the chilled meatballs in one row in a greased baking dish and send them to the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 10 minutes. This is usually enough time for the meatballs to brown.
  6. Then pour the gravy into the mold and put it back in the oven, this time for 25-30 minutes.
  7. Sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving. As you can see, meatballs with gravy cooked without rice keep their shape perfectly, do not fall apart and have a uniform texture. Boiled pasta, buckwheat or mashed potatoes can serve as a side dish for such a hot dish. Bon appetit!

Cooking Tips:

  • If you are a fan of spicy, then while frying vegetables in a pan, add a small pod of chili pepper, peeled from seeds, or season the gravy with ground red pepper.
  • A more delicate taste of the sauce can be achieved by adding a few tablespoons of sour cream to it when stewing.
  • Meatballs will acquire an interesting and original taste if finely chopped and fried vegetables, such as carrots, tomatoes and bell peppers, are mixed into raw minced meat.

Meatballs, small meat balls, are loved by both adults and children. These little cutlets always turn out very juicy and unusually soft. This is due to the fact that they are cooked in sauce.

From gravy to more depends on the taste of the finished dish. Therefore, recipes and methods for preparing sauce for meatballs should be devoted to a separate conversation.

Tomato sauce for meatballs in the oven

A recipe based on tomato paste or tomatoes is not only the most popular, but also the youngest, since meatballs began to be cooked earlier than tomatoes got into the diet and kitchens.

Cooking sequence:


Sour cream sauce for meatballs

To the aroma of meatballs soaked sour cream sauce, it's hard to be indifferent. But it can't be called diet dish, so for this recipe it is better to take sour cream with a low percentage of fat content. This will help prevent the appearance in the stomach of a feeling of heaviness and pangs of conscience for the extra calories eaten.

For this recipe, stock up on the following ingredients:

  • 300 grams of low-fat sour cream;
  • 1 onion;
  • 1 carrot;
  • 1 bell pepper;
  • 1 table. l. flour;
  • 2 table. l. vegetable oil;
  • 1 cup vegetable or meat broth, or just water;
  • salt, Provence herbs and a mixture of peppers.

Calorie content: 156.7 kcal / 100 grams.

Cooking:

  1. In a hot frying pan in very hot oil, fry the onion, chopped into cubes, until transparent;
  2. Then send finely chopped carrots and peppers to it. Fry all vegetables until soft;
  3. Pour flour into a pan and fry with vegetables until golden brown;
  4. Dilute sour cream with broth and pour into the pan in small portions. Sour cream should not be cold, otherwise it will curl up into ugly flakes due to the temperature difference;
  5. When all the ingredients are in the pan, its contents should be salted and spices added, then boiled for a few minutes, and you're done. You can pour meatballs.

Spicy BBQ Sauce Recipe

Spicy lovers will love the unusual barbecue sauce with a fresh citrus note. And the unusualness of this gravy for meatballs lies in the fact that not flour, but starch is used as a thickener.

For the preparation of BBQ sauce are used:

  • juice of 1 orange (about ¼ cup)
  • 0.5 cups of ketchup;
  • ¼ tsp spicy Tabasco sauce;
  • 2 table. l. soy sauce;
  • 2 table. l. Dijon mustard;
  • 2 table. l. apple cider vinegar;
  • 2 table. l. starch;
  • 2 table. l. brown sugar.

Sauce preparation time: 10 minutes.

Calorie content: 182.0 kcal / 100 grams.

Progress:

  1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, combine orange juice, sugar, cornstarch and Apple vinegar. Stir everything until smooth and sugar is completely dissolved;
  2. In another container, mix the remaining ingredients: ketchup, sauces (soy and Tabasco), mustard;
  3. Combine both mixtures in a saucepan and boil them over medium heat for a couple of minutes until thickened. For a more pronounced citrus flavor, you can add orange zest to the saucepan.

How to cook - read how to cook this spicy dish.

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Mushroom sour cream sauce for meatballs

For mushroom gravy based on sour cream, you should choose mushrooms with a light taste and aroma that will not interrupt the taste of meatballs. Mushrooms are perfect.

Ingredients that are included:

  • 400 grams of fresh champignons;
  • 350 grams of low-fat sour cream;
  • 2 onions;
  • 1 table. l. flour;
  • 2 table. l. vegetable oil:
  • salt and spices.

Time to prepare the sauce: 20 minutes.

Calorie content of the finished dish: 138.6 kcal / 100 grams.

The sequence of preparation steps:

  1. In separate pans, fry, using vegetable oil, chopped champignons and diced 2 onions;
  2. Mix mushrooms and onions in one pan, add flour to them, which should be saturated with their juices and become golden;
  3. Then pour sour cream into the pan, salt and season. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes;
  4. Kill the finished gravy in a blender until smooth, after which you can pour the meatballs with it.

White milk sauce for meatballs

Milk sauce for meatballs is lighter than sour cream-based, but just as tasty. The use of fresh herbs and wine adds piquancy to it.

Required Ingredients:

  • 1 glass of milk;
  • 50 grams of butter;
  • 1 table. l. flour;
  • 1 table. l. dry white wine;
  • 1 bunch of greens (dill, parsley, cilantro);
  • salt and pepper mixture.

Cooking time: quarter of an hour.

Calorie sauce: 161.0 kcal / 100 grams.

The order of the cooking steps:

  1. Melt and heat butter in a frying pan;
  2. Fry a spoonful of flour until a beautiful golden color, making sure that there are no lumps;
  3. Pour a glass of milk into the pan, add a spoonful of wine, fresh finely chopped greens, salt and seasonings. Boil until thickened.

Meatballs are a great alternative to cutlets, and the variety of sauces with which they can be cooked can make this dish unique every day.

Bon appetit!


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