Mom's secret tomato sauce Meatballs recipe
soft and tender meatballs swimming a long cooked tomato sauce
Getting the tomato sauce meatballs ready
The secret to tomato sauce meatballs is getting them soft, tender, and chewy. I want every meatball to be firm on the outside and soft and tender on the inside — it's not easy, but I'll show you how it's done.Meat becomes stiff when heated — it's a scientific fact. The proteins lose their flexible bonds and go stiff (just like egg proteins when heated).
I want to add soft factors to the meatball that bring tenderness, and there are a few ways to do it.
First, I add potato and zucchini mash to the meat mix. It's amazing how tender they make the meat — not to mention the nutritional value they add.
The meat
I'm using ground ribs and neck with about 20% fat for this batch. I do use different variations from time to time — mixing in chicken, turkey, and sometimes lamb to get a good, deep flavor. A good variation can include half beef ribs and half turkey, pork, or lamb. That said, my mom's recipe is 100% beef ribs, and I'll stick to it for now.The tomato sauce
I'm always using a homemade tomato sauce that's been long-cooked and reached its deep tomato flavors. That said, a store-bought tomato sauce works too if you don't have any on hand. Just make sure it's not one of those industrial, metallic-tasting ones — it'll affect the whole dish. Tomato sauce meatballs go well with rice, in pasta, or in a sandwich. Coming to think of it, they go well with just about anything.Method
- 1
making the meatballs· 15 minutes
Place the meat and quick oats in a large bowl In a food processor fitted with the S shape blade, place the onion and pulse until finely sliced. Squeeze the bread out of excess water and add to the food processor with the onion and pulse until combined into a paste, add to the meat In the same food processor fitted with the fine processing disc, crush the potato and the zucchini and add to the meat. Break the egg and add to the meat mix as well. Add the parsley to the mixture, season with salt, pepper and cumin and mix well until all ingredients are combined. Cover with a plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour (the meat mix can stay in the fridge overnight).
- 2
shaping and cooking the meatballs· 1 hour
Set a wide saucepan on medium heat and pour the tomato sauce into the saucepan. Take the meat mix out of the fridge, wet your hands with water and shape the meat into a ping-pong size meatballs, place straight into the tomato sauce. *** Note that there is no need to "close" (fry) the meatballs before we cook them in the tomato sauce, they will stay firm without pan fry as well. Cook the meatballs covered on low heat for 1-2 hours. Serve with rice, pasta or make a great sandwich!
Jaron Kimhi
Jaron Kimhi — self-taught home cook from Tel Aviv, writing and cooking every recipe on this site himself. 20+ years of tinkering in the kitchen, leaning toward slow cooking, classic technique, and honest ingredients.
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