To Fry or Not to Fry

OK.  So I was teaching my cousin Christina Bella how to make meatballs.  She asked me do we fry or do we bake.  Because of the time involved in frying and the mess it can make, I told her we would bake.  Baking is so much easier. It is probably healthier because no fat is used in the pan.  I have even used cookie and cake racks in the baking sheets to allow the fat to drip down in the pan and separate it from the meatballs.  It is no doubt faster, because you can bake all the meatballs at one time and walk away from the oven while they are baking.  HOWEVER, are they better than if they are fried?  I guess I am going to have to confess that they are NOT.  Sorry all. But fried are better.  Frying allows the outside to 'sear' and make a harder shell and keeps all the flavors inside the meatball.  I can remember the Sunday morning rituals my Auntie Ang and my mother would go through to make Sunday "Gravy" and frying the meatballs was one of them.  I can still smell the aroma from their kitchens on Sunday mornings from the frying of the meatballs.  And, of course, not all of the meatballs made it into the 'gravy'.  And not all the meatballs that were put in the 'gravy' made it to the table.

Now the next question is when do you put the meatballs in the 'gravy'.  This is entirely up to the cook.  My mom preferred to place the meatballs in the 'gravy' as soon as they were cooked.  I preferred to put them in about 1/2 hour before being served. My mom and argued about this and the solution with which we came up was simply whoever made the 'gravy' put the meatballs in whenever he/she wanted.  Simple! Easy! Argument over!  Following is the recipe my mom used and I am sharing it with you.

ITALIAN MEATBALLS

1 lbs. lean ground beef, ground chuck or ground round

or ½ lbs. beef and ½ lbs. ground pork

1 egg

1 cup of breadcrumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup of fresh parsley

1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon of dried oregano,

Salt and pepper to taste

NOTE:  This recipe yields about 12 meatballs.  The ingredients can be doubled to yield 24 without changing the quality of the recipe.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1.  In a large bowl, mix beef, egg and bread crumbs

2.  Add parsley, cheese, olive oil and seasonings and mix together.

3.  Take a small handful of mixture the size of a golf ball and roll between the      palms of your hands.

4. Place meatballs in baking pan and bake in oven 20 to 25 minutes.

5. If frying the meatballs, add ¼ cup of corn or vegetable oil to cast iron skillet.

6. Heat oil on medium high heat until tiny bubbles appear or oil begins to smoke.  Turn down heat to medium.

7. Add as many meatballs as skillet will hold.  Fry for about 2 minutes, turn and fry and additional 2 minutes, making sure the entire meatball has been seared.

8. Fry additional 10 minutes, turning the meatballs constantly to insure it is cooked thoroughly through. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on cookie/cake rack.

9. Repeat until all the meatballs are done.