Pizza Today - October 2020 - 41

M

eatballs have seemingly
been around forever.
Everyone's grandmother
has a special recipe. They're on menus
in all parts of the country; sometimes
as a starter, other times atop pizza.
They're easy to make from scratch,
easy to work with and always a hit
with customers. What's not to love
about them?
With that in mind, is there a reason
meatballs shouldn't be on your menu?
Moreover, considering the ease of
making them from scratch, why
wouldn't you?
Many years ago, my friend and Pizza Today contributor - the late Pat
Bruno - shared his love of meatballs
with me. He taught me how he liked
to make them, told me stories about
them from his youth and taught me
some tricks for keeping them moist.
The thing that stuck with me the
most, however, was the simplicity.
"They're just too easy," he told me.
"Everyone should be making them."
He was right. They can offer a real
point of difference for your pizzeria.
He told me it didn't really matter
where you started - beef, lamb,
turkey, sausage, chicken or pork. The
important thing was to use the correct spices for the type of meatball
you wanted to produce and to "use
common sense" to ensure you didn't
make the meatballs too large.
Here is a very basic and simple
meatball recipe that I know you'll find
delicious. We recently made them in
the Pizza Today test kitchen - and
they didn't last long.
BASIC MEATBALL
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
½ pound Italian sausage
1 cup cubed day-old Italian bread
½ cup milk
5 fresh sage leaves, torn
¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup grated Romano cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a large mixing bowl, combine
the pork, sausage and beef. In
another bowl, soak the bread in the
milk until it is saturated. Squeeze the
bread and drain off excessive milk.
Tear the bread into small pieces and
add it to the meat. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and
form into meatballs.
Arrange the meatballs on a sheet
pan fitted out with a drain tray (or use
a spray-coated pizza screen). Bake
the meatballs until cooked through.
While I prefer a meatball appetizer with a flake or two of shaved
Parmesan, you can obviously get a
lot of mileage out of the ingredient
on pizza. The recipe above is perfect
for this use because the sausage in the
meatball plays well with the red sauce
and a variety of other toppings.
Speaking of sausage meatballs, we
made a pizza with pepperoni, meatballs, yellow bell peppers, jalapeños
and a hot honey drizzle recently in
the test kitchen that was simple,
yet delicious. After the fact, I really
wished I had used John Gutekanst's
Chorizo Meatballs on the pizza.
Shame on me. These are truly outstanding!
CHORIZO MEATBALLS
1 pound ground, fatty pork
1¾ ounces smoked paprika
1/8 ounce garlic powder
1/16 ounce salt
½ ounce chopped, roasted garlic
2½ ounces browned pizza cornicione,
(pizza crust) chopped in small dice
(You can also use a bread)
1 egg
1 ounce fresh chopped cilantro
1 ounce fresh chopped basil
2 ounces diced red onion, roasted or
sautéed with oil until translucent
Pinch oregano Pinch coriander
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch pepper

The next day, roll out into 1½-ounce
balls and place on a parchment-paper
covered large sheet pan.
Place into a 425 F oven for 6 minutes
and then pull out and roll each ball so as
not to burn and/or flatten the bottom of
each ball.
Cook for another 5 to 8 minutes until
done.
You can slice each meatball in half to
get the wonderful half-sphere effect on
pizzas or quarter them if you need a better "spread" on the pie.
Place plastic wrap over bowl and
refrigerate overnight to let flavors meld
and set.
Note from Gutekanst: If you have less
fatty pork, you can incorporate small
chunks of bacon into this mix. Place all
ingredients in a large bowl and mix with
a gloved hand.

Without massive labor considerations, house-made meatballs
are quick and easy to pull off
from scratch in your kitchen.
Adding them to your repertoire will
not only lend a classic pizzazz to your
menu, it will also satisfy your customer base's desire for hot and filling
comfort food as we move into colder
weather.
I'll leave you with a reminder that,
as winter approaches, a simple meatball slider is a great menu addition
that many find difficult to resist. And
meatballs, if using the appropriate
takeout packaging, travel very well
- another important consideration
as we head into our first "COVID
Winter."
When flu season hits during this
current pandemic and people stay
indoors more, expect yet another
surge in delivery and carryout orders.
Having a classic comfort staple that
travels well available to your customers makes so much sense right now. n
JEREMY WHITE is Editor-in-Chief of
Pizza Today.

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Pizza Today - October 2020

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