Pork Meatballs

Name: Pork Meatballs in Creamy Tomato Sauce That Never Fall Apart
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Pork 0.5 kg; Onion 1; Garlic 1 clove; Herbs (parsley, dill) to taste; Ground coriander ½ tsp; Salt, ground black pepper to taste; Grated stale white bread 1–2 tbsp; Flour 2 tbsp (20 g); Vegetable oil 50 ml; Cream ½ cup (100 ml); Tomato paste 1 tbsp (or ½ cup tomato juice) (17 g); Boiling water as needed

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Today I watched a brilliant Soviet-Polish gangster adventure farce, “Deja Vu” by Juliusz Machulski. An American gangster and a Soviet entomology professor sit down in a little waterfront diner and order “a cutlet with rice and a meatball with potatoes.” Oh, how I craved meatballs after that. I nearly drowned in my own drool.

Meatballs are balls of ground meat, usually bulked up with “fillers” like bread, onion, spices or cooked rice. Many countries have their own version and consider it a national dish: Swedish meatballs in gravy, Sicilian ones fried with rice, croquettes, falafel, klopsy, korokke. And plenty more.

I don’t know where the word “tefteli” comes from, but in Asia and the Balkans there is a meat dish called kofta (kofte, köfte, kifteluce). Basically it’s a patty, but kyufte and tefte(li) sound pretty close. And the essence, something made from ground meat, is the same.

The recipe for meatballs is simple and straightforward.

Unlike a patty (chicken patties, for example), a meatball is shaped into a ball and dredged in flour rather than breadcrumbs, and it almost always has some kind of filler added.

One more thing: meatballs are nearly always served with a sauce, or right in the sauce they were simmered in. It’s always delicious, so let’s get cooking.

Unlike a patty, a meatball is shaped into a ball and dredged in flour rather than breadcrumbs, and meatballs almost always contain some filler.

More with pork

Georgian Khinkali with Beef and Pork

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Roasted Pork Knuckle

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Baked Hedgehog Meatballs with Pork and Rice

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Ojakhuri with Pork Neck and Veal

Ingredients

2 servings

For the meatballs
Pork 0.5 kg
Onion 1
Garlic 1 clove
Herbs (parsley, dill) to taste
Ground coriander ½ tsp
Salt, ground black pepper to taste
Grated stale white bread 1–2 tbsp
Flour 2 tbsp (20 g)
Vegetable oil 50 ml
For the sauce
Cream ½ cup (100 ml)
Tomato paste 1 tbsp (or ½ cup tomato juice) (17 g)
Boiling water as needed

Step-by-step recipe

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The meat mixture

Thaw the meat for the meatballs ahead of time.
Pick all the leaves off the dill and parsley sprigs and discard the stems. Peel the garlic and onion.
Blitz the onion, garlic, herbs, ½ tsp coriander, salt and pepper together (a blender is very handy here). You want a paste that isn’t too thick.
Rinse the meat, remove any bones and membranes, and put it through the meat grinder twice! Three times is even better!
Mix the ground meat with the herb and onion paste, add 1 tsp vegetable oil and mix everything thoroughly.
So the meatballs don’t fall apart while cooking, add a little bread. Usually people use white bread soaked in milk or water. But it’s better to add 1–1.5 tbsp of grated stale white bread. Knead everything thoroughly once more.
I judge whether the mixture is kneaded enough very simply: it doesn’t stick to your hands, and you can gather it into a ball that barely smears the bowl.

Shaping and browning

Wetting your hands with cold water now and then, roll the mixture into balls. Each meatball weighs about 25 g. 500–600 g of ground meat makes 20–24 meatballs.
Pour the vegetable oil into a frying pan and set it over the heat.
While the pan heats up, dredge the meatballs in flour and place them in the pan.
Fry the meatballs until golden brown. It’s best done over high heat, turning them constantly. Browning matters, because it decides whether you end up with meatballs or shapeless mince in sauce.

Simmering in the sauce

After browning, turn the heat down to medium or even a bit lower. From here you don’t have to turn each one, just stir them like frying potatoes. Fry for 2–3 minutes, stirring.
Add the cream and 1 tbsp tomato paste (17 g). Truth be told, I’m not a fan of tomato paste, so I add half a cup of tomato juice (100 ml) instead.
Stir everything and add boiling water from the kettle so the sauce the meatballs simmer in has the consistency of store-bought kefir (like thin buttermilk).
Cover and simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring from time to time. The sauce should thicken a little as it cooks.
If needed, you can take the lid off and turn up the heat to cook off the extra liquid.
It’s best to serve them in a separate dish with the sauce they were simmered in. You can also put them over the side dish and pour the sauce on top. But always serve them hot and freshly made.
Potatoes, rice and buckwheat all make a great side dish. So whether you eat them with rice or with potatoes is up to you.

Calories and macros

985 kcal

Serving ≈ 300 g

Protein48 g20% of kcal
Fat78 g72% of kcal
Carbs20 g8% of kcal

100 g325 kcalProtein 15.7 gFat 25.8 gCarbs 6.6 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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To Get It Right

With beef

You can swap the pork in these meatballs for beef. That’s what we’ve been doing lately, and it’s just as tasty.

If the meatballs turn out firm

For softer meatballs, use less grated bread. Adjust the amount as you see fit; just make sure the meatballs don’t fall apart.

Coriander

Ground coriander is what gives these meatballs their unusual aroma. It’s best ground right before use: the aroma is much stronger. No coriander? Use khmeli-suneli: up to a third or more of this spice blend is ground coriander.

Sauce without cream

You can make the sauce for the meatballs without cream too: add a little sugar, garlic, salt and coriander. It turns out great.

Have your own trick for this recipe?

Questions and answers

How do you keep meatballs from falling apart?

Most importantly, brown them over high heat until golden, turning constantly, and only then simmer them. And knead the mixture well: when it’s ready, it doesn’t stick to your hands and barely smears the bowl.

Do you need egg in meatballs?

No, I think egg is unnecessary here: grated stale bread with the meat juices binds the mixture perfectly, better than bread soaked in milk. If you’re not quite sure, add a couple of spoonfuls of milk or cream.

Can you make these meatballs with rice?

Yes: cooked rice is one of the usual fillers for meatballs, like bread and onion. This recipe has no rice; the grated bread holds the mixture together.

What is the difference between tefteli and frikadelki?

Tefteli are dredged in flour, browned and simmered in sauce, then served with a side dish. Frikadelki usually means smaller balls cooked in soup, although Swedish meatballs are served in sauce too.

Can you cook these meatballs in the oven?

Yes: after browning, pour the sauce over the meatballs and finish them in the oven; they look and smell amazing. And if you let them braise in the sauce in a clay pot, it’s even better.

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