I use the white from day old Italian bread and rip it by hand. Soak in either whole mile or non-dairy creamer (me) and squeeze most out. Then add to the mix.
If ever possible, try grinding the meat yourself! much less compact and also is a great first blending step. I even add the bread crumbs, onion, etc, right into the grinder. if you have a kitchenaid already, you’re most of the way there, the attachment works well.
the other thing you could do if thats not an option is a quick hit with a Morimoto-style board chop. grab a chefs knife or two and just machine-gun-chop it. will add some air without completely smoothing out the texture of the meat (I really like a little texture in my meatballs instead of a paste like you’d get with a dough hook)
Great ideas, Matt. Alas, I don’t own a grinder. I like the Morimoto idea, and my dog would too (flying meat bits, no doubt).
A few things that work for me:
- Don’t buy ground meat that is in one of those vacuum packed plastic packages - they make everything too dense. Buy the loosely ground and packed stuff that the store/butcher does themselves. This will eliminate any need for re-grinding or food processing, which just overly complicates things unnecessarily.
- Make a panade - I just discovered this a few years ago and it is a game changer. I just use milk and standard bread crumbs - no need to get fancy. Mix it up and let the crumbs soak up the milk for 5-10 minutes, then mix it in with the rest of your ingredients. So easy and does exactly what you’re looking for - lighter, less dense texture.
- Don’t fry to start before going into your sauce, roast them in a 550 oven for 10 minutes. When the meatballs are lighter and less dense, frying them is more difficult without destroying them. Roasting them puts a bit of a crust on there and holds them together enough so they can go into the sauce.
Nice, Ryan. Thanks.