Why Restaurant Meatballs Taste Better Than Homemade

Whether you eat them with spaghetti, as an appetizer, or to stave off hunger pangs while shopping at IKEA, few foods are as comforting as lip-smacking, juicy meatballs. While these meaty orbs may seem like a relatively easy recipe to execute, they can sometimes be persnickety to get just right. From being flavorless or dry to having the consistency of a hockey puck, there are a number of things that can go wrong.

That's why so many people turn to professionals to satisfy their meatball cravings. Indeed, though you can make homemade meatballs using some tried-and-true hacks, they often taste much better when eaten at a restaurant. There are a number of reasons for this, ranging from the quality of meat used to the creativity and know-how of skilled chefs.

As a chef with nearly 18 years of professional experience, I would not be exaggerating by saying I've made thousands of meatballs in my career. In this case, practice, and some basic culinary knowledge, can make perfect. If you have ever wondered what the "je ne sais quoi" is that makes them so dynamite, I'm here to illuminate the mysteries of restaurant-created meatballs for you.

When it comes to meatballs, the quality of meat used is the single most crucial factor to creating great ones. Restaurants know this and take great pride in sourcing the best possible beef, pork, veal, and more that money can buy. What's more, they often grind meat themselves, selecting choice cuts with all the characteristics necessary for moist, flavorful meatballs.

The characteristic that is perhaps most important for meatballs is the lean-to-fat ratio of the meat. The lean-to-fat ratio refers to how much meat there is compared with fat by weight in the blend. While the precise ratio may depend on how the meatballs are served, generally speaking, I opt for meat with a lean-to-fat ratio of 80/20. This ensures that the meatballs will retain their juiciness when cooked, even if they are not drowned in sauce. If they are being added to soup, a lean-to-fat ratio of 90/10 may be sufficient to retain moisture.

Consumers might be horrified to know that commercially sold ground meat, beef in particular, can be made from the carcasses of multiple animals, increasing the likelihood of contamination by pathogens. This is why restaurants opt to grind their own meat. When it comes to grinding, restaurants have commercial equipment that can process large quantities of meat in a short amount of time. This is crucial for both quality and safety.

The best kind of meat to use for meatballs is not singular. Though they can be made from beef alone, most classic meatball recipes use a combination of beef, veal, and pork for maximum flavor and texture. This is something restaurants know and take advantage of, often sneaking in other types of meat, like lamb, venison, or buffalo, for a more complex flavor profile.

Furthermore, restaurant chefs seldom limit themselves to a rigid framework when it comes to meatballs. Meat can encompass other animals, from poultry, like chicken or turkey, to fish and seafood. When it comes to chicken or turkey meatballs, restaurants will always incorporate both dark meat and white meat into the mix. White meat chicken or turkey can dry out extremely easily, leaving you with dense meatballs. Dark meat, from the thigh or drumsticks, has a higher fat content, which yields juicier and more flavorful meatballs.

In terms of seafood, a combination of different types of shellfish can produce a more layered flavor and texture. Shrimp and crab are a good combination because they contribute both briny and sweet notes with adequate fat content to keep the meatballs moist. As far as fish goes, fatty types, such as salmon and tuna, are the best option for this purpose.

If you have been relying on the sauce to do the heavy lifting when it comes to making meatballs, you have been doing yourself a disservice. The key to restaurant-quality meatballs is in the seasoning. You cannot rely on sauce alone to help them shine, even if it is the greatest marinara on the planet. With that in mind, it is important to think outside the box and move beyond just tossing a little salt and pepper into ground beef.

Chefs love to layer flavors into meatballs, incorporating sweet, smoky, and spicy elements that can play off one another and the umami notes of the meat, creating complexity on the palate. Common, yet unique, meatball seasonings include fennel seeds or allspice for a hint of sweetness, paprika and cumin for a dose of smokiness, cayenne pepper for heat, and a mixture of dried dill, parsley, and oregano for an herbaceous brightness that can help cut through the fatty meat.

Before cooking meatballs, chefs always taste them to ensure they are seasoned to perfection. This is easily done by forming a trial patty and cooking it up in a frying pan. Doing this can allow one to make any necessary adjustments that can prevent meatballs from being over or under seasoned.

Another common mistake made by home cooks that restaurant chefs have mastered is the art of binding a meatball. I say art because there is some element of feel necessary to add just enough binder to hold the ground meat together into orbs, but not so much as to make them dense and dry.

When it comes to meatballs, perhaps the most classic binder to use is a basic panade. A panade is made by combining breadcrumbs with milk (and often an egg) until the liquid is absorbed. The addition of a panade to ground meat helps to minimize the contraction of the protein strands, preventing them from drying out. Additionally, the starches within the bread crumbs will gelatinize during the cooking process, which means they will absorb liquid and expand, helping to lock the juices into the meatballs.

While bread crumbs are the go-to for binding meatballs, these can be substituted with other types of starch, including graham and Ritz crackers. For a gluten-free option, pulverized corn flakes or Rice Chex are ideal. When it comes to a great alternative for eggs, mashed potatoes are the perfect way to bind meatballs. Simply substitute ¼ cup of plain mashed potatoes, sans butter or cream, for every egg used.

Another important component to manufacturing restaurant quality meatballs is to ensure that there is plenty of moisture added into them. This is something that also needs to be done delicately and with a skilled hand, as too much moisture can counteract the binder, causing the meatballs to disintegrate.

The most common liquid chefs add to meatballs is milk. This is usually used to create the panade, though it can often just be added to the ground meat mixture along with any other binders you may opt to use. Other liquids that can impart juiciness to meatballs that restaurants frequently use include a rich stock or broth, yogurt, tomato sauce, applesauce, or even the liquid from rehydrated dried mushrooms, which will lend a punch of umami flavor along with the added moisture.

For a chef-approved trick that can create the juiciest meatballs imaginable, try incorporating some powdered gelatin that has been rehydrated with hot stock or broth. Once the gelatin has cooled, it is passed through a fine mesh sieve and folded into the meat mixture. These pellets of gelatin will slowly melt during the cooking process, creating pockets of liquid within each meatball that burst in your mouth when you bite into them.

If you have ever eaten a meatball at an Italian restaurant, you have likely noticed that they are bursting with extra flavor. This is because many of these recipes are made with the addition of some grated cheese into the ground meat mixture. Cheese does a few things to bolster meatballs: It provides flavor, moisture, and can help bind them, making it a truly all purpose ingredient.

For the absolutely best meatballs, chefs always use freshly grated cheese, rather than the pre-shredded kind. Pre-shredded cheese is typically coated in preservatives and anti-caking agents to help prevent it from sticking together. These can substantially alter the flavor and texture of the cheese, creating gummy meatballs, rather than ones that are light and fluffy.

Though any kind of grated cheese can be used in meatballs, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, and Grana Padano are classics. They give meatballs a salty kick while also melting well. Other great options include cottage cheese, which will amp up the protein content of meatballs, as well as ricotta or queso fresco.

It is not uncommon for restaurant meatball recipes to include vegetables, aromatics, and fresh herbs in the mix. This is a way to not only add moisture, but to enhance the flavor of meatballs. That said, it is quite easy to overload the mix, causing the meatballs to fall apart as they cook. There are some simple chef-approved hacks that will help to mitigate this, while still infusing meatballs with plenty of flavor.

When it comes to some raw vegetables and aromatics, like carrots, zucchini, and onions, it is best to shred them before adding them into meatballs. This allows for them to be more thoroughly incorporated into the meat mixture. Other vegetables, like spinach or mushrooms, should be pre-cooked and finely chopped before being tossed into the meat mixture, otherwise they will leach too much moisture into the meatballs during the cooking process.

Lastly, pulverizing fresh herbs in a food processor or blender before adding them into the meat mixture will more effectively season it and help bind it. I enjoy using a combination of herbs, including Italian parsley, fresh dill, and a hint of chives for a bright boost of flavor.

Perhaps the biggest rookie mistake to make with meatballs is to overwork them. Meatballs that have been overmixed will become dense and chewy, rather than light and fluffy. This is a result of the myosin within the meat joining together, creating dense protein strands that behave much like gluten does in bread, increasing elasticity and causing the meatballs to seize up.

When restaurants make meatballs, they do so in bulk and often use specialized equipment to help them knead meatballs together until they are just combined. That said, perhaps the best tool for mixing meatballs is the hands of a skilled chef, who can tell by feel, and by observing the meat, when the ingredients are adequately combined, yet not overworked.

While a food processor may seem like an expedient way of mixing together the ingredients for meatballs, this is never a good idea, as it is a surefire way of overworking them. A better option would be to use the dough hook of a stand mixer to gently knead the ingredients together until just combined.

When it comes to restaurants, one thing they have to excel in is consistency. Every portion of food that comes out of the kitchen should be of the same quality and size. Not only is this necessary in terms of assuring each diner receives the same culinary experience, it is integral in producing food that is always cooked to perfection. This is even more important when cooking something like meatballs.

Inconsistently-sized meatballs will cook unevenly and look dismal on a plate. That said, eyeballing the size can be a challenge, even for the most experienced chef. Short of using a scale to weigh each meatball as it is formed, the best way to guarantee perfectly portioned meatballs is to use an ice cream scooper.

Ice cream scoopers come in various sizes, ranging from smaller ones measuring ½ tablespoons to large ones coming in at 3 to 4 tablespoons. I tend to prefer medium-sized ones made from stainless steel with a trigger release that are dishwasher safe, like the ones from JUNADAEL-J. These help to quickly shape many meatballs without them sticking to the scooper and it can easily be sanitized.

While an ice cream scooper is ideal for portioning out meatballs, it is still helpful to gently form them into perfectly round spheres to ensure even cooking and obtain the most attractive plating. The easiest way to do this is by hand. Restaurant chefs rely on their digits whenever dealing with something that requires a delicate touch, though they will likely wear food-safe gloves when handling meatballs.

That said, if you have ever tried to roll meatballs by hand, you will quickly discover that they have a tendency to stick to your fingers and palms as the heat transfers from your body to the meat. One tip to reducing this is to shape the meatballs quickly, which is something that simply requires a lot of practice, giving restaurant chefs a leg up on home cooks.

Another handy tip to making rolling meatballs so much easier is greasing hands and fingers with olive oil or cooking spray between batches to help lubricate them. This will enable the meatballs to be formed without tearing them or having to deal with messy hands. I also will keep some ice water on hand to dunk my hands in periodically to help cool them, which will further discourage the meat from sticking to them.

One restaurant hack that is sure to transform your meatball game is allowing your pre-measured and shaped orbs to take a rest in the refrigerator before cooking them. This accomplishes a couple of tasks. First, it allows all the flavors to marinate, permeating each one thoroughly so that every bite is as delicious as the next.

Second, it helps the meatballs hold their shape so that they don't fall apart when they are cooked. Meatballs are notoriously delicate and can easily tear as they are cooked, leaving you with a disappointing mess of crumbled meat, rather than perfectly round spheres of savory goodness.

Additionally, you can assemble the meatballs in advance and cook them the next day. Restaurants will often shape them up to 24 hours in advance, refrigerate them, and cook them off, as needed, the following day. This helps to spread out the labor rather than requiring a concerted effort over a short period of time.

If preparing meatballs in advance, place them on a cookie sheet and cover them gently with plastic wrap to prevent them from being damaged, drying out, and from stinking up the refrigerator. Meatballs can also be frozen ahead by placing them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and allowing them to freeze. Transfer the frozen meatballs into an airtight container or freezer bag that has been labeled for up to a month.

Perhaps the most well-known technique for cooking meatballs is to sear them before braising them in a sauce or tossing them into soup to finish cooking. The process of searing meatballs helps them to hold their shape, while encouraging the commencement of the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction gives them a robust, umami-rich flavor and a delicate texture on the inside with a nice brown crust on the outside.

This is by no means the only way to cook meatballs, however, and, in fact, may not be the most efficient way of cooking a lot of them at once. Restaurants will often leave the browning process to the oven, by baking the meatballs to give them that golden brown exterior and savory, juicy center. When baking meatballs, place them on a rack to allow air circulation, which will promote more even browning, and to allow any residual fat to drip off, which will prevent them from becoming overly greasy.

Restaurants may also opt to poach meatballs in a flavorful liquid, like a court bouillon, which has been seasoned with wine, aromatics, and a bouquet garni of herbs. This helps to infuse them with layers of flavor, while keeping them impossibly moist. Lastly, restaurants will often prepare meatballs using a sous vide immersion circulator before finishing them off in a pan to serve them. This too will lock in moisture, while still enabling chefs to impart that savory flavor characteristic of the Maillard reaction.

If there is one thing chefs, like myself, love to do, it is to experiment with bold flavors and creative ingredients. Meatballs are a staple across cultures and culinary traditions. Taking hints from other countries, from Italy and Greece to Morocco and Sweden, in terms of ingredients, preparation methods, and different sauces to serve with meatballs, is a common way restaurants shake things up.

And, they aren't afraid to think outside of the box in terms of other possibilities when it comes to meatballs. A perfect example is a breakfast meatball recipe, which is sure to switch up your morning routine, or a sweet and savory twist on meatballs, featuring ingredients, like grape jelly, which may seem bizarre, but was quite common during the 1960s. There is a meatball recipe for virtually any occasion or mood, the only limitation is one's willingness to test out unlikely flavor combinations.