by Steven Doyle
The meatball most Americans encounter are this fat, round composition of ground meats. It works best when made from a combination of lean ground beef and fatty ground pork or veal along with moist bread or breadcrumbs, herbs, cheese, and a spot of egg to bind the whole mess together. Drenched in marinara and served atop a bowl of spaghetti, the meatball is a staple of Italian restaurants across America.
The secret is day-old bread, soaked in milk or water, to bring lightness to the mixture. When you cook beef, pork or veal for too long, it starts to get tougher. But the bread in meatballs never gets tough. Use a lot of bread and your meatballs will be perfectly tender. Some chefs contend a 50/50 mix.
Meatballs are not relegated to Italy, you might find a delicious ball of meat on menus across the nations , including the Spanish albondigas, Dutch bitterballen, Chinese lion’s heads, South African skilpedjies. Kofte, too, is cooked everywhere from India to Morocco.
To celebrate the meatball we uncover some of the tastier versions found across the food plane of Dallas.
Nonna is one of Dallas’ best Italian restaurants and serve these meatballs sliders that are delicious.
This cheesy sandwich is quite popular with SMU students. New York Sub is located directly across from the campus. This sub is loaded with house-made meatballs and sauce and topped with plenty of mozzarella.
The meatballs at Common Table are anything but common. These beauties are made with ground buffalo and have been a staple since the opening of the restaurant.
The balls of spiced kibbeh at Baboush give you a power play of flavor and a perfectly acceptable way to celebrate meatball related holidays.
The steamer basket of Pearl Rice Meatballs at Royal China are extremely special steamed pork with shiitake and jicama meatballs rolled in sweet rice.
In Addison find Kenny Bowers making meatballs all day at his Kenny’s Italian Kitchen. These beauties are only a buck each Sunday.
Teppo makes these sumptuous balls made with chicken and have a crack-like glaze that is a great accompaniment to the sushi.
Jimmy’s Food Store makes hoards of meatballs each day to supply orders for the home or in this crazy good sandwich. Lunch plans?
The Malai Kofta Kashmiri at India Palace is a dumpling of fresh vegetables and cheese cooked in a mild almond and cream sauce. Soothing and delicious.
The spaghetti and Meatballs at Carbone’s are a true joy.
Campisi’s make their meatballs fresh each day using a century old recipe.
Try the Meatball Pho at Pho Pasteur.
At Coal Vines they will sell you an appetizer portion of meatballs, but you may also have them on your pizza. This was at once only found on the secret menu, but now it is available openly for all.
