Homemade spicy beef meatballs.
Here’s how you make soft meatballs at home.
They are easy to make so make a large batch and use it for your burger cravings and curries.
These spicy beef meatballs are surprisingly easy to make and need only an hour and a half from start to finish.
It’s way better than the ready-made beef meatballs you get in supermarkets.
The time you spend making these curry meatballs will be well worth it because then you can make a big batch and make a few meatball dishes to use throughout the week.
Meatball dish ideas.
- You can smother it with your favorite barbecue sauce to serve as an appetizer.
- Filling for burger buns or pita bread.
- And you can make an absolutely delicious Sri Lankan meatball curry using these homemade curry meatballs.
Utensils and appliances needed.
A large bowl.
Large flat-frying pan.
Kitchen paper towel covered plate.
A spoon and fork to turn over the meatballs as they cook, avoid using tongs as you might squeeze and break the meatballs.
The best way to make meatballs.
I’ve found there are two important steps to follow which helps me to make the best spicy meatballs without them turning too dry while they shallow fry.
They are,
- Adding a few slices of bread to the minced beef mixture.
- Mincemeat should be 90% meat and less of the fat trimmings.
- Either buy a good chunk of meat and mince it at home or make sure to tell the butcher you want the meat without a lot of the fat trimmings.
- I usually have to tell them every single time or end up with a lot of fat trimmings in my minced beef.
Why I add an egg to the meatball mixture?
This helps to bind all the ingredients together.
By adding an egg, you also end up with meatballs that are less dry and crumbly.
Instead, the meatballs are light, juicy and full of taste.
Why do meatballs become dry and crumble or turn tough?
Meatballs become too dry and crumble once it’s fried or dipped into a sauce because there’s no binding ingredient or a component that helps to retain moisture.
This is why adding an egg and a few slices of bread is important.
At the same time adding too much bread and egg can cause the meatballs turning too dry, tough.
why are my spicy meatballs too soggy and mushy?
In this case, there’s too much bread and eggs in the beef mixture.
These two ingredients need to be balanced with the ratio of minced beef.
My easy spice mix for this curry meatballs.
I’m keeping the spice mix for these meatballs simple with the minimum of ingredients.
I’m not adding any onions or green chillies because I want the curry powder and chilli with a hint of the ginger-garlic paste to be the strongest tastes coming through.
How to freeze meatballs.
Depending on how many meatballs you’ll need for a dish, you might end up with a few extras.
These extra ones can be frozen cooked or uncooked.
How to freeze uncooked beef meatballs.
- 1/ Cover a baking tray with foil.
- 2/ Lightly brush the foil with oil.
- 3/ Place the meatballs on the foil, make sure they separated by a few inches so they don’t stick together.
- 4/ Once the meatballs are placed on the foil, transfer them to the freezer and freeze them until they are solid, this should probably take a few hours.
- 5/ Make sure to place the tray in the freezer in a way they won’t be disturbed.
- 6/ Once frozen, place them in a container or ziplock bag, these can be kept almost a month fully frozen.
How to freeze cooked meatballs.
1/ Cook the meatballs until they are no longer pink but cooked through.
2/ Once cooked, allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes.
3/ Freeze them and place them in an airtight container or ziplock bag.
How to prepare cooked frozen meatballs.
There is no need to thaw them, simply drop them in the prepared sauce or gravy to cook the usual way.
Homemade spicy beef meatballs
Please make sure to read the recipe instructions carefully to avoid mistakes.
Ingredients
Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
700g of minced beef(less fat trimming, see notes above)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste
1-2 tablespoon of chilli powder(reduce or increase as per your need)
2 tablespoon of curry powder
1/2 cup of fresh milk(purpose to soak the bread, use as much as you need to soak and turn the bread slightly soggy.
2 slices of bread
Salt to season
Method
Have all the ingredients and utensils in hand.
Defrost the minced beef and bring to room temperature.
In a large bowl place the slices of bread, add curry powder, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste and gradually pour in the milk to break down the bread into a pulp-like consistency but not too soggy or wet.
Add the minced meat to the bread mixture.
Combine the bread pulp and beef well for 3-5 minutes.
Add the egg and salt to season to the minced beef and bread mixture and mix well until combined.
Roll them into equal size balls and place them on a plate. make sure they are shaped into equal size.
Place a pan over low-medium fire, pour in the oil.
Once the oil heats, shape the meatballs again and place them in the oil.
Avoid crowding the pan with too many meatballs, you can do 5-6 in one batch.
Fry one side of the meatball for 3-5 minutes, then using a fork and a spoon turn over to fry the other side. keep the heat at low-medium and avoid increasing the heat while you fry the meatballs.
Shallow fry over this consistent low-medium heat until the beef meatballs are cooked through.
Made this recipe?
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homemade spicy beef meatballs.
HOMEMADE SPICY BEEF MEATBALLS.
HERE’S HOW YOU MAKE SOFT MEATBALLS AT HOME.
THEY ARE EASY TO MAKE SO MAKE A LARGE BATCH AND USE IT FOR YOUR BURGER CRAVINGS AND CURRIES.
Ingredients
- Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
- 700g of minced beef(less fat trimming, see notes above)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste
- 1-2 tablespoon of chilli powder(reduce or increase as per your need)
- 2 tablespoon of curry powder
- 1/2 cup of fresh milk(purpose to soak the bread, use as much as you need to soak and turn the bread slightly soggy.
- 2 slices of bread
- Salt to season
Instructions
Have all the ingredients and ustensils in hand.
Defrost the minced beef and bring to room temperature.
In a large bowl place the slices of bread, add curry powder, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste and gradually pour in the milk to break down the bread into a pulp like consistency but not too soggy or wet.
Add the minced meat to the bread mixture.
Combine the bread pulp and beef well for 3-5 minutes.
Add the egg and salt to season to the minced beef and bread mixture and mix well until combined.
Roll them into equal size balls and place them on a plate. make sure they are shaped into equal size.
Place a pan over low-medium fire, pour in the oil.
Once the oil heats, shape the meatballs again and place them in the oil.
Avoid crowding the pan with too many meatballs, you can do 5-6 in one batch.
Fry one side of the meat ball for 3-5 minutes, then using a fork and a spoon turn over to fry the other side. keep the heat at low-medium and avoid increasing the heat while you fry the meatballs.
Shallow fry over this consistent low-medium heat until the beef meatballs are cooked through.
Notes
How to freeze meatballs.
Depending on how many meatballs you’ll need for a dish, you might end up with a few extras.
These extra ones can be frozen cooked or uncooked.
How to freeze uncooked beef meatballs.
1/ Cover a baking tray with foil.
2/ Lightly brush the foil with oil.
3/ Place the meatballs on the foil, make sure they separated by a few inches so they don’t stick together.
4/ Once the meatballs are placed on the foil, transfer them to the freezer and freeze them until they are solid, this should probably take a few hours.
5/ Make sure to place the tray in the freezer in a way they won’t be disturbed.
6/ Once frozen, place them in a container or ziplock bag, these can be kept almost a month fully frozen.
How to thaw raw frozen meatballs.
Remove the frozen meatballs from the freezer and let it reach room temperature(2-3 hours) then cook them the usual way.
How to freeze cooked meatballs.
1/ Cook the meatballs until they are no longer pink but cooked through.
2/ Once cooked, allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes.
3/ Freeze them and place them in an airtight container or ziplock bag.
How to prepare cooked frozen meatballs.
There is no need to thaw them, simply drop them in the prepared sauce or gravy to cook the usual way.
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Gerry DSilva
Sunday 13th of June 2021
Can I use Gluten free/reduced bread for the meat balls?
jehan
Monday 14th of June 2021
Hi Gerry, I think you should be ok with gluten-free bread. the bread is only added to help with the binding of the meatballs. regards J