Make a big batch of these Handmade Freezer Meatballs to stock your freezer. Take out only what you need for tonight’s dinner, and keep the rest for later!
I love recipes like these Handmade Freezer Meatballs. I can make a bunch of meatballs ahead of time, and freeze them for when I need them. And meatballs make the perfect base for a lot of fast recipes that can feed a crowd.
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We live in the town where John grew up, and where his family’s veterinary practice is. That means that we know a lot of people in town. John’s parents still live in the house that he grew up in! We live just a few minutes away, on our cattle farm. We have cows in the backyard and hay in the front yard.
Would you believe that we know the family who built this house? They raised 7 kids in this house! A few years ago, John and I did a major remodel of the house – stripping everything down to the studs and rebuilding with new electricity, plumbing, and an addition. We are very happy with our “new” house (especially the updated kitchen!), but we love that it still has the original bones. We even managed to salvage the original wood floors in two of the rooms!
The family who built our house were farmers, too. As the kids grew up and moved away, some of the land was sold. We live on part of their original farm. We can see the father’s house to the south, on a different part of the original farmland. We can see where one of the sons lives to the north. Little Doc can see that house when he is in his swing on the front porch – it’s easy to recognize with its red roof!
Eventually, we would like to put the original farm ground back together. We are not in a hurry, especially since farm land is very expensive. But we would like to be able to recreate the original family farm that was once here, and make it our own.
Handmade Freezer Meatballs
All that to say, in a small rural town like ours, everyone knows everyone else! It’s easy to turn a small get together into a big party in no time at all. And when you have a freezer full of Handmade Freezer Meatballs, it’s easy to feed a crowd.
I made these with 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of ground pork. You could use all beef, all pork, or even use some ground turkey or ground chicken if you want. The choice is yours! We have a lot of ground beef and ground pork in our freezer, so that’s what gets used the most around here.
I used to try to mix all this up with a spoon or a spatula. It’s just too difficult to get all the spices mixed evenly throughout the 2 pounds of meat with a spoon. So I use my hands. Yes, it’s messy. But it really is the easiest (and fastest) way to get all your ingredients evenly combined. You’re going to be using your hands to shape the meatballs anyway, so why not just get messy early and get done with it?
Add all the ingredients into a large bowl (see recipe below for amounts) and get to mixing. Once everything is evenly combined, shape your meatballs. I usually start out with smaller meatballs and end up with bigger meatballs by the end of this project. Try to keep them the same size – they will cook more evenly that way. If not, well, that’s just how you can tell they were made by hand!
Once you have your meatballs shaped, they need to go through two stages of cooking. First, they get browned in oil in a large skillet on the stove. Work in batches, and don’t overcrowd the pan. If you put too many meatballs in at once, the pan will cool down too much and the meatballs with steam instead of brown. You just want them to get brown and a little crisp on the top and bottom. It should take 2-3 minutes per side.
As you take the browned meatballs out of the skillet, put them in a large baking dish. When all the meatballs are browned, put them in a 350 degree oven to finish cooking. You want the internal temperature of the meatballs to be 160 degrees Fahrenheit (check a few in the center of your baking dish). It should take 20-25 minutes, depending on how big you made the meatballs.
Then you’re ready to use them however you like to use meatballs!
To freeze them, place the cooled meatballs in a single layer in a Ziploc freezer bag. Freeze them flat, and the meatballs should not stick together. To thaw them, take out only as many as you need and put the rest back in the freezer. Thaw the meatballs overnight in the refrigerator, or in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Heat them through, and use them like you would use store-bought frozen meatballs.
Enjoy!
Free Printable Ground Beef Buyer’s Guide
Have you ever gotten confused at the grocery store when you’re trying to pick out ground beef for tonight’s dinner? We can help! This Ground Beef Buyer’s Guide has everything you need to know about buying ground beef, plus you can download a free printable cheat sheet to keep handy in your kitchen or your purse!
Tools for Cooking with Ground Beef
Every kitchen needs a few basic tools… These are ones that I use all the time when I’m cooking with ground beef!
- 5-Quart Saute Pan
- Mix and Chop
- 6-Quart Slow Cooker
- Instant-Read Digital Thermometer
- Probe-Style Digital Thermometer
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Printable Recipe Card for Handmade Freezer Meatballs
- In a large bowl, lightly scramble the eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients, except oil.
- Mix everything together, using your hands, until all the ingredients are evenly combined with the meat.
- Shape meat into 2-inch balls.
- Heat oil in a large skillet, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Briefly brown meatballs in the oil, for 2-3 minutes per side. Work in batches, and do not over crowd the skillet. Transfer browned meatballs to a baking dish.
- Finish meatballs in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until they reach 160 degrees F in the center.
- To freeze: Place cooled meatballs in a single layer in a large Ziploc bag. Freeze flat.
- To thaw: Thaw meatballs in the refrigerator overnight, or thaw in the microwave for 30-60 seconds on high. Heat through before serving.
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