how come when I try and brown meatballs, they always stick to the pan?

[e-man]

Trying to brown meatballs and they always stick to the pan. The pan is set to "4" and is allowed to heat up for about 3-4 mins. Oil is also given a couple of mins to heat up too. I'm using a stainless steel pan. Am I not using enough oil?

[0xffff]

Pan is too hot or you're leaving them too long before turning.

I prefer to bake in my oven if I'm making a big batch of meatballs.

[trini]

Take the cheapest table salt you can find cover the area inside the pan with it , allow it to heat up, the salt will turn brown or black.
Discard the salt, wipe the pan with a clean cloth and then proceed to do what you normally do.
You've just made your pan non stick.
You might want to add some butter to your oil.
Good luck!

[Asagiri]

Could be either one or a combination of the following:
- Pan not hot enough
- Not enough fat/oil in pan
- Not enough fat in meatballs

You could also try dusting your meatballs in a little flour to help them sticking from the pan, while adding a little more colour/texture to your meatballs.

[neutral]

Take the cheapest table salt you can find cover the area inside the pan with it , allow it to heat up, the salt will turn brown or black.
Discard the salt, wipe the pan with a clean cloth and then proceed to do what you normally do.
You've just made your pan non stick.
You might want to add some butter to your oil.
Good luck!

Thanks for the tip! As for the Op, like another poster suggested it could be a lot of things. Not enough, pan not hot enough etc. A bit of sticking isn't that out of the ordinary though especially if they are very loosely packed.

[gh05t]

If the meatballs are too wet,soft and doesn't hold it's shape well this is normal. Add some more bread crumbs to your mix or flour the outside like someone suggested.

I bake my meatballs now and usually make the larger than when frying. Baking allows you to attain a more moist meatball as frying seems to dry it up a bit on the inside IMO.

When I did fry them in the past, I was sure to use a heavy bottomed iron pot(not traditionally available in Canada except for some ethnic stores).

Trini might know of these.The same type used for cooking curried duck.

I notice things tend to stick to the bottom of thinner bottomed pots as it's almost direct heat from the stove element itself rather than the heat from the oil.

Using enough oil to cover at least half of the meatball too was important.

You gots to try different things but baking to me yields the best meatball for me.

[e-man]

If the meatballs are too wet,soft and doesn't hold it's shape well this is normal. Add some more bread crumbs to your mix or flour the outside like someone suggested.

That might be the culprit. They are very wet because they have raw egg in them. Okay, maybe I'll try something a little drier. Thanks.

[jayt90]

A spray of Pam before you add oil or butter to the pan should solve the problem.

[Boods]

This is simple...you're trying to turn them too soon. Once meat is properly browned it forms a crust which releases its grip on the browning surface. What's probably throwing you off is properly browned ground meat actually almost looks burned once it releases from the pan surface.

[dvdswapper]

Are you using lean ground meats? That could be part of the problem as well. Some people think adding eggs to lean ground beef will add enough fat but that's not true. Use a medium ground chuck for meatballs or a combination of lean ground beef and ground pork. What are you going to do with the meatballs once you brown them? Throw them into the oven or put them directly into the sauce to finish cooking?

[e-man]

Are you using lean ground meats? That could be part of the problem as well. Some people think adding eggs to lean ground beef will add enough fat but that's not true. Use a medium ground chuck for meatballs or a combination of lean ground beef and ground pork. What are you going to do with the meatballs once you brown them? Throw them into the oven or put them directly into the sauce to finish cooking?

The recipe is 1/2 lb lean ground beef, 1/2 lb ground pork, one cup moistened bread crumbs, 2 eggs, parsley, garlic and spices. You are also supposed to add in 1 cup ground parm, but parm ain't cheap so I usually omit it (but when I do add it in, they are fantastic). According to the recipe, you just simmer in the sauce, but i wanted to try browning them first because I'd heard so much about browning adding flavor.

They are quite a sloppy mess when raw because of all of the egg. If I leave them in the pan long enough, they will not stick, but the meatballs become extremely brown, on the verge of starting burn. I'm pretty sure that isn't what they are supposed to look like when you brown meatballs. The plan was to brown for a bit then simmer on the sauce.

[Asagiri]

The recipe is 1/2 lb lean ground beef, 1/2 lb ground pork, one cup moistened bread crumbs, 2 eggs, parsley, garlic and spices. You are also supposed to add in 1 cup ground parm, but parm ain't cheap so I usually omit it (but when I do add it in, they are fantastic). According to the recipe, you just simmer in the sauce, but i wanted to try browning them first because I'd heard so much about browning adding flavor.

They are quite a sloppy mess when raw because of all of the egg. If I leave them in the pan long enough, they will not stick, but the meatballs become extremely brown, on the verge of starting burn. I'm pretty sure that isn't what they are supposed to look like when you brown meatballs. The plan was to brown for a bit then simmer on the sauce.

I would consider changing the recipe to:
- 1/3lb ground beef, 1/3lb ground veal and 1/3lb ground pork
- after moistening the bread crumbs, squeeze out the excess moisture
- 2 eggs (yolks only)

Also I wouldn't be too worried about over browning your meatballs before finishing them in the sauce, because once you add them to the sauce you're pretty much boiling them. So you lose most of the color/texture from the browned exterior anyways.

[ippon]

I would consider changing the recipe to:
- 1/3lb ground beef, 1/3lb ground veal and 1/3lb ground pork
- after moistening the bread crumbs, squeeze out the excess moisture
- 2 eggs (yolks only)

Also I wouldn't be too worried about over browning your meatballs before finishing them in the sauce, because once you add them to the sauce you're pretty much boiling them. So you lose most of the color/texture from the browned exterior anyways.

how is this supposed to be accomplished?
i've never heard of squeezing out moisture out of ground meat before.

[0xffff]

I would consider changing the recipe to:
- 1/3lb ground beef, 1/3lb ground veal and 1/3lb ground pork
- after moistening the bread crumbs, squeeze out the excess moisture
- 2 eggs (yolks only)

Also I wouldn't be too worried about over browning your meatballs before finishing them in the sauce, because once you add them to the sauce you're pretty much boiling them. So you lose most of the color/texture from the browned exterior anyways.

I agree about not browning the meatballs, however if you're boiling your sauce then you're definitely doing it wrong. You shouldn't be boiling your sauce at any point, meatballs included or otherwise. And if OP wants to keep the browning, then he can add the meatballs seperately, into the sauce, as the final step before serving.

However your recommendation to squeeze moisture out of the breadcrumbs, I don't see that working. And you definitely don't want to get rid of the egg whites since that's what creates your structural integrity. Reduce to 1 egg rather than keeping just the yolks.

[0xffff]

OP, watch this video for making meatballs, then adapt the recipe and technique given to what you're working with.

For all other recipes for meatballs or anything else, you have to keep in mind that the person who wrote it may have never tried it prior to publishing, or worse, stole it from someone else who never tried it prior to publishing. There could also be steps that are assumed and skipped over altogether. I believe Howard McGee released a whole book on the subject of reading / interepreting recipes last year.




http://www.amazon.com/Keys-Good-Cook...9481016&sr=8-2