I hadn't done a mega-cooking session in a while, so yesterday I decided to turn 6 pounds of ground chuck into italian meatballs, and now I don't have to make meatballs for at least a couple of months.
Granted, 4-5 batches of meatballs hardly qualifies as "mega" cooking, but it still requires some special skills and equipment - namely a bowl big enough to squish it all around in! I started up with my dutch oven, but ended up in a large stock pot. You can easily tailor your own favorite meatball recipe, but in case you're looking for one, here's my recipe and how I got them from ingredients to freezer.
6 pounds ground chuck
4 cups seasoned bread crumbs
4 cups fresh bread crumbs
7 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup dried minced onion
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 tsp salt
4-1/2 cups milk
Mix together well the beef with all the bread crumbs. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, onion, spices and milk. Add to beef mixture and mix well. Roll 1-1/2 to 2 inch diameter meatballs, and place on lightly greased or sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. When cooled a bit, transfer meatballs with a spatula (they'll be flat on one side) to a waxed paper lined piece of cardboard or cookie sheet, flash freeze, and when solid - transfer the meatballs into a large ziplock bag for storage in the freezer. You'll end up with @ 50-60 meatballs depending on the size you make.
To use later - simply drop these fully-cooked meatballs into simmering sauce.
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