No Stupid Questions: Meatballs – The New York Times
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No Stupid Questions: Meatballs
When it comes to meatballs, there are no absolute musts. But there are some very practical tips to keep in mind that will always get you something delicious. Cooking contributor Sue Li joins us in the NYT Cooking Studio Kitchen to answer so commonly asked questions.
No stupid questions: meatballs. Oh, you freeze them after cooking. You kind of can’t — just let it go. You don’t need to have a perfectly round meatball, so move the meat around. Overmixing it depends on what type of meatball you’re making. So if you’re going to make a lion’s head meatball, I want you to overmix it until it binds together. Or if you want to make a chicken meatball, you also want to mix it quite a bit to make sure that it creates a tight meatball. I don’t add milk, but you can. There are people who make like Italian meatballs, they add milk to white bread to soak it to make a panade. I don’t think adding rice makes it fluffier. I think adding rice takes more moisture out of the meat, so it makes it like — it’s like a binder.
When it comes to meatballs, there are no absolute musts. But there are some very practical tips to keep in mind that will always get you something delicious. Cooking contributor Sue Li joins us in the NYT Cooking Studio Kitchen to answer so commonly asked questions.
By Nyt Cooking
October 9, 2025
