This is a fun and easy recipe to make for lunch or dinner! Enjoy the meatballs and burgers – or try baking the mixture as a meatloaf, or even frying the minced meat to use as a topping for pasta.
Meatballs Ingredients
- 500g meat (250g beef and 250g pork. Pork may be replaced with chicken)
- 2 eggs
- 2 large potatoes or 3 small potatoes
- 1 large onion or 2 small onions
- 2 slices of bread, or 1 cup of breadcrumbs
- Optional: ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Optional: ½ tbsp ketchup
- 1/4 cup milk
- Herbs to taste such as basil, rosemary, oregano, or thyme
- Salt and pepper, to taste (1 tsp salt, minimum)
- Oil for frying
To prepare the meat :
Step 1: Defrost the meat for several hours beforehand.
Step 2 : Breadcrumbs: Toast 2 slices of bread and blend them or just use store bought breadcrumbs.
Step 3 : Peel the potatoes, wash them thoroughly, and cut into quarters. If you are not peeling the potatoes, be sure to cut out all the eyes, mold, or fungus growing on the potato skin. Remove any parts of the potato that are green as the green parts are toxic! Place the potatoes in a microwaveable bowl, and pour in enough water to just cover them. Cover the bowl and microwave for four minutes. Pour the water into a pot to reserve it to make gravy. Microwave the potatoes for another minute, covered.
Step 5: Peel, cut, and blend onions. Reserve a teaspoon for gravy if you are making meatballs.
Tip : Mini cleavers are the best knives for kids to use. They are just like the big ones. However, they have a much smaller and safer blade, and a longer handle – perfect for the little ones!
Caution : This recipe involves working with raw meat, knives, microwave oven and stovetop. Adult supervision is recommended. Children must be extra careful not to hurt themselves. Be aware that cleanliness is of high priority when working with raw meat. Wash your hands thoroughly with plenty of soap before and after handling raw meat.
Method :
Step 1 : Using your hands, combine the meat in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2 : Add the eggs, potatoes, onions, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup and combine by hand. Note: It helps to have one person combining the ingredients while the other adds them into the bowl.
Step 3 : Pour in the milk gradually until the mixture is just moist but not too wet. Note: you may not need all of the milk, or you may need more of it; use your judgment here.
Step 4 : Season the meat with the herbs, salt, and pepper, to taste.
Step 5 : Make a small test patty and fry it. This will allow you to taste the cooked meat to make sure it is properly seasoned.
Step 6: Add more seasoning if necessary, and test again.
Step 7 : Shape the rest of the meat into patties or meatballs.
Step 8 : Coat each patty or meatball in a little flour and lay them on a plate lined with paper towels.
Step 9: Spread a layer of oil in a nonstick pan and fry the meat until browned, at 160 F. Meat must be well done.
Milk Gravy Ingredients
- 2 cups water, including water reserved from the boiled potatoes
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 chicken stock cube
- Optional: 1 or 2 drops of dark soy sauce, for color
- 1 tsp chopped onions
- 1 cup milk
Method :
Step 1 : Bring the water to a boil in a nonstick saucepan over a medium fire.
Step 2 : Dissolve the stock cube and flour in water.
Step 3: Add in the onion and stir the gravy.
Step 4: Let it boil over a medium fire for about five minutes or until the gravy has boiled down.
Step 5: Add in the dark soy sauce and milk gradually. Stir, and bring to a boil again.
Serving suggestion: Serve meatballs with warm gravy. Add boiled potatoes or pasta and vegetables such as carrots, lettuce. Fresh basil leaves can be used to garnish the dish.
Putting the hamburger together
You can use any combination of the following items :
- Burger buns
- Mustard
- Mayonnaise
- Butter
- Lettuce leaves
- Carrots - shredded
- Tomatoes - sliced
- Coleslaw
- Ketchup/Tomato Sauce
- Chilli Sauce
Tutorial and pictures courtesy of Samuel Mui.
