The Pasta Ladle Hack For Making Meatballs If You Hate Handling Them Raw
Meatballs are the perfect slow cooker appetizer for Sunday football or the best part of a wonderful dish of spaghetti. Despite how delicious they taste, they can be a pain to make, especially if you are someone who doesn't like touching raw meat. The texture of raw meat is not only shudder-inducing, but also, the effort needed to remove all your rings beforehand and wash under your nails afterward can be exhausting. Luckily, there is a way to make meatballs without ever touching the meat, according to a viral Tiktok.
For this method, you will need a spaghetti spoon pasta ladle that has a hole in the center about the size of a quarter. You probably already have one in your house. This pasta ladle is a necessity in any home, because it can not only make meatballs and strain pasta, but it can also help you properly portion spaghetti noodles before cooking. It's the Swiss army knife of ladles.
How to make meatballs with your spaghetti ladle
The best thing about this cooking hack is how easy it is. To do it, start by preparing your ground meat with the seasonings of your choice. Once the meat is ready, grab the ladle and place it on top of the raw meat and press down. As you press the ladle into the meat, you should see a circular ball of meat pushing through the center hole. When the meatball is big enough, take a regular spoon and scoop it off the ladle and transfer it to a baking sheet. Then, lift the ladle and repeat the process again somewhere else in the bowl until all the meat is gone.
Once all your meatballs are formed, you can bake them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for around 20 minutes, or until no longer pink inside. Finally, add them to your favorite recipe or freeze them to be used later. If you plan on making a spaghetti sauce, you can use the quick and easy drop method to cook your meatballs instead of baking them in the oven.
Other ways to make meatballs without touching raw meat
While using a spaghetti ladle is a fun and simple way to form meatballs without touching raw meat, there are also other ways to do it if you don't have a ladle that would work. The first choice is to use gloves. This is a great option if you want to make larger meatballs, as you can grab as much meat as you need.
However, if you're a texture person and prefer not to touch raw meat even with gloves on, another method for making meatballs is to utilize a cookie dough scoop. These spoons are something to consider because they will make perfect balls and also have a release mechanism so you don't have to touch the meat. If you make meatballs frequently, you may want to consider investing in a stainless steel meatball maker that can be found on Amazon and is specifically made to scoop and form meatballs.