Twenty meatballs from a pound of beef makes each one small — small enough to cook through in a twenty-five to thirty minute simmer rather than needing an hour.
The Cajun seasoning goes into the meat rather than the broth. A teaspoon in the mix seasons every meatball from the inside, which a spoonful stirred into five cups of liquid could never do.
Why This Recipe Works
- Browning the meatballs and removing them builds fond in the pot without overcooking them.
- Onion, celery and carrot cooked in that fond is the aromatic base the stew is built on.
- Tomato paste cooked for a minute deepens to the red-brown the finished stew shows.
- Returning the meatballs for the last twenty-five to thirty minutes lets them finish gently in the broth.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground beef
- A pound, which the recipe divides into twenty meatballs. That size is what lets them cook through in the simmer.
- Cajun seasoning
- A teaspoon, mixed into the meat rather than the broth.
- Tomato paste
- Two tablespoons, cooked for a minute with the vegetables. It is where the stew's red-brown colour comes from.
How to Make It
Mix and roll
Mix beef, breadcrumbs, egg, minced onion, Cajun seasoning and salt; form 20 meatballs.
Brown and set aside
Brown meatballs in oil in a Dutch oven, turning to color all sides; transfer to a plate.
Build the base
Cook diced onion, celery and carrots for 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste for 1 minute.
Simmer together
Add potatoes, broth, Worcestershire and thyme; return meatballs and simmer 25 to 30 minutes.
Confirm and finish
Confirm meatball centers reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit, then finish with parsley.
Browned Is Not Cooked
The meatballs leave the pan looking done and are not. Everything before the checkpoint is arranged so that they finish gently in the stew instead.
- Twenty, not twelveA pound of beef with breadcrumbs, egg, minced onion, 1 tsp Cajun seasoning and salt, rolled into 20 meatballs. The size is the point: small enough to come to temperature in a 25-to-30-minute simmer.
- Coloured, then removedBrowned in oil in a Dutch oven, turned to colour all sides, then straight onto a plate. This step is for the crust and the fond, not for doneness.
- The stew built without themOnion, celery and carrot for 5 minutes, 2 tbsp tomato paste for 1 minute, then 1 lb of potato chunks, 5 cups of beef broth, Worcestershire and thyme.
Check before you continue
160F — Instant-read thermometer, into the centre of a meatball
After the meatballs have gone back in and simmered 25 to 30 minutes. The recipe makes this its own step rather than leaving it implied - a browned exterior tells you nothing about a ground-beef centre, and ground meat is the one case where surface bacteria are mixed all the way through.
- Parsley, and nothing elseTwo tablespoons of chopped parsley once the reading is confirmed. The stew is finished at that point.
Success Tips
- Roll all twenty before you start browning — stopping mid-batch to shape more is how they end up uneven.
- Turn them to colour all sides rather than cooking them through; the stew finishes them.
- Check the centre of a meatball from the middle of the pot, not one at the edge.
Serving Ideas
Six servings of browned meatballs in the red-brown stew with the potato chunks, carrot and celery visible, finished with parsley.
Frequently Asked Questions
How done should the meatballs be?
160 degrees Fahrenheit in the centre, and the recipe asks you to confirm it rather than assume it.
Should I cook the meatballs through when browning?
No. Brown all sides and take them out; they finish during the 25 to 30 minute simmer.
Does the meatball count matter?
Twenty from a pound keeps them small enough to cook through in the stated simmer.
