The Chef-Approved Secret Ingredient for Tender, Juicy Meatballs

Making meatballs can be tricky. If they’re too tender they’ll completely fall apart but there is also plenty of opportunity (overworking the meat, adding too much or the wrong binder) to create tough meatballs, which is something nobody wants. We tend to use a panade (a mixture of bread soaked in milk) to keep our meatballs light and tender, but what if we could do more to make sure the dish turned out perfectly every time?

Enter the experts @cooksillustrated. Dan Souza, Chief Content Officer of America’s Test Kitchen and the former editor-in-chief of Cook’s Illustrated shared a genius way to make the most tender, juicy meatballs, and we can’t wait to try it.

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Why You Should Add Gelatin to Meatballs

“Another secret ingredient to meatloaf mix? Gelatin,” it says in the caption of the Instagram post. Yes. Gelatin. Like the stuff in Jell-O, but the unflavored version (because nobody wants strawberry-flavored meatballs, right?). 

According to Souza, gelatin acts as a moisture-retaining agent, helping the meatballs stay soft and tender as they cook. He says that gelatin can absorb and trap about five times its weight in water. The gelatin “binds up the free water that’s typically released from the meat during cooking. It keeps the meatballs juicy instead of letting them run dry.” Ok, Dan. We’re listening. 

The inspiration for adding gelatin came from the veal that’s usually used in a classic meatloaf mix that you buy at the grocery store. The veal is included because the tender meat is a source of collagen that breaks down into gelatin. Souza prefers a 2-to-1 ratio of ground beef to ground pork, plus some prosciutto and grated Parm for an extra umami boost—and the gelatin. 

Souza also suggests using a panade. Souza’s preference is a mixture of breadcrumbs and buttermilk, but you can use bread and milk, bread and water, crackers and milk, etc. When all of these things come together, you have a truly next-level meatball. You can incorporate these tips into your favorite meatball recipe or for all of the juicy details, you can find the recipe via the Cook’s Illustrated site. A more detailed description of the hows and whys of the recipe can also be found on YouTube. 

Commenters were quick to jump into the conversation to add their thoughts. 

“I happened to have some gelatin this past time and it truly works, you just have to make sure you really incorporate the gelatin because it likes to get clumpy if it sits and cools too long. But yes. It works,” added an Instagram commenter.

“I will def try this!” another person said. So will we! It’s so smart. 

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