BAKED MEATBALLS

Television show host, chef and author Alton Brown took to Instagramto share with us his genius hack for solving this dilemma. He posted, “Thinking about the time I roasted my meatballs in an egg carton to wick away the grease. #crispyallover.”

Fans responded in the comments with praise.

Using Alton’s hack, the grease pools that usually form when baking meatballs are soaked up by the cardboard egg carton. This allows the meat to form a crispy exterior shell. (With grease-soaked paper in the oven, be sure to keep a careful watch!)

Baked Meatballs

• 8 ounces ground pork (butt)

• 8 ounces ground lamb (shoulder)

• 8 ounces ground beef (round)

• 5 ounces frozen spinach (thawed and drained)

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (finely grated)

• 1 large egg

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2 Combine the pork, lamb, beef, spinach, cheese, egg, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. Use immediately or place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

3 Place the remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs into a small bowl. Cover a scale with plastic wrap. Weigh meatballs into 1 1/2-ounce portions and place on a half sheet pan. Using clean hands, shape the meatballs into rounds, roll in the breadcrumbs and place the meatballs in miniature muffin tin cups. Cook for 20 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.

We often make up big batches of these guys, bake ’em, then cool and freeze ’em in the muffin pans then transfer to heavy-duty zip-top bags for storage. They’ll keep for up to six months and can be revived simply by simmering a few minutes in a pot of sauce or soup.