In many families in Italy, the base sauce for any meat dish such as meatballs and spaghetti is a closely guarded secret which is handed down through the generations. For good reason, the perfect tomato base sauce is something which is integral to finding that ideal Italian flavour. Thankfully however, you do not need to wait for the best recipe for meatballs because I am happy to provide it to you below.

As with many forms of cooking, this recipe is actually very easy and as a result provides natural and fresh flavours to your meatballs and spagetti. The sauce can be made in advance (recommended) and left to marinate it its flavours. Simply make up a batch, and leave in the fridge for up to 3 days. Meat it through well before serving. This meatballs recipe will become a firm family favourite not just for the family but also for mom and dad given it really is simple but amazingly tasty!

The Meat Cooking Expert Recipe for Meatballs

This recipe for meatballs serves 4 people.

Making the Italian meatballs

1. Finely chop a medium to large sized onion and one clove of garlic (crushed or finely chopped). Heat a frying pan with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and gently fry the onion and garlic over a low heat until the onion is soft and translucent. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

2. Once the onions are cool, mix the cooked onions with 500g of ground beef. Generously season with sea salt and pepper. Take small handfuls of the ground beef mixture and make into small balls about the size of a ping pong ball (wet your hands to make it easier). Once you have formed the meatballs place them into the fridge to firm up.

Before we cook them, lets;

Make the recipe for meatballs sauce (can be done in advance)

1. Finely chop a medium to large sized onion and 2 finely chopped (or crushed) garlic cloves.

2. Fry the onion/garlic over a medium heat with a splash of olive oil for no more than 1-2 minutes.

3. Then add two 400g tins of good quality chopped tomatoes (don’t scrimp on this – the best tomatoes will make a big difference).

4. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper to taste and mix through.

5. Next, add a splash (2 x teaspoons) of good quality Balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of tomato puree and mix well.

6. Finally chop finely some fresh basil or a teaspoon of dried and allow to simmer gently.

Now place a pan of slightly salted water on the stove and bring to the boil ready for our spaghetti.

Cook the Meatballs

Using a large heavy set frying pan (I use this large skillet which is excellent for this and many other jobs in the Kitchen) and gently fry the meatballs in a splash of olive oil for a good 10-15 minutes turning frequently.

Cook the Spaghetti

By now your water should be boiling (put a dash of olive oil in the water, this will stop the spaghetti from sticking and also help it to retain its structure) so place in enough spaghetti for everyone, turn down the heat to a simmer and place the lid on loosely.

Prepare your Meatball Sauce (optional)

Now that your sauce has been simmering nicely, I prefer to have a thick and smooth Italian meatball sauce but this is entirely optional. One of the most used implements in my kitchen is this Cuisinart hand blender, this makes for smoothing out base tomato sauce an absolute breeze. Simply give your meatball sauce a quick blast with the hand blender and your sauce will instantly be smooth and silky.

Now the best bit!

Simply drain your now cooked spaghetti, place in a nice pasta bowl and place several meatballs and finish will lashings of authentic italian meatball sauce. Grate a little parmesan cheese over the top and serve!

This really is a truly amazing recipe for meatballs and one which you will return to again and again – enjoy!

So, how do you actually make beef jerky in the oven?

Oven Baked Beef Jerky

The trick to successful homemade beef jerky in the oven is the cooking time required to ‘dry’ out the meat strips and ensuring that air can circulate around all of the meat. This is achieved by using a wire rack in the oven (such as that from your grill pan). The best method of cooking your beef jerky is to ensure that your oven door is slightly adjar to allow the moisture from the cooking to escape the confines of the oven keeping the air around the jerky warm and dry.

The other secret to successful beef jerky is to not over cook it. Towards the end of the drying time you should be able to squeeze the jerky between your fingers (do it quickly to avoid burning your fingers!) and no movement should be evident. If you are able to make a depression in the meat strip then it requires further drying. You are looking for a flexible consistency which is dark and shrivelled, over cooked jerky will simply break apart.

A simple breakdown of the process is;

1. Use strips of steak (rump, toprump, topside, silverside are ideal) cut along the grain around 1/2″ thick and about 1″ in width

2. Make up a marinade (my one is below) and marinate the beef in a plastic bag for 24 hours turning as often as you can (you do not have to set your alarm and turn during the night, just as and when you can!)

3. Dry off the surplus marinade and place your strips onto a wire rack in a pre heated 120 degree oven.

4. Leaving the door slightly ajar cook for around 8 hours (use the guide above to test the consistency of the jerky)

Once you get the hang of it you will learn that it is quite a simple process. It is worth bearing in mind that the majority of people do not dry beef jerky in the oven and instead use a commercial Dehydrator such as the Nesco American Harvest 5-Tray Snackmaster Dehydrator this great little machine will make up to around 1lb of beef jerky and is very cheap (probably pays for itself quite quickly considering the manual method will have your cooker running for 8 hours or more). Enjoy your cooking!

Simple Beef Jerky Marinade Recipe

1/4 Cup of soy sauce
1 x Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 x Tsp of onion salt
1/2 Tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tsp pepper

We sometimes try to hard to master dishes such as this and the secret to this recipe is in it’s simplicity. Over complicating food with too many ingredients can sometimes lead you astray but if you step back and look at the raw ingredients required to create homemade Beef Stroganoff, you end up with a simple but delicious version true to the original dish. So, here is my tried and tested version of this classic dish, give it a try and let me know how you got on!

Simple Homemade Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

Homemade Beef Stroganoff

450g of chuck steak, trimmed and cut into 1cm strips (you can also use filet steak but it is expensive and lean chuck steak in my view is just as tender and more flavoursome)

10 fl oz of soured cream

200g of sliced mushrooms

1 Tsp of Worchester Sauce

1 Tsp Paprika

Juice of 1/2 a fresh Lemon

3 Tbs of Cognac

2 x finely slice large onions

How To Cook

1. Heat a heavy based frying pan on the hob and add 2 tablespoons of oil.

2. Season the chuck steak strips with salt and freshly ground pepper and add half to the now hot oil and fry until browned.

3. Remove the cooked strips into a warm bowl and add the remaining steak strips and fry again until brown.

4. Place remaining steak strips into the warmed bowl including the juices from the pan.

5. Melt a knob of butter in the same pan and fry the onions for 2-3 minutes until soft and translucent and then add the mushrooms and cook until tender.

6. Take your browned steak strips and juices and pour back into the frying pan with the mushrooms and onions.

7. Carefully spoon over 3 tbs of Cognac keeping the heat high. The Cognac will catch fire and the alcohol will burn off, take care at this stage and stir/shake the frying pan until the flame has gone out.

8. Remove from the heat and stir in the soured cream and add the paprika.

9. Return the pan to the heat add the lemon juice and simmer at the lowest setting whilst stirring.

10. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper if required.

As you can see, the ingredients of this homemade Beef Stroganoff are fairly simple and clean which is why it tastes so good! Serve with plain boiled white rice and steamed green beans! Enjoy your cooking.

Sloppy Joes is an old dish and having its roots in the American mid west. The term ‘sloppy’ relates to the fact that the filling would slop out of a sandwich or bun whilst eating, but hey, that’s what the dish is all about. Regardless of whether it all stays in the sandwich or bun one thing is clear, all of it will be eaten!

Ground Beef Sloppy Joes

Ground Beef Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

1lb (450g) of lean ground minced beef

1 x Medium onion sliced

1/2 Chopped red or yellow pepper (about 40grams or so)

1 x Garlic clove crushed

1 x Tsp of mustard

1/2 Cup of tomato ketchup

1/4 Cup of BBQ ketchup

*Optional 1Tsp of chilli powder*

Method

1. Place the ground mince into a heavy based frying pan or skillet and brown for 2 minutes.

2. Add the onion, pepper and garlic continuing to brown until the peppers are soften and mince cooked through.

3. Add the mustard and ketchup and mix throughly (check the seasoning and add salt pepper if required) and reduce to a very low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve in a fresh, soft and lightly toasted burger bun and watch it go! One of the tastiest and simplest ground beef recipes you and your family will eat again and again! Enjoy your cooking.