The first question is, do you need to have exactly 30 meatballs? Or is that just what the recipe says it will make?

I tend not to pay much attention to what a recipe says will be the yield, so in that regard, meatballs or cookies tend to be much the same :-) I make them to the size I want.....which may be larger or smaller than the recipe suggests, so producing more or fewer individual items than predicted. As long as the size of each individual meatball or cookie is similar (cooking or baking time the same) you should be good to go.

Ice cream/kitchen scoops are great for this purpose and they come in a range of sizes. I like meatballs that are about the size of a golf ball - not too big nor too small - and one of my scoops produces just that size. For cocktail meatballs, I use a smaller one. A kitchen spoon can do something similar but not quite as precise in the sizing.

Or.....if you have to have exactly 30 meatballs, you can do as suggested above. But that is way too anal a process for me to follow :-)

If I were making a recipe that called for making 1.5 lbs of meat into 30 meatballs, I would totally ignore that and make them the size that I like to have. We like a smaller meatball than gardengal, so somewhat smaller than a ping pong ball. So don't beat yourself up to make 30 meatballs. OH and those store bought meatballs are gross...JMHO! HAHA!

A simple way:

Use a scale to weight the final mix, let's say it comes to 49.23 OZ.

Divide 49.23 by 30 = 1.641 OZ for each meat ball

dcarch

You can also divide the meatball mixture into 2 halves. That's 15 in each half. Then divide those into halves, that's 7 and 8 in each half. Divide again if you need to and that should help distribute the meat evenly enough. You can use the edge of a thin cookie sheet to divide the meat or a dough scrapper or just a knife.

Work on a cookie sheet or large cutting board and keep pinching bits of meat from the sections til you get 30 piles that look about the same. Then shape into a ball.

Good for you for making your own!

I agree 30 meatballs from 1.5 lbs. of ground beef will very small. Elizabeth has a good suggestion for dividing it up, but any size you want is fine. Just eyeball it.

I also agree that, unless you need 30 meatballs, make as many as you can in the size you want. 30 will be small, but I like them small, just maybe one or two bites in size.

I have cookie scoops in different sizes and use the appropriate size when I make meatballs, but they can just as easily be portioned in a measuring cup (1/8 of a cup is around an ounce), a short glass, a small paper cup, the plastic container that your cole slaw comes in at restaurants, whatever you have on hand that is about the size you want. The meatballs will then be very close to the same size. Weigh them if you want or do as prior posters suggest and just portion the meat into halves, then quarters, then eighths, then meatballs.

It's not as complicated as it sounds, unless for some reason you need EXACTLY 30 meatballs.

Annie

Thanks for all the suggestions. The recipe said to shape the meat mixture into 30 meatballs. From your comments, I now assume it is not meant to be exactly 30. Whew. I was thinking tiny meatballs too.

The picture of the dish looked yummy and the meatballs "looked" large, which confused me. Based on a fork in the picture, I assumed they would be 1 to 2 inches. But that sounded odd from just 1 .5 pounds. Since Walmart does not sell 1.5 lb sizes, I guess I will try more ground beef and see. Hopefully the other stuff does not need to be increased.

Thanks again.

Yeah, don't over think it at all. If I'm making meatballs, I just have how ever much hamburger meat that I have and throw in an egg, some bread that I've diced really small and diced onions and whatever else I feel like at the time...oh and some seasonings. It's not an exact science. If you are using a two pound package of hb meat, then you could increase the other ingredients that go into the meatball mixture...if you feel like it. It likely won't make a lot of different in the taste though...one and a half pounds versus two pounds of meat isn't much difference.

That's slightly more than 1 Tbl per meat ball; if you are using 1.5 pounds of meat, you would get about 45 meatballs at 1 Tbl each ... and they would cook down a lot ...

and if a train from Chicago is traveling west at 85 mph ....

“Hopefully the other stuff does not need to be increased”.

Unlike arkansas girl I would recommend increasing the other ingredients proportionately. One and a half to two pounds is a difference of 25%

I have the same problem with recipes. This makes 30 meatballs? This makes 48 cookies? Not in my house.

Like meatloaf, meatballs are something I make without using a recipe. So there is no measuring of any ingredients involved - everything is eyeballed. It is pretty hard to mess up meatballs so I wouldn't be overly concerned about the exact proportions of anything.......as an example, you can't easily add a quarter of an egg if you use 25% more meat!! As long as you have the proper consistency and the mix is seasoned to your taste, it should turn out fine.

GG48:

That's how I make hamballs: a 1:1:1 mixture of ground beef/ground pork/ground ham ... mixed with some (eyeballing it) graham cracker dust, salt, pepper and eggs, with (sometimes) a little heavy cream or milk. Recipe boasts 96 ... I got 88. Using a scant 1/4 measuring cup. They freeze real well, family loves them, so when we have a crush of company, just pull them from the zip bags and add the sweet/sour sauce, and in a while you have comfort coma food.

Ah, luis, I bet you're in science or mathematics. The scientists and engineers in my family would measure and weigh each meatball, readjusting until the meatballs were practically cooked by the heat from their hands. The artists and poets in my family would scoop approximately the same size meat for each meatball until however many meatballs made it into the pan. It's all good.

Have you made them yet? I bet they were delicious .

That's a good point sheesh! I'm on the creative side of the spectrum.