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Force Meat Balls
Mrs. James S. Gibbs.
Mix with one pound of chopped veal or other meat, one egg, a little butter or raw pork chopped fine, one egg, a little butter or raw pork chopped fine, one cup or less of bread crumbs; the whole well moistened with warm water, or what is better, the water from stewed meat; season with salt and pepper; make in small balls and fry them brown.
A plain forcemeat ball of the kind used to garnish soups, stews and made dishes. The method is sound, but the text has a compositor's stutter and gives no quantities for the fat or seasoning.
- The doubled line"One egg, a little butter or raw pork chopped fine" appears twice, an obvious typesetting repeat. Use one egg and one addition of fat, not two.
- How much fatFor a pound of veal, about 2 oz of finely chopped raw pork fat or 2 tablespoons of softened butter. Lean veal alone makes a dry, crumbly ball, so the fat is not optional.
- Forcemeat, definedThe word is from the French farce, stuffing, and has nothing to do with force. These are seasoned meat dumplings, not meatballs for a sauce.
- The moistening liquidBroth from stewed meat is genuinely better than water, as the recipe says: it carries gelatin, which sets on cooling and helps the balls hold together. Add it a spoonful at a time until the mixture just coheres; too much and the balls slump in the pan.
- Grind and mixModern ground veal is finer than the 1870s chopping block produced. Work it with the crumbs and egg only until combined, or the balls turn springy and dense.
- Chill before shapingHalf an hour in the refrigerator firms the fat and makes rolling walnut-sized balls much easier. Wet hands stop the mixture sticking.
- FryingShallow-fry in butter or lard over medium heat, turning, about 8-10 minutes for walnut-sized balls. "Brown" is not the whole test: ground veal and pork should reach 160F at the centre.
- SeasoningStart with 1 teaspoon salt and a half teaspoon pepper per pound, and fry a small test ball to taste before shaping the rest. Nutmeg, mace or grated lemon rind are period-appropriate additions if you want them.
- Yield and useA pound of meat gives roughly 20-24 small balls. Serve them dropped into clear soup at the last minute, ranged around a stew, or as a garnish for boiled fowl.
Forcemeat balls were a workhorse of nineteenth-century American and British cookery, a way of stretching meat and dressing up a plain dish at the same time: the same mixture that filled a bird or a fish could be rolled, fried and used as a garnish. Veal was the standard choice because it is mild and pale and takes seasoning without arguing, and perhaps too because in a period before refrigeration a calf was often butchered and used quickly, though that explanation is more inference than established fact. The Home Cook Book, first published in Chicago in 1874, was compiled from contributions by named local women and sold to raise money for the Chicago Home for the Friendless, which is why this entry carries Mrs. James S. Gibbs's name rather than an editor's. The vagueness of the measurements is characteristic of that kind of subscription cookbook: contributors were writing down what they already knew by hand and eye, for readers assumed to know it too.