Today, I spoke with chef Liza Shaw of San Francisco’s A16. The Italian restaurant has a bit of a reputation for its Meatball Mondays, where they serve the uber-popular dish made from scraps and trimmings.
A16 mostly uses prosciutto scraps saved throughout the week. No wonder they’re so good!
I realized meatloaf, sausages and soups were good uses for odds and ends, but for some reason, I’d never lumped meatballs into that category. Shaw said they usually add beef left from other dishes, and that they’ve included lamb, duck and chicken scraps in the past.
Another secret is the 60/40 meat-to-bread ratio, which not only stretches your meat supply but makes the meatballs retain the drippings. In fact, using too much meat is detrimental, as they dry out.
Shaw uses her old-ish bread here, so it’s a case where repurposing and saving foods creates a more savory dish. Does anyone do this at home–with meatballs or another food item?
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Zoe (my three year old) is looking at this post with me and she says of the meatballs, “Mommy! They might be tasty!” lol
For years I have made my ‘Garbage Soup/stew’. I simply use up all the leftovers in the fridge or what I’ve saved in the freezer.
I keep separate containers for veggies, beef, chix, & pork. When I have enough-sometimes one kind of meat sometimes all of them- it goes into a pot and into the solar oven to cook for several hours – add seasonings of choice (Italian, French, Mexican, etc) and serve. If the meat scraps are chunky it becomes stew – if smaller it’s soup. Leftover bread is either a thickener or used as croutons or toasted with cheese and put on top.
Tonight’s dinner is Chicken Veggie Rice Soup. Right now I’m cooking chicken bones, skins and some small pieces of chicken in homemade broth in the Solar Oven, I’ll add the leftover rice from last night and corn, green beans,and some cooked onions from Monday. Just before serving I’ll chopped some fresh sage, parsley & rosemary and sprinkle on top. It’ll be delicious!!
We make meals from bits of this and that on a pretty regular basis…clean-out-the-fridge soup of stew; pot pie with whatever is leftover; frittatta or guiche with the last bits of veggies, meat scraps, a bit of bacon dripping (but only a very little bit). We try to use it all up.
That being said, this summer has been really tough – so much rain that a lot of the tomatoes have rotted within days of brining them home from the CSA. And too many cucumbers at once, not enough time to make pickles, so some of them have rotted too. I don’t remember this problem in previous years.
I’d never thought of ground meat dishes as ways to use leftover meat bits. What a neat idea. When I have proscuitto scraps (happens rarely, only when I negotiate to buy the bone of a bone-in proscuitto from a deli), I make risotto or minestrone. Since the scraps are dried out, they benefit from the long simmering of either of these dishes. Classic risotto and classic minestrone also call for parmesan rinds.
My grandmother’s meatball/meatloaf recipes use dried breadcrumbs. I must – MUST – remember to try the italian trick of milk-soaked bread.
My standard “use it up” dishes are stir fry, omlet/fritatta, and soup. They use up different things. Stir fries use up raw veggies but can’t accomodate leftovers. Omlets can use both veggies that need to be used up and some types of leftovers, usually cooked meats or bits of cheese or 2 day old rice. Soup. Well, soup can take just about anything – although for some leftovers you need to know what you’re doing.
And *none* of these are garbage disposals. You can’t dump in whatever you have and expect a tasty meal.
Skin + bones + onion skins + celery leaves and ends = stock.
My sister was a chef at A-16 for several years, and I can say first hand that those meatballs are amazing. I have used this same concept at home with burgers on the grill. Its a great way to use scraps of meat. If your meat is a little dry, try adding a little olive oil to the mixture.
In part inspired by some of the stuff on this blog, I had just posted on this 2 days ago, using up leftovers in gazpacho, quesadillas, and curries:
Creative Leftovers
Glad that JayDubb has confirmed little Zoe’s suspicions on the tastyness of the meatballs!
Bellen, don’t sell your soup short. I’m sure it’s not “Garbage.” j.k.
That reminds me of the time I was at Sal’s Pizza, this really old-timey, awesome place in New Haven, CT–seriously, if you’re within 100 miles of the place, you have to go. The son of Sal told me that the proprietor used to call pizzas with a million toppings “Garbage Pies,” and not in a complimentary way. Too many toppings makes the pie soggy, Sal recommended. Keep it simple.
Now, a stir-fry, quiche, frittatta, or soup, as DeeDee and William recommend, is a different story. DeeDee, sorry to hear about the summer rain.
I consider myself a master of the repurposed meal. Of course you have your classic leftover meals like shepherd’s pie and chicken-bone soup, but there are also plenty of things to do with leftovers that people never suspect are actually leftovers. I love leftover mashed potatoes. I make potato pancakes for breakfast, or sourdough potato bread. Leftover white rice can become arancini (spelling? Creamy Italian rice croquettes) or rice pudding or stir fry. The bits of chopped vegetables – onion, zucchini, peppers – that didn’t make it into the main dish can become the basis for an omelette or for a savory quickbread. Leftover cooked oatmeal makes a great base for muffins or cake.
Here’s another one, maybe a little weird: when I roast a nice fat chicken or make a pot roast – something with a lot of connective tissue – after the pan has fully cooled there is usually a thick layer of flavorful gel. It’s like a natural, effortless little demi-glace. Plop it out and put it in a ziploc bag in the fridge, then use it to add superb flavor to your next risotto or gravy.
aimee reminded me of another good dish for using up cooked leftovers, meat or veg: croquettes. You make either a thick white sauce or thick mashed potatoes, add the minced leftovers, make patties, optional: coat with breadcrumbs or shredded cheese or bound breading, bake or pan fry or deep fry.
PS – tomato sauce also makes pizza soggy. I like crisp pizza *and* pizza sauce – a constant dilemma for me.
PPS – If you can’t make it to Sally’s, go to Pepe’s. Friendly rivals for New Havener’s affections, as well as relatives, Pepe’s closed in memorium when Sal died.
Good luck with that dilemma, William. It may be my imagination, but I think this helps: when I make pizzas, I run a little olive oil over the dough before adding sauce.
Also, I couldn’t agree more on Pepe’s. I mentioned Sal’s b/c of the garbage pie remark, but they’re really tied for first place of all time. One distinction is that Pepe’s is open for lunch…making it feasible to hit both in one day.
I made turkey meatballs last weekend and instead of using fresh milk, I used the leftover milk from my cereal that morning. You couldn’t tell the difference!
I love meatballs. The photo makes my mouth water.
I once joined a friend on a visit to his grandfather’s house. His grandfather offered me some stew. Just I was prepared to take him up on the offer I noticed my friend furiously waving his arms in a “don’t do it” gesture. Turns out that grandpa took all the month’s leftovers from the refrigerator – everything that would fit in a pot – and mixed them together into one big stew.
Pass on the stew; eat the meatballs instead.
I use all the leftovers from Thanksgiving for Turkey Vegetable Soup. After using the carcass and some gravy as the base, everything goes in, even the stuffing. It’s fabulous, makes a large pot, so we have lots to put into the freezer for future meals. This is, of course, done after we all get our fill of turkey sandwiches.