Recipes

Braised Meat Balls (Beef, Lamb or Veal)

Recipe No. 282 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Meat. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Army TM10-412 · Beef · Meat

Serves 100 servings, four meat balls per serving, 2 ounces each.
View source — TM 10-412 Army Recipes (War Department, 1944) ↗

Recipe No. 282 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Meat. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

  • Bread, dry — 5 pounds
  • Meat, carcass — 45 pounds
  • or — as needed
  • Meat, ground — 31 pounds
  • Eggs — 10 eggs (½ No. 56 dipper)
  • Onions, chopped — 5 pounds (5 No. 56 dippers)
  • Salt — 6½ ounces (¼ mess kit cup)
  • Pepper — ½ ounce (2 mess kit spoons)
  • Meat stock — 1 quart (1 No. 56 dipper)

Directions

  1. Soak bread in water; press and discard water.
  2. Cut meat into small pieces; grind.
  3. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly.
  4. Shape into 2-ounce meat balls (eight meat balls to the pound).
  5. Place in greased baking pans; cook in hot oven (400° F.) until brown on all sides.
  6. Add small amount of stock; cover tightly.
  7. Braise in slow oven (300° F.) about 30 minutes.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Bread, dry — 6⅓ oz Meat, carcass — 3 lb 9⅔ oz or — to taste Meat, ground — 2 lb 7⅔ oz Eggs — ¾ eggs Onions, chopped — 6⅓ oz Salt — ½ oz Pepper — a pinch Meat stock — 5 tbsp

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 282, Meat. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.