How To Choose The Absolute Best Beef For Meatballs

Stick them in a sub, drop them on top of a spaghetti pile, or simply skewer them with a toothpick — there's no wrong way to enjoy big and juicy meatballs. Meatballs have been around since the time of ancient Persians, and have continuously evolved to hit the changing agricultural practices, tastes, and food trends. While you may have your favorite meatball recipes on lock, the beauty of the ball is that you can potentially use anything as your protein — which makes the decision all the more confusing. We wanted to know what would produce the plumpest, tastiest meatballs so we spoke to Donatella Arpaia, celebrity chef and owner of NOMA Beach, which specializes in contemporary Italian seafood in Coral Gables, Florida.

According to Chef Arpaia, beef chuck is the absolute best beef for meatballs. "It has a distinct beefy flavor and naturally comes with an 80/20 fat-to-lean ratio, which is ideal for juiciness," she explains. Not only does beef chuck deliver on a robust, beefy flavor but it's often the more affordable cut of meat at the butcher counter. This is because beef chuck comes from the muscly forequarter of the cow, making it a tougher cut of meat. This toughness doesn't much matter when you're grinding it up for your meatballs, so it's a win-win situation in terms of flavor and price.

Beef chuck is an excellent and accessible cut of meat for meatballs, but we were curious if Chef Arpaia had advice on which type of meat to avoid and were surprised by her response. "I know it's become trendy to add brisket or short rib because of their rich marbling, and sure, they can add depth of flavor — but they also come with drawbacks. Both cuts have more connective tissue, and if they're not properly trimmed or ground finely, they can create a coarse, sometimes gritty texture," she shares. "That takes away from the smooth, uniform bite you want in a meatball." Chef Arpaia's reasoning makes a lot of sense. While the mere mention of brisket or short rib makes our mouths water, this doesn't necessarily mean they're the right cuts for the job.

If you don't have experience trimming these cuts of meat or have access to a professional-grade meat grinder, we also recommend you avoid these cuts of meat, especially the ribeye. Depending on where you buy your ribeye, it tends to be a more expensive, luxury cut of steak, so you don't want to (literally) put that steak through a grinder and hide it under saucy ingredients the natural flavors will be competing with. Cohesion is a crucial cornerstone of good cooking, and Chef Arpaia proves that the tried and true cuts are often the best when it comes to authentic Italian meatball dishes.

The great thing about buying pre-ground beef is that it's usually made from chuck steak, so you can cut out the messy process of grinding your own beef for meatballs. When shopping in the meat aisle of the grocery store, Chef Arpaia recommends you always check the fat-to-lean ratio. "Don't buy ground beef unless you know this information. For meatballs, 80/20 is the sweet spot," she advises. "However, if you plan on blending in pork, you can go leaner on the beef, around 90/10, since the pork will bring extra fat and richness."

Another thing Chef Arpaia says to look out for is the freshness. Every home cook has had the unfortunate experience of coming home with a newly purchased package of ground beef, only to realize it's gone bad once the plastic wrap seal is broken. To avoid this, Chef Arpaia says to take note of the sell-by date and the color of the meat. "Bright red is ideal," she explains. "If your supermarket has a butcher, ask them for the freshest batch or see if they can grind a custom mix for you. A fresh grind will always beat pre-packaged."

Many meatball recipes call for a mixture of meat. For example, our favorite Italian meatballs are a 50/50 split of beef and pork or veal. Meanwhile, Chef Arpaia likes to use all three. "Many Italians, myself included, love using a three-meat blend — beef, pork, and veal. When I do that, I use a 50/25/25 ratio: 50% beef, 25% pork, 25% veal. This keeps the beefy backbone while the pork adds richness, and the veal rounds everything out with a delicate texture," she says. "That's meatball perfection in my book!" However, if you want to keep it a little simpler with only two meats, we recommend going with beef and pork, since the pork brings in a sweet, umami flavor and the beef keeps that staple savory, gamey taste. With two meats, Chef Arpaia prefers a blend of 70% beef and 30% pork. 

But, if you're set on authentic, all-beef meatballs, you can't go wrong. Chef Arpaia tells us, "My mom was a huge fan of all-beef meatballs, and hers were some of the best I've ever had." She went on to say that what gets mixed into the meat is just as important. "When I make all-beef meatballs, I always use rustic, stale bread soaked in milk or water — this helps keep them moist and tender," she states. If you're interested in how other parts of the world do it, check out these 18 types of meatballs from around the globe.