Homemade meatballs can make your spaghetti and meatballs night go from good to great. But homemade meatballs can be a pain to make because they’re just so sticky! Giada De Laurentiis shared a little Nonna-approved trick to making hand-rolled meatballs to cut down on the mess and make the experience so much nicer (and dinner so much more delicious!).
“In Italy, this is how the Nonnas do it,” De Laurentiis said in a recent Instagram video. “They wet their hands and then they roll the meatballs, so the meatballs don’t stick to your fingers. You can roll them easily, and they don’t stick. Tip of the day!”
Other people in the comments who had their Nonnas teach them tricks of the trade shared their own meatball-making hacks. “Nana always told me that a ‘little’ olive oil on the hands helps!” one person wrote. Another added, “Ice cubes! I keep [an] ice cube in a bowl beside my pan and get my hands cold before I roll so the fat content doesn’t melt and get sticky and make rolling difficult.”
Someone else suggested “marinating” your hands before making meatballs. “Marsala-coated hands make delicious meatballs,” they wrote.
And other commenters said that this trick works with all kinds of different recipes. “Same with bread dough,” one wrote with another adding, “I do the same when I shape my biscotti!”
If you need a new meatball recipe to try out this trick, check out De Laurentiis’ Classic Italian Turkey Meatball recipe. It’s a perfect recipe for beginners, and the meatballs come out moist and packed with flavor every time. Use them to make spaghetti and meatballs or serve them alone as appetizers at your next get-together. Just remember to keep your hands wet, and making them will be a total breeze!
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