Thyme Bombs

I have lots of thyme growing in the garden and I love the stuff. If thyme is not your thing, try fresh oregano or another fresh herb, or just go with the garlic and parsley. Also, understand going in that this is more of a method than a recipe. Amounts and ingredients can vary widely. Experiment and find out what you like.

Have ready:

2 lbs. ground meat (beef, pork, lamb or combo)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (more to taste)
3 cloves garlic, quartered or sliced
1/2 cup plain or Panko bread crumbs (more as necessary)
At least 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Four sprigs of fresh thyme (leaves only), more is better
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt

Get out the food processor and use the metal blade. Put the Parmesan cheese, garlic cloves, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs into the bowl and blast away until everything reaches the consistency of coarse sand. It should be dry and crumbly. If it seems too wet, add more crumbs.

Dump the mixture into a large bowl. Add eggs and yogurt and stir well to mix. Using your hands, work the ground meat into the mixture bit by bit. If you are combining different meats, either alternate the meats as you add them bit by bit or mix the meats together before adding them to the bowl. Use a light touch but mix it well. Shape a meatball by rolling it between your hands and set it aside for a couple minutes. If it does not hold its shape, adjust viscosity by adding more bread crumbs or more Parmesan.

Shape the meatballs. Aim to make them a little smaller than golf balls, but any size works. A small ice cream scoop helps produce them at a uniform size. When it’s time to cook them, you will thank yourself for having made them of consistent size and shape.

Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes or sauté in a little olive oil or cook them in pasta sauce, making certain they are cooked through. Freeze what you don’t use immediately, either raw or cooked.

Further considerations

Freeze ’em all — uncooked. These things freeze amazingly well and stay moist and finely textured even in the microwave. The evolving standard method now is to freeze the entire batch uncooked. Start a plate of five frozen meatballs for two minutes on high, then turn them over and give them two more minutes. Adjust timing up or down for different batches, but err on the side of less cooking. A freezer bag of about three dozen raw meatballs gives a household an amazing advantage: A wonderful spaghetti and meatballs dinner in about 10 minutes.

Yes, ground pork. Pork supports the texture, enhances the flavor, and helps keep things moist in ways ground beef — 80% or 90% lean — simply can’t match. Aim for making ground pork maybe a third of the total meat by weight.

I have almost unlimited access to healthy, fragrant fresh thyme. I’ve tried, but I have never been able to add too much thyme. Hence the name. It’s extraordinary stuff.