Baking – What would be the difference between frying vs baking meatballs

bakingfryingitalian-cuisinemeatballs

I'm sure the two techniques impart slightly different flavor profiles, but what are they? What are the circumstances where you would choose one method over the other? Would the recipe need to be altered at all between methods?

Best Answer

No recipe alteration needed.

Fried meatballs will develop more of a crust, and thus more flavour through the Maillard reaction. In any case, unless you're making tiny meatballs (or finishing their cooking in a sauce of some sort), they're going to need to be finished via baking anyway.

I would only do the baking method if I had to make an enormous quantity at once. For home cooking I always fry then bake.