Ina Garten's Secret Meatball Ingredient Is So Shockingly Simple

It's time we got into a meatier aspect of spaghetti: the meatballs. A good meatball is the key to a great spaghetti, after all. So you won't want to hodge-podge your way through the assembly process. Each home chef has their own recipe, consisting of little quirks and small tricks to enhance their meatballs (there are also a few key meatball-making mistakes to avoid). Some cooks swear by a beef-only ball, while others insist on using pork or veal. Still, some meatball methods are more subtle, yet they yield insanely delicious results. Such is the case when it comes to Ina Garten's meatball recipe.

The Barefoot Contessa, as she is known, is an author and sage on all things cooking and entertaining (she recommends you rethink that bottle of wine for your host as a gift), knows a thing or two about making a mean meatball. Her recipe contains quite a few helpful tricks for assembling the most flavorful ball possible. But there is one ingredient Garten adds that is simple yet ingenious, and it just might change your meatball game entirely. That ingredient is water.

Now, Garten doesn't claim ownership of the water trick. No, this tip came by way of Rao's, the famous New York Italian eatery and brand behind the delicious jarred sauce. Rao's also has some delicious frozen meatballs, for what it's worth. Garten revealed this sneaky ingredient in an episode of "Barefoot Contessa," which has been clipped and posted on Facebook. The function of the added water is pretty simple. It adds moisture, ensuring that your meatballs are extra juicy when they're done cooking. She doesn't add a lot, only ¾ cup, so the meatball "dough" isn't too runny. It's just enough to ensure the perfect results.

Okay, so adding water to your meatball dough is a simple enough tip, but this isn't where Garten's meatball wisdom ends. Ina Garten also has a few other recipe tips on-hand to level up your pasta game. For starters, she uses two different forms of bread crumbs: fresh and boxed. For her recipe, she adds one cup of fresh bread crumbs and ¼ cup pre-packaged, pre-seasoned crumbs. According to Garten, fresh bread crumbs add moisture, while boxed bread crumbs act as a binding agent to keep your meatballs held together.

In terms of meat, Garten doesn't stick to just one, instead using a quarter pound of pork, veal, and beef combined. She is quite adamant about flavoring her meatballs as well, adding not just your usual parsley, but also Parmesan and nutmeg. According to Garten, all of the ingredients in a meatball "are designed to either flavor it or hold it together." And there is plenty of flavor to hold her meatballs together, though perhaps the most important ingredient in her recipe, or at least the most game-changing, is the simplest. What a difference a glass (or about ¾ cup) of water can make!