These balls represent the old-school deli soul of our Lower East Side neighborhood. When Jesse, one of the managers in the kitchen, brought up the idea of Reuben balls, we were a bit skeptical, but he insisted they would be delicious and asked if he could run a test batch. Well, he was clearly onto something because these balls taste just like a classic Reuben sandwich, especially when drizzled with Thousand Island Dressing (page 71). This is another meatball that works well in mini form as an hors d’oeuvre with dressing on the side for dipping.

　　

Ingredients

Makes about thirty 1 1/2-inch meatballs

　　2 tablespoons olive oil

　　1 pound corned beef, finely diced

　　1 pound ground pork

　　1 1/4 cups sauerkraut, roughly chopped and squeezed to remove as much liquid as possible

　　5 large eggs

　　3/4 pound swiss cheese, grated

　　2 slices fresh rye bread, finely diced

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1 teaspoon caraway seeds

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the olive oil into a 9 × 13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.

　　

Step 2

Combine the corned beef, ground pork, sauerkraut, eggs, Swiss cheese, bread, salt, and caraway seeds in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated.

　　

Step 3

Roll the mixture into round, golf ball–size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches), making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.

　　

Step 4

Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.

　　

Step 5

Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow with Lauren Deen. Copyright © 2011 by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Daniel Holzman is executive chef at The Meatball Shop. He is an alum of Le Bernadin, San Francisco's Fifth Floor, and Aqua, among other highly acclaimed restaurants. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he received a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation.Michael Chernow runs the front-of-house operations and the beverage program at The Meatball Shop. He has worked extensively in restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, where he earned degrees in culinary arts and restaurant management. He and Holzman met as teenagers when they worked together as delivery boys at the New York vegan restaurant Candle Café. Needless to say, the vegan thing didn't really stick.Lauren Deen is the author of the New York Times bestselling Cook Yourself Thin series and Kitchen Playdates. She is an Emmy award—and James Beard award— winning television producer and director. She is currently executive producer of food(ography) on the Cooking Channel.