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Travel Around The World With Meatball Recipes (PHOTOS)

Like dumplings, every culture has its meatball.
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Like dumplings, every culture has a meatball recipe. From Italy to Sweden to China and beyond, the delicious reward of rolling ground meat and spices together seems to be a pretty universal concept.

Whether you want to tuck into a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, wolf down a meatball sub in front of the game or throw a cocktail party with mini-meatballs, we'd be hard-pressed to find an occasion that they weren't appropriate for (yes, you can even make vegetarian versions, if you're into that kind of thing). We found some of our favorite meatballs from around the world to share with you today. Let us know if we missed your favorite version, and bonus points will be awarded to anyone who throws a Meatballs of the World party.

1
Italian Meatballs
Simply Recipes
Get the Italian Meatballs recipe from Simply Recipes
2
Swedish Meatballs
Simply Recipes
Get the Swedish Meatballs recipe from Simply Recipes
3
Extra Tender Meatballs
James Ransom/Food52
Get the Extra Tender Meatballs recipe from Food52
4
Mini Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
John Kernick
Get the Mini Buffalo Chicken Meatballs recipe
5
Albondigas Soup
Simply Recipes
Get the Albondigas Soup recipe from Simply Recipes
6
Veal And Ricotta Meatballs In Tomato Sauce
Stephen Davis Phillips
Get the Veal and Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato Sauce recipe
7
Spicy Korean-Style Gochujang Meatballs
James Ransom/Food52
Get the Spicy Korean-Style Gochujang Meatballs recipe from Food52
8
Grilled Beef Meatball Subs
Bev Cooks
Get the Grilled Beef Meatball Subs recipe from Bev Cooks
9
Shanghainese Lion's Head Meatballs
James Ransom/Food52
Get the Shanghainese Lion's Head Meatballs recipe from Food52
10
Chipotle Meatballs
Simply Recipes
Get the Chipotle Meatballs recipe from Simply Recipes
11
Cheesy Stuffed Meatball Sliders
How Sweet It Is
Get the Cheesy Stuffed Meatball Sliders recipe from How Sweet It Is
12
Kofta Meatballs With Sweet And Sour Cherry Sauce
Steamy Kitchen
Get the Kofta Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Cherry Sauce recipe from Steamy Kitchen
13
Sophia Loren's Meatballs
Mimi Thorisson/Manger
Get Sophia Loren's Meatballs recipe from Manger
14
Braised Pork And Fennel Meatballs
Frances Janisch
Get the Braised Pork and Fennel Meatballs recipe
15
Cannellini Bean Vegetarian “Meatballs” With Tomato Sauce
Cookin' Canuck
Get the Cannellini Bean Vegetarian "Meatballs" with Tomato Sauce recipe from Cookin' Canuck
16
Lamb Meatballs With Yogurt, Eggs And Mint
David Loftus
Get the Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt, Eggs and Mint recipe
17
Meatballs In Almond Sauce
Jason Lowe
Get the Meatballs in Almond Sauce recipe
18
Walnut Bella "Meatball" Subs
Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes
Get the Walnut Bella "Meatball" Subs recipe from Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes
19
Tandoori Lamb Meatballs
John Kernick
Get the Tandoori Lamb Meatballs recipe
20
Veggie Balls
John Kernick
Get the Veggie Balls recipe

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Before You Go

Best Meatballs In The U.S.
Imperial; Portland, Oregon(01 of07)
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“The taste is part duck à l’orange, part mole, and part a sweet and sour stew that I remember my grandmother cooking for our family during the holidays,” says chef Vitaly Paley of his superb meatballs. Paley first grinds a mixture of duck, prunes, house-cured and -smoked bacon, toasted bread crumbs and spices (star anise, cinnamon, red pepper flakes and wood-fire-dried oregano). The meatballs are roasted, then braised with prunes, carrots, dried pasilla chile, red wine, cream, sherry, brandy, charred onion and duck stock. The aromatic dish is finished with crispy orange gremolata. “The result is sweet, sour and spicy,” says Paley.Plus: Best Pizza in the U.S. (credit:John Valls)
Locanda Verde; New York City(02 of07)
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Chef Andrew Carmellini didn’t grow up eating meatballs. “I’m half Italian, but that half is from Friuli and Tuscany—there were no Neapolitan meatballs whatsoever,” he says. Still, Carmellini (an F&W Best New Chef 2000) prepares awesome lamb meatball sliders. Except for the Italian goat cheese, every part of the dish is made in-house: Carmellini grinds the lamb with onion, simmers the meatballs in tomato sauce, then serves them on Parmesan-onion buns with cucumber pickles. They’re fantastic and reminiscent of the old-school type—the kind one might think Carmellini grew up with.Plus: America’s Best Bread Bakeries (credit:Locanda Verde)
The Meatball Shop; New York City(03 of07)
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Meatball specialists Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow now have three locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn for their cozy restaurants, with the slogan “We Make Balls.” The meatball options range from classic beef laced with ricotta to spicy pork and vegetable; you can choose from accompanying sauces like classic tomato or Parmesan cream. Holzman and Chernow tend to think broadly: You can have smashed balls, balls on top of your salad and naked balls. Maybe this makes you to think of some good punch lines; if so, there’s a place to submit ball jokes on the Meatball Shop’s website.Plus: America’s Best Pizza in Unexpected Places (credit:Noah Fecks)
Marabella Meatball Co.; Philadelphia(04 of07)
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Here, you can build a sandwich like beef-pork-veal meatballs with marinara sauce and aged provolone. (Toppings like prosciutto and broccoli rabe are $1 extra.) Owner Judy Marabella’s family owns the Jersey Shore’s Marabella’s Family Restaurant, in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, where they serve meatballs on several of their pastas.Plus: America’s Best Bacon Burgers (credit:Marabella Meatball Co)
Moochie’s Meatballs & More!; Salt Lake City(05 of07)
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“We put meatballs on everything!!” says owner Joanna Rendi. Indeed. You can get their meatballs atop spaghetti, macaroni salad, Mediterranean salad (“It may sound weird, but it’s a really great salad!”), potato salad (“It’s what we eat in the back!”) or chicken Parmesan salad. Or you can transform their handmade meatball sandwich into an “atomic meatball” with the addition of feta cheese and jalapeño sauce. Unlike most meatball places, this one shares space with a ceramics store, Circle Pottery Gift Shop (Rendi’s husband is a potter).Plus: Best Burgers in the U.S. (credit:Martin Van Hemert)
Haulin Balls; Las Vegas(06 of07)
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Any meatball lover who has ever looked longingly through the pages of a muscle car magazine, get ready to have your mind blown. Haulin Balls is a Vegas food truck with a trompe l’oeil image of a full-size black muscle car detailed on the side. Wait, there’s more: The car is adorned with flames. Haulin Balls offers six “ballwiches”: pulled pork; ground beef; Thai-style turkey with lemongrass, ginger, cilantro; lamb and tzatziki.Plus: America’s Best Bars (credit:Haulin Balls Trucks, LLC.)
Parm; New York City(07 of07)
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Evoking old-school Little Italy joints, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi’s Parm serves the best meatball parm: juicy, meaty, saucy and cheesy. —F&W Editor-in-Chief Dana CowinClick Here for More of the Best Meatballs in the U.S. (credit:Ryan Lee)

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