Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread parchment paper on a baking sheet. Spray the insides of a 12-cup muffin baking tin or ramekin dishes with nonfat cooking spray.

2. Spoon some chilled meatball mixture into a 1-cup measuring cup, filling it to about the ¾-cup mark. Turn the cup upside down and let the meat fall into a muffin cup. The circumference of a measuring cup is larger than that of a muffin cup, which is fine; the meatball should rest higher in the cup so that the fat can pool underneath as the meat cooks. Alternatively, load a ramekin dish with the oversized meatball.

3. Adjust the size of the meatball, if necessary, and add more meat so that the meatball doesn’t touch the bottom of either the muffin cup or the ramekin dish. Smooth the top of the meatball with a spoon.

4. Place the muffin baking tin or the ramekin dishes on the baking sheet, which will catch any grease from the meatballs as they cook. Sprinkle the meatballs with parsley flakes and cook them for about 25 minutes.

5. Check the meatballs with an instant-read thermometer; fist-sized meatballs take a little longer to cook than smaller ones. The internal temperature should reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit. If it doesn’t, return the meatballs to the oven for a minute or two, knowing that they will continue to cook and rise in temperature a few degrees after they’re removed from the oven.