As a teenager, determined with gusto to live a healthy lifestyle, I cut out white flour, sugar and preservative-laden foods, as well as meat. For 30 years, I ate only fowl and fish. Long story short, after that lengthy hiatus I returned to eating pork, beef and lamb. Veal was never on my radar, as I had seen how it is produced, which made it easy to disavow ever consuming it. 

It was with verve that I returned to the pleasures of eating the meats of which I’d deprived myself for decades. My diet thus far had been uninteresting, limited and repetitive for so long that I was delighted to bite into a juicy, rare steak or cut through a thick, bone-in pork or lamb chop. 

I had never been particularly fond of ground meat as a child, with the exception of my mom’s excellent meatball and spaghetti dinners. Meatloaf, starting with the 1930s and continuing through most of the ‘50s, became a symbol of ingenuity born out of the Depression, as it allowed women to stretch their food, especially protein, into a meal that could last longer. Recipes were developed with bulk additions such as bread, cereal, grains and even hardboiled eggs, making meatloaf a simple and affordable dinner for a hungry family. 

My own mother made the occasional meatloaf, but I have no memory of enjoying (or even eating) it, though I do recall my sister Janet bringing a meatloaf sandwich slathered with ketchup to school the following day after my mom had presented it at dinner. 

I never make hamburgers at home; I rarely eat them at restaurants; and only when I know the burger presented to me will have dark grill marks and the meat will taste of an earthy char. I order it “as rare as possible without being cold in the center.” Not an easy task for a busy chef, I know, but I like my meat rare. 

What I grew to realize about burgers is that they are rarely super tasty. Thus, the endless list of toppings (offered at most eateries) of caramelized onions, melted cheese, bacon and perhaps the house-made “special sauce” are meant to bump up the lackluster taste of a simple burger. 

It has become difficult to find a flavorful patty made with a combination of superlative ground beef that is worthy of the ever-rising cost, now hitting upwards of $20.

All of that being said, I will admit that I’ve grown to appreciate the possibilities of utilizing ground meat—whether it be pork, beef or lamb—when used to produce flavorful ethnic-inspired meatballs chock-full of herbs, spices and other ingredients that elevate their status. 

Over time, I discovered recipes for meatballs or patties that were of Greek, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, Mediterranean, Japanese and Korean origin. These little tasty gems often benefit from a glaze or dipping sauce that complements their flavors, bringing ground meat to a new level. 

I always bake my meatballs. It’s less time-consuming and messy. They also freeze well so I can make a large batch, serve them for a meal and store away the leftovers for another day—or perhaps as an hors d’oeuvre when I’m entertaining friends.