Machine Production of Meatballs, Filled Meatballs, and Lion's Head Meatballs

Balls are a staple of Taiwan's hot pot ingredients and snacks: pork balls (貢丸), fish balls, cuttlefish balls, filled fish balls, Fuzhou balls (福州丸), and the home-style lion's head meatballs (獅子頭). What they have in common is that minced meat or fish is beaten with salt into a sticky "paste," which is then formed and heated to set.

Where Does the Paste Come From?

The springiness of meat and fish pastes comes from the salt-soluble proteins in muscle. When beaten with salt, these proteins are released and form a viscous network that sets when heated, producing a bouncy texture. Taiwanese pork balls have traditionally emphasized "pounding," precisely to release as much of these proteins as possible.

Paste Temperature

During beating, friction and agitation from the machine raise the temperature of the paste. When the temperature is too high:

• Proteins denature prematurely, reducing stickiness and springiness.
• Fat melts and separates, so the finished product is greasy and coarse in texture.
• Microorganisms grow more easily.

That is why ice water or crushed ice is commonly added during beating to control temperature, and the time between beating and forming is kept short. During forming, the paste temperature should also be kept as stable as possible; otherwise earlier and later batches will differ in firmness, affecting both metering and shape. The specific control temperature varies with ingredients and recipe, so we recommend establishing standards based on your own trials.

Can Filled Meatballs Be Made with an Encrusting Machine?

Yes. The structure of a filled meatball is "outer paste + inner filling," exactly how encrusting machines work: the outer fish or meat paste and the filling (pork filling, cheese, mayonnaise, etc.) are fed separately, co-extruded, and then cut and sealed.

Among the products listed on the website of Japan's RHEON, seafood pastes include mentaiko mayonnaise-filled surimi (明太マヨ入りすり身) and cheese-filled surimi (チーズ入りすり身), and meat products include cheese-filled hamburger patties (チーズ入りハンバーグ) and mentaiko-filled chicken meatballs (明太子入りつくね); the product list for the CORNUCOPIA KN551 on its U.S. website also includes Meatballs and Filled Meat Patties.

Points to watch for machine production:

• Paste stickiness: Fish paste is very sticky and tends to adhere to machine surfaces, so contact parts often need to be wetted or given anti-stick treatment.
• Filling firmness and temperature: Cheese and mayonnaise fillings must be chilled until they can hold a shape; meat fillings should be close in firmness to the outer paste.
• Secure sealing: If the seal does not close properly, the filling will leak out during poaching.

Unfilled pork balls and fish balls mostly use dedicated ball forming machines: the paste is extruded from an outlet, formed into balls by a rotating or squeezing mechanism, and dropped directly into hot water to set.

Setting (Poaching) After Forming

Balls should be heated to set as soon as possible after forming. Common methods:

• Set in warm water, then cook through: First place them in hot water at a lower temperature so the surface proteins slowly coagulate and set, then move them to hotter water to cook through. The phenomenon of fish paste products "setting at rest" at low temperatures, called suwari (坐り) in Japan, has a big effect on springiness.
• Cook directly at high temperature: Fast, but the surface may set too quickly while the inside is not yet cooked, and the surface may wrinkle.
• Frying: Cuttlefish balls, bomb balls (炸彈丸), and the like are fried to set after forming.
• Lion's head meatballs: Large in size, they are often fried first to brown and set, then braised or steamed. The machine mostly just meters the meat paste and forms large balls; the later stages still rely on fryers and braising equipment.

After heating, cool them quickly, then blast freeze and package. For frozen transport, under Article 8 of the Regulations on Good Hygiene Practice for Food (食品良好衛生規範準則), the ambient temperature of frozen compartments must not be higher than -12°C.

Hygiene and Safety

• Keep work areas for raw meat and raw fish separate from cooked products to prevent cross-contamination.
• Before cleaning meat grinders, mixers, and forming machines, stop the machine, cut the power, and apply lockout/tagout in accordance with Article 57 of the Occupational Safety and Health Facilities Regulations (職業安全衛生設施規則); never push material into a meat grinder's feed opening by hand.

None of the models listed on Dong-Yih Machinery's website indicate meatballs or filled meatballs as suitable products. If you have this kind of need, call 06-257-4644 or ask through our Contact page. For croquettes and other filled fried foods, see Machine Production of Croquettes and Fried Foods.

FAQ

Q: Can filled fish balls be made with an encrusting machine?
A: Yes. A filled ball is outer paste wrapped around a filling, and the products on RHEON's website include surimi products filled with cheese or mentaiko mayonnaise.

Q: Why is ice added when beating the paste?
A: Beating raises the paste temperature; when it gets too hot, the proteins denature prematurely and the fat separates, so the finished product is not springy and is greasy.

Q: How should balls be cooked after forming to make them springy?
A: The common method is to set them first in hot water at a lower temperature, then move them to hotter water to cook through, so the surface does not set too quickly.

Q: Can lion's head meatballs be made by machine?
A: The machine mostly handles metering the meat paste and forming large balls; the later frying, browning, and braising still rely on fryers and braising equipment.