Meatball question

[BrennieGirl]

Im having family over tomorrow for dinner so I'm making a shed load of meatballs today. I was going to roll them into shape and then put them in the fridge on a baking tray overnight. They need to be browned and cooked in a casserole dish in a tomato sauce.

I've realised I don't have enough space in the fridge to lay them out individually. Could I brown them today, store them in a bowl in the fridge overnight and then finish them in the casserole tomorrow?

Just wondering if it's safe to heat (brown) them then refrigerate them and heat (casserole) them again.

I don't want to poison anyone!

I think it's fine to cook them off today and finish in the sauce tomorrow, but I would make sure they were cooked through and not just coloured on the outside but raw in the middle still.

Yes I think that's what I would do too. Not too browned initially so you could always fry them a bit first before putting them in the sauce.

Yes but make sure they're full cooked today. You don't want raw and cooked together.

Be aware that you won't be able to reheat leftovers, as they will already have been cooked twice!

That sounds fine to me, but you could also pile them up? I do this with meatballs in a plate and chill them like that, they do hold their shape (if that's the issue?). Sometimes I put them in a large Tupperware.

Thanks for the replies. I've browned them and piled them into a bowl. I'll make sure I cook them throughly in the sauce.