Another gadget - has anyone seen or used one of these (falafel press)

[Debbiebillg]

I just saw these on ebay and thought they'd be good also to make meat balls. My kids love meat balls but I get dermatitis and hate getting my hands into mixtures like this as it can really set my dermatitis off.  So I thought these would mean I could make them a whole lot quicker (and hence more often) without having to get my hands into the mixture.

What do you think ?  Might also make some falafel too, mmmm.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/FALAFEL-MAKER-SCOOP-PROFESSIONAL-GADGET-ISRAEL-KOSHER-/110594084729?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bfebcf79

P.S Can you tell I love ebay lol

[andiesenji]

I have one, it is okay for falafel but not all that efficient for meat balls.

Here's my "trick"  for meatballs  -  I don't want to handle them too much because they do become tough.

Mix your ingredients and turn the lot out onto a sheet of parchment or waxed paper.
Pat it into a rectangle or square a bit more than an inch thick (for small meat balls - thicker for larger ones).
Cut into a grid pattern the same width and height as the thickness.

Now you can quickly pick up the divided pieces and shape them with little effort and much less time and they will be evenly sized.

I have a saucer of oil next to my work surface and I coat my hands with it to work the meat as I usually put mine on a cooling rack in a sheet pan and cook them in the oven as I try to avoid frying as much as possible. 

I used to be a caterer and I used this method for making hundreds of meat balls.  For large amounts I just put the meat mixture into a sheet pan and patted it out evenly then turned the pan out onto my work surface (stainless steel) and cut them with a long cheese wire. 
I could do an 18" x 25" sheet pan full in about twelve minutes. 

[Cuilidh]

Have you tried using food quality gloves to protect your hands, Debbieillg?  That may also help.

[andiesenji]

Have you tried using food quality gloves to protect your hands, Debbieillg?  That may also help.

Oh yes!  I do use gloves.  It was a requirement (by law) when I was catering and once I got in the habit I just kept on with it.
You can also handle (briefly) fairly hot foods without burning your hands  and  they are especially important when handling  "hot" foods that are hot from capsaicin peppers. 
 
I always handle dough with gloves because invariably the phone will ring and it is much easier to strip off a glove and pick up the phone with a clean hand, rather than spending an hour cleaning sticky dough off the phone.  I do have speaker on the phones but the instrument has to be picked up off the charging base and a button pressed to hear and talk.

I buy my gloves from Amazon.  Nitrile, Non Latex, Powder Free and are FDA approved.

[faffa_70]

I use a large stainless steel ice cream scoop for meatballs and a tiny little one for my biscuits 

[Debbiebillg]

The ice cream scoop's a great idea Faffa, I will try that.  Cuilidh and andiesenji, I have tried using gloves too but I find them annoying if I have to keep taking them on and off to attend to the kids and they sometimes make my hands itchy (especially in summer) which of course makes the dermititis worse.  andiesenji, I will also give your idea of patting them into a rectangle and cutting a try too, great idea.  It's gotta be quick here or I just can't manage it with 3 littlies.  I'm hanging out for the youngest (currently 2) to make it to 3 or 4 and hopefully things will get easier.  andiesenji, so why didn't you think the falafel press was too successful for meatballs ?  I kind of imagine the meatball mixture to be a bit more sloppy than falafel I suppose (but not that I've ever made falafels though).  Hmmm might give them a try though.