Meatballs (Apicius 2.1.7 P. 149)
from Christopher Grocock & Sally Grainger, Apicius: A Critical Edition with an Introduction and English Translation, Prospect Books, 2006

1 kg pork or chicken
2-3 cups white bread moistened in wine
Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Fish sauce (liquamen)
A few juniper berries crushed (optional)*
1 cup Pine nuts (other nuts such as blanched almonds or hazelnuts crushed into pieces could be substituted)
Coarsely cracked black peppercorns
Caul fat to wrap the meatballs in for cooking**
1 cup of sweet wine reduction***

Remove the crusts from the bread and soak in wine. In a food processor pound up the meat with the bread, pepper and fish sauce. If you are using the juniper berries they can also be added at this point. Shape meatballs around some of the nuts with some coarsely cracked pepper. The nut mixture should be completely encased in the meat. Wrap them in caul fat and saute in the reduced wine.

Notes:
* The original recipe calls for myrtle berries which are difficult to source but juniper has a similar taste so can act as a substitute.
** Caul fat is the fatty layer surrounding the intestines of cows, sheep and pigs. It is used in butchery, sausage making and cooking. It is a lacy translucent layer, most often sold for making sausages, pâtés, terrines, etc. so that they hold their shape when cooked. It is also used to wrap roasts for cooking, since it keeps them moist without adding as much fat as larding. Before using, it's recommended that caul fat be soaked for a few minutes in lukewarm water to soften it.
*** The wine should have been reduced down by one third.

Ancient Roman meat balls
"Stuffed Meat Patties" (Apicius 48) - Another Kind of Kromeskis (Aliter Isicia Omentata)

Esicia omentata: pulpam cincisam teres cum medulla siliginei in vino infusi. Piper, liquamen, si velis, et bacam mirteam extenteratum simul sonteres. Pusilla esicia formabis, intus nucleis et pipere positis. Involuta omento subassabis cum careno.

"Ground meat patties in omentum: Grind chopped meat with the center of fine white bread that has been soaked in wine. Grind together pepper, garum, and pitted myrtle berries if desired. Form small patties, putting in pine nuts and pepper. Wrap in omentum and cook slowly in caroenum.

"Within the section dedicated to recipes with ground meat, the Apician manual includes this curious rating: "The ground meat patties of peacock have first place, if they are fried so that they remain tender. Those of pheasant have second place, those of rabbit third, those of chicken fourth, and those of suckling pig fifth." (Apicius 54)."

---A Taste of Ancient Rome, Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa, translated by Anna Herklotz, forward by Mary Taylor Simeti [University of Chicago Press:Chicago] 1992 (p. 89-90)

[NOTE: omentum means pork caul fat; caroenum means reduced wine. This book contains a modernized recipe for above meatball dish.]

Isicia Omentata – Ancient Roman Meatballs Wrapped in Caul fat
from https://historicalitaliancooking.home.blog/

"In his book about Latin language, Varro (born at the end of the 2nd century) writes that the word isicia (which he spells insicia) comes from insecta caro: minced meat. In the cookbook conventionally attributed to Marcus Gavius Apicius, the widest source of ancient Roman recipes, we find many recipes of isicia, prepared with both meat and fish. In the past months, we prepared a recipe of isicia amulata (which can be roughly translated as meatballs thickened with starch) and isicia marina (seafood cakes), as well as lucanica, a smoked sausage whose name is still used in Italian and other languages. From the Edict of Prices of Emperor Diocletian (301 CE), we know that isicia and lucanica were also sold yet prepared, with both beef and pork meat, and the latter were more costly. The kinds of meat Apicius suggests for his isicia are peacock, pheasant, rabbit, chicken, and pork.

"Omentum is the Latin word for caul fat, an ingredient widely used in historical and traditional Italian cuisine. It is essential for a good outcome of the recipe: Apicius suggests using a lean cut of meat for the meatballs, and the omentum is the only fat used here. It will melt during the cooking, giving a pleasant moisture to the meatballs that otherwise would result too dry."

Original text
Isicia omentata: pulpam concisam teres cum medulla siliginis in vino infusi. Piper, liquamen, si velis, et bacam myrtae exenteratam simul conteres. Pusilla isicia formabis, intus nucleis et pipere positis involuta omento subassabis cum caroeno.

Translation
Isicia omentata: pound minced lean meat with crustless bread soaked in wine. Pound with pepper, garum (if you want), and myrtle berry after having removed the seeds. Shape little meatballs, placing inside pine nuts and pepper. Wrap in caul fat and cook with caroenum.

Myrtle berries were widely used in ancient Roman cuisine, as a seasoning as well as ingredients to prepare some kinds of wine and oil, described in detail by Cato, Columella, and Palladius. According to Pliny, before the introduction of pepper, myrtle berries were used for the sauces, in particular to season boar meat. In Italy, they are still used, in particular in Sardinia, to prepare sausages and other traditional dishes as well as a liquor, but otherwise their use is almost forgotten. If you do not find the berries, you can use the leaves instead. Soak them in the wine needed for the bread at least for a night, then remove the leaves and use it.

Apicius does not specify what kind of meat to use. He uses the term pulpa, which means lean meat. The author specifies to shape pusilla isicia: little meatballs.

Caroenum was one of the three grape-must preserves that ancient Romans used for their recipes, as sapa and defrutum. According to Palladius, it was made boiling the grape juices until it reduced to the two-thirds of the original volume, while sapa was made reducing it to one-third and the defrutum to a half.

This is one of the rare cases in which Apicius specifies that garum is optional. Made with fish and salt fermented together, sometimes adding spices and aromatic herbs, garum was an ancient Mediterranean sauce widely used by Romans, Greek, and Phoenicians. The method of preparation was identical to modern-day South-East Asian fish sauces, so you can substitute it with one of these sauces or with salt.

600 gr pork tenderloin
caul fat
grapes
pine nuts
bread
garum (optional)
red wine
black pepper
one myrtle berry

Remove the crust to the bread and soak the internal part in wine. Grind the myrtle berry and a part of the black pepper, keeping aside some grains which you will add whole to the meatballs.

Mince the meat, then pound it in the mortar.

Mix the meat, spices, bread, and a little quantity of garum. If you do not use garum, for this quantity of meat, we suggest adding a couple of pinches of salt instead.

Add whole black pepper grains and pine nuts.

Cut the caul fat in little square pieces. Shape little meatballs, wrapping them in the caul fat.

Pound the grapes in the mortar paying attention not to crush too many seeds and strain the juice.

Boil the grape juice until it reduces to a third of the original volume, then add the meatballs and cook them for a few minutes. If the juice reduces excessively, add a bit of water to prevent it from caramelizing.
Serve the meatballs coated with their juice.