I posted about this meatball recipe a few weeks ago.
But I feel a great need to again convey to you how much you need to make this recipe.
Plus I did’t post my ingredient adjustments.
So today let’s talk meatballs.
Meatballs are the closet thing to meat loaf that I will ever eat.
These meatballs blow meatloaf out of the water.
Meat in loaf form= yuck
Now that we have established my feelings on meatloaf we can move on.
Meatballs are the ultimate comfort food in my opinion.
And I think everyone should know how to make a good one.
Here are a couple helpful tips I have gleaned in my meatball-making experiences.
#1. Brown your meatballs (whether in a skillet or in the oven)before you add them to your pasta sauce, otherwise you will have poached meat (gross).
#2. Don’t pack the meat balls. In order to have tender meatballs you need to keep the balls pretty loose.
#3. Use sausage in place of the ground pork.
#4. Always refrigerate the meatballs prior to frying them. The chilled meatball holds its shape better.
Okay, on to the recipe:
Italian Meatballs (printer friendly version Italian Meatballs)
adapted from Tim Allen’s Spaghetti and Meatballs
serves 8
- 1 pound ground beef
- 8 ounces Italian sausage, removed from casing (breakfast sausage would also work)
- 1/2 cup grated or shaved Parmesan, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (or panko)
- 1/3 cup chicken stock, preferable homemade or low-sodium store bought
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for forming meatballs
- fresh basil for garnishing
For the meatballs: In a large bowl, using your hands mix together the beef, sausage, Parmesan, parsley, breadcrumbs, stock, salt, cayenne, eggs, garlic and onions until evenly combined. Be careful not to overwork the mixture; you don’t want to compact the meat too much or the meatballs will be tough. Put a little oil on your hands and form loosely into golf ball size meatballs.
Place the meatballs on a greased cookie sheet, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (can be stored in the frig up to 2 days or in the freezer for a month).
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Gently add the meatballs and brown thoroughly on two sides; this will take about 5-10 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate, and refrigerate until you are ready to cook them in the sauce of your choice.
Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Serve immediately with pasta and garnished with Parmesan and chopped basil.
Variation #1: These are great used as meatballs for subs and topped with mozzarella.
Variation #2: Finish cooking these in a slow cooker with pasta sauce, on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
What kind of sauce do you use or is the favorite?
I use my slow cooker meat sauce but without the meat usually. It’s in my recipe index page above.