My grandma would call, “Come to the kitchen, cara mia, and taste.” She’d hand me a big bowl filled with meatballs, a little sauce, and a piece of crusty bread. “Here you go. Eat. It’s good, no?” Oh, grandma, “good” doesn’t begin to describe the rich flavor and soft texture of your meatballs. I can close my eyes and see you chopping, mixing, seasoning, rolling. I can smell your meatballs first baking in the oven, then simmering for hours in your sauce on the stove. Grandma, I feel you in my kitchen every time I make your meatballs; every time I chop, mix, season, and roll. Grandma, they’re good, no?
For the meatballs:
1-½ lbs ground beef, 80/20 chuck is best. You need the fat for flavor.
½ lb ground pork.
3 eggs, lightly beaten.
¾ to 1 cup loosely packed fresh bread crumbs. I use the soft inside of crusty Italian bread and tear it into small pieces. You could use a food processor if that’s all you have <winkyface>
Milk, just a few TBS.
½ cup finely grated parmesan-reggiano. Using good cheese makes all the difference.
¼ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley.
3-4 basil leaves, chopped. Or about 2 tsp dried.
About 1 tsp dried oregano.
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced.
A pinch of grated nutmeg.
A generous amount of black pepper, but just a pinch of salt as the parm-regg provides quite a bit of salty flavor. Taste and decide.
Optional: crushed red pepper flakes.
First, mix the breadcrumbs, cheese and herbs together in a big bowl. Add the eggs and mix again. Stir in some milk, enough so the mixture looks like a thick, wet paste. You want to do this before adding the meats to avoiding overworking the mixture.
Next, add the meats and work lightly to fully combine. I use my clean hands.
At this point, you’re ready to roll. Or, wrap the mix in cling film and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. I usually take this extra step because that’s the way my grandma did it. She was right; it really improves the flavor and texture.
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Roll mixture into 2” balls, not too big or small. Place on an olive oiled baking sheet or one lined with foil or parchment. It doesn’t matter. Yield is 35-40 meatballs.
Bake for 12-15 mins, until lightly browned.
Transfer to a large pot of sauce and simmer/stew for 2-3 hours. Any sauce, homemade or jarred. In the photo above, I browned some sweet Italian sausage links while the balls were baking...into the pot of sauce they went!
Eat your meatballs with pasta and sauce, make them into a sub, or just put several in a bowl and fill your belly. Thanks for having me over.
What are you making tonight?