This is a classic recipe. And an Italian one. Italians love meatballs and so do I. While I’m only 25% Italian, I feel as though I’ve got some sort of special relationship with this type of food. Probably because I’ve eaten it for much of my life. There’s no denying how delicious a properly seasoned and cooked meatball can be.
The Recipe
I’ve decided to go no-frills for this dish. I didn’t sprinkle any parsley on top to jazz the photos up and I didn’t pile the meatballs on top of some luscious looking, freshly cooked pasta. Why not? To be honest, I didn’t have any parsley on hand and I decided to start photographing what I was doing about halfway through the cooking process. That’s the truth. If I had the parsley and planned a bit better, you’d be looking at an entirely different post. But who cares about that stuff anyway. What you’re here for is a recipe that makes delicious meatballs, so that’s what I’ll give you. This one is awesome. You’re going to love it.
Ingredients
Makes: About 14 Meatballs
Olive Oil
2 Pounds Lean Ground Beef
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan (or Pecorino) Cheese
1/2 Cup Onion, Minced
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 Teaspoon Dried Basil
1 Teaspoon Garlic, Minced
Tomato Sauce (See Recipe)
I’d like to thank Jessica Gavin for this recipe. While reading up on things before I made it into the kitchen, I discovered meatball recipes on the internet are in no short supply. As I read through Jessica’s, I liked what I saw. It was simple enough to prepare and the ingredients were straightforward. You most likely have them in your home right now. I switched some things up in my version of this recipe, but my inspiration comes from Jessica.
I’d also like to discuss the meat I used for preparing these meatballs. I remember buying ground beef when I was a younger man in my 20s. If memory serves, there was 80% lean, 85%, 90%, and 95% available. I’m sure it’s the same today. I haven’t been in the market for meat for decades, so I’m a bit rusty. Also, my memories stem from when I lived in New York and Connecticut. I now live in Maine where there are more than enough nearby farms that offer some of the best ground beef someone can ask for. Through a friend, I located a grass-fed beef farm called Tannery Meadows in New Sharon, Maine. I bought three pounds of ground beef and…well, you’ll see the quality down below. Take a look at the raw beef. It’s outstanding. The leaner, the better and what I got was lean.
Pre-Heat Oven
Adjust an oven rack so it’s in the center position. Then, turn on the oven’s broiler. My oven’s broiler has two settings; low and high. I set it to low to warm the oven up as I was prepping the ingredients and then when I added the meatballs to the oven, I set it to high. Also, add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a baking sheet or frying pan. You’ll need that in a bit.
Combine Ingredients
In a large bowl, add the beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, onion, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic. Then, with clean hands, massage all the ingredients together well. After that, form approximately 14 pieces of meat into balls that are slightly larger than golf balls. Arrange the meatballs in your pan or on your baking sheet., making sure they’re sitting on a layer of olive oil so they don’t stick.
Broil the Meatballs
If you haven’t already, turn your broiler on high and place the pan into the oven on the center rack. The goal here is to brown the meatballs, without burning them, to create a tough skin. Keep your eye on your oven and if your broiler is too high (hot), switch it to low. After approximately 10-12 minutes, you should see some browned meat.
At this point, flip each meatball over and place the pan back in the oven for three additional minutes.
Simmer Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
In a large pot, warm some tomato sauce over medium heat and then reduce the heat to low when it’s at temperature (enough sauce to cover all the meatballs – doubling up on my tomato sauce recipe should be fine) and place the meatballs in the sauce.
Then, cover the pot and let everything simmer for approximately one and a half hours. During this time, the meatballs should cook through, while remaining nice and tender.
Serve & Enjoy
At this point, the meatballs are cooked and ready to be served. You can do whatever you want with them. Eat them alone in a bowl, sprinkle some additional Parmesan cheese on them while sitting on top of some pasta – whatever. Personally, I like my meatballs on top of spaghetti, but it’s up to your own preferences. Also, I’d like to mention that while this recipe is just about perfect, you can experiment with it. Go ahead and add a teaspoon of Adobo season to add some different flavors. Add some more herbs. Change things up to make life interesting. But above all, enjoy!
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