Italian Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil + 1 tbsp. butter
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1½ pound meatloaf mix (beef – 80%, pork shoulder and veal)
  • 3 eggs (or ½ – ¾ cup liquid eggs or 1 egg + ¼ cup heavy cream )
  • 4-5 cloves (2 tbsp.) garlic, chopped or minced
  • 2 tbsp. tomato paste
  • ½ cup (2 oz.) grated cheese, Parmigiano and Romano blend or pecorino  
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs, 50-50 plain and panko combined
  • ¼ tsp of Italian seasoning  and ½ tsp red chili flakes – squirt or two of  hot pepper sauce (e.g. Frank’s RedHot and/or Sriacha) – ¼tsp sea salt –½ tsp ground black pepper – ½ tsp garlic powder – ½ tsp oregano
  • ‘Handful’ of fresh basil chopped or equivalent dried
  • ⅛ bunch (2 tbsp.) parsley also maybe some fennel seeds
  • Splash of heavy cream

Directions:

  1. Dice and then lightly sauté a yellow onion it in a pan of olive oil and butter for about 25 minutes. After the first 5 minutes, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar on top, give a nice stir and cover the pan. Let it get nice and golden brown and then turn off the flame. Allow to cool.
  2. Once cooled, in a large bowl combine all of the ingredients. Mix until solid enough to where you can pick up the mixture and it stays together.  Don’t over mix!
  3. Preheat oven to 425°, butter a cookie sheet and wet your hands. Begin rolling mixture into >2½ <3 ounce balls; you should get between 12 and 15 meatballs. Make sure hands stay wet. Place rolled meatballs in rows on the cookie sheet, ensuring that they are touching each other.  Add a few pinches of cheese on top.
  4. Bake until the meatballs have a crisp crust, about 18 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300°and cook for 18 minutes more. Broil meatballs for 2 minutes to achieve the desired crust.
  5. At this point, the meatballs will be cooked through. If desired, add to a pot of gravy for an additional 20 to 40 minutes.

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