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 orpecorino - 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:
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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. - 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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