Whats the best way to make meatballs?!
Answers:
Here is a traditional Italian recipe, its been in my family forever, my gramma does it just like this and she still lives in Italy today. We do not cook our balls; we drop em in the red sauce and cook them through that way. It will add an incredible flavor to your sauce as well as keep the balls moist.
After the noodles are cooked a couple of minutes shy of al dente (meaning they still have a bit of a "bite" left to them, not soft, or you’ve gone too far), toss them into the sauce pot allowing the noodle and sauce to marry, finish cooking off the noodles this way (a couple of minutes). Plate the spaghetti by twirling the noodles around a large fork, use a large spoon to prevent them from sliding off the fork and place on plate in a twisty motion. Add a couple of meatballs on top and garnish with a few fresh sprigs of basil - DELISH!!! Serve with crusty bread, not garlic bread, just a nice crusty loaf that is hard enough you could "knock" on the outside of it (like you’re knocking on a door), but the insides should be fluffy and soft. Mop up sauce with the bread as you go. Theres a million more things I could say about pasta, but I’m going to run out of room.
Real Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs (Sunday Gravy)
2 1/2 lbs. lean ground meat (mix equally ground pork, veal, and beef - most butchers will sell this as "meatloaf mix" so ask for it if you don’t see it)
1/2 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese (get the pecorino, not a cheaper domestic; the best ingredients make the best food. Buy a wedge and grate it yourself. Lop off the rind and toss it in the sauce pot, this will slowly melt rich flavor into your sauce. Shhhh...no one will know what you did, but everyone will LOVE it!! 3/4 cup dry Italian-style bread crumbs (If you make homemade bread you may have this on hand, otherwise your local bakery will likely sell them - they will be a million times better than the ones you would find in your local market in a box or cylinder - those are processed and flavorless, go with fresh if at all possible!)
4 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped garlic (sounds like a lot, but it works, don’t change this amount, try it - I wouldn’t lead you wrong)
2 tsp. salt (kosher, not table salt - don’t mix this up, table salt has a MUCH higher sodium content and thus tastes more "salty" which could overpower your sauce
Meatball Sauce (recipe follows)
1 lb. spaghetti, uncooked
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese (for serving)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (for serving)
TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS:
In a large bowl combine ground meat, Romano cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, garlic, and salt; mix well. Shape into meatballs size of golf balls. My gramma used to make balls the size of her hand, they were a 1/2 lbs each. I do it that way too. People LOVE them. If you want more balls for serving many people, go with a smaller, golf ball size. Use all of the meat mixture - makes about 35 meatballs. Set meatballs in fridge so they gain stability before popping them in the sauce. A smooshy ball will end up flat on the bottom. Let them rest for approximately 1 hour in the fridge.
Cook meatballs in the Meatball Sauce.
Cook spaghetti a few mins shy of the package directions; pick noodles up with tongs and toss into pot with sauce, mix around and finish cooking the noodles while they absorb the sauce.
Top servings with parmigiano reggiano cheese (get the reggiano, not the cheaper domestic -it’s worth it - and grate it fresh. You lose flavor when you grate, so don’t do in until you’re about to eat and never buy it already grated from the market, garnish with fresh basil.
MEATBALL SAUCE
Makes about 6 cups
6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 large Spanish onion, diced into 1/4 inch slices
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh Flat leaf parsley
2 cans (28 oz. each) plum tomatoes with juice - San Marzano (dont get any other kind!!!)
Salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
pinch of red crushed pepper (optional)
In a large pan or casserole sauté garlic, onion, celery, and carrot in olive oil over medium heat till translucent. Add parsley Perk up tomatoes with your hands and add with all of the tomato juice to the pan. Add salt and pepper. Bring to boil lower heat and add meatballs. Be prepared the sauce will significantly increase in volume but then it will reduce back by 1/3 by the end of cooking, about 45 minutes.
Put a measured amount of meat mixture in the palm of your hand and roll it into as round a shape as you can get it. Then bake it on a wire rack.
LOL! Love the question. Go to cooks.com. Great recipes. The more onion/garlic/italian spices mixed in the better!
With Vegan Meat
