Italian Meatballs! Serve these up as a main dish, meatball sub-sandwich or as an appetizer. They are easy to make ahead, store, heat up and serve. They go well simply served with a little Marinara Sauce and fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shown above. See my previous posting for a simple Marinara Sauce recipe as well.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup of plain bread crumbs
- 1 medium/large white onion, grated and save the onion juice (1/2 cup)
- 1 pound ground beef (85%/15% lean minimum)
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 2 Tbsps. fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Soak bread crumbs in reserved onion juice for 10-15 minutes, add a little milk if you don’t get enough juice from grated onion.
- Mix ground beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir in grated onion, soaked bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture.
- Cover and refrigerate for about one hour as this helps to firm the mixture and makes it easier to form the meatballs.
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Spray a large baking sheet with light cooking oil. Use a baking rack if you have one. This helps the hot air circulate around the meatballs, maintain round shape and allows any grease/oil to drip away from the meatballs.
- To form the meatballs, use a 1-1/2 Tbsp. scoop, gathering from the meatball mixture and then finish by rolling into a ball by hand. The meatball should be about the size of a golf ball. You can use smaller or larger amounts depending on how you plan on serving the meatballs.
- Place on baking rack/pan and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until thoroughly cooked and browned. Don’t over cook them as you may end up reheating them later where they will continue to cook.
Notes:
- I use the grated onion, it makes for a more consistent texture to the meatballs and is easier than trying to get a petite dice. It also produces the onion juice to soak the bread crumbs.
- I use the onion juice as an added boost to the flavors of the meatballs, you could substitute milk if you wish.
- I use a mixer to combine all the ingredients which incorporates all of them consistently, but you can use a wooden spoon and they’ll be fine.
