Classic Italian Meatballs
My husband, Sam, is from Connecticut, and I lived for a couple years in New York, so the love of Italian food runs deep in our house. The thing Sam misses most about living on the East Coast is easy access to Italian delis. I promised him I'd work hard to come up with a few recipes that will hit the spot when a craving comes up, and this is one of them! I think it's important to have a handful of staple recipes in your repertoire that you know you can whip up anytime, and they'll come out perfectly every time. For me, this meatball recipe is one of those. I always split this batch and enjoy half for our dinner, and pop the remaining half in the freezer for another night.
CLASSIC ITALIAN MEATBALLS
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 T italian seasonings, divided
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2/3 cup bread crumbs, or three slices of bread made into bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef I prefer 80/20
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 t red pepper flake
- 1/2 t salt
- 1/4 t pepper
DIRECTIONS:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2.) Add your breadcrumbs to a bowl, along with 1/2 cup of milk. Allow the breadcrumbs to soak up the milk as you continue through the next steps. Homemade breadcrumb instructions at bottom of post
3.) Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add 1 T of olive oil until shimmering
4.) Dice onion, and add it to the pan, stirring occasionally as they brown. Add salt and pepper (1/8 t of each). Heat and stir for 3-4 minutes
5.) Add minced garlic, and 1/2 T of italian seasonings to pan. Stir and heat for a minute or two, then remove from heat
6.) In a large mixing bowl, add your ground beef and ground pork. Add remaining seasonings (1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 tablespoon of italian seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flake)
7.) Mix in onions/garlic, both eggs, and breadcrumbs. Use your hands to mix and combine into a uniform mixture.
8.) Form your meatballs. I find that using a large cookie scoop, and then rolling in my hands, works best here.
9.) Add your meatballs to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
10.) Heat your meatballs in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until heated through and nicely browned.
As they bake, they'll release a lot of fat. Don't worry too much about this! Let them sit for a few minutes to allow the juices to evenly disperse, and then shake off the gelatin/fat from the bottom. When serving, let your meatballs hang out in your marinara sauce for at least 15 minutes for optimal flavor.
EASY HOMEMADE BREADCRUMBS:
1.) Take three slices of fresh bread, and rub each piece with a bit of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt.
2.) Broil under 525 for a minute or two, allowing the toast to crisp. Flip and toast the other side. Make sure they don't burn under the flame!
3.) Cut these up into 1/2" cubes.
