Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe?
Looking for a great Italian meatball recipe? Wrap your lips around this one.
I've known Tom Hartman since first grade. That means we've been friends for a long time. Since childhood Tom has always come across as a "worldly" type of fellow. He's always been very knowledgeable in politics, sports, the arts, history, and music. Especially music. He and I have listened, enjoyed, and argued about music for thirty years.
Tom is also knows a lot about food. He lives in Philadelphia and enjoys eating out often. Name the food and Tom has tasted it somewhere in Philadelphia or New York or around the world (Tom travels a lot. When it comes to food -- Tom has tried it all including Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, French, and Italian. Now, given his background, experience, and his fondness for food I value his opinion and his recommendations about such matters.
I told you about Tom so you'll understand my disbelief when he told me that my meatballs were the best he's ever eaten. My meatballs? Tom has eaten thousands of meatballs in hundreds of restaurants in and around Philadelphia, New York, and other places, yet my meatballs are his favorite, "...the best I've ever tasted." Wow, what a compliment. Thank you Tom.
So given my new found respect for my meatballs I want to share my recipe:
The Best Meatball Recipe
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
Ingredients
1 pound combined beef, veal, pork (must be fresh)
3 large eggs
1 cup grated Romano Locatelli Cheese
1 cup bread crumb
1 clove garlic - minced
1 tablespoon salt
Preparation
(All mixing is done be hand) In a large bowl mix beef/veal/pork with eggs. Then add bread crumb, cheese, and salt. Finally add minced garlic in stages. Add a little then mix. Add some more, then mix. This way all the garlic does not end up in one meatball. Now, it's time to roll up the balls. Average size is roughly 2 inches in diameter. I usually get around 18 to 20 meatballs per pound. IMPORTANT! Do not cook meatballs in your pasta sauce! Meatballs cooked in sauce loose their flavor. The real key to a tasty meatball is cooking the them in an oven. So, heat oven to 375. Place meatballs on a rack - then on a cookie tray. Bake for 12 minutes on one side then 10 minutes for the other.
I freeze the meatballs in bags and take out what I need per dinner. I just drop the meatballs into the sauce as if heats up.
Buon Appetito!
4 Comments:
Now I know what I'm having for dinner next time I come to your house...
Hi
I tried your meatball recipe over the weekend and must thank you.
I have been trying to perfect my meatballs for 20 years and you really
helped me to put an end to my ordeal.
Thanks again.
Lisa DiBlasio
Last night I revisited The Godfather, one of my favorite all-time movies. The Sicilians have a great love for food, and it certainly shows in all the scenes from both the restaurants and parties.
In the scene where Michael is being taught to make good sauce, we see Sonny Corleone and his button men sitting around a table, down to their tee-shirts, chowing down on a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Don Vito Corleone has been shot, and the men have “gone to the mattresses.” It brought to mind the fact that I see a lot of requests for meatballs, and inspired today’s post
I always make it a habit to check AW Stats each day to see what folks are searching for. It is my intent to provide what folks need and want, not just off the wall recipe that I think is great. I fear I have a very eclectic taste in food - one day Mexican, the next Italian, and maybe the next a great dish from Morocco. Drives Rosie crazy. I just like variety on food. Pretty simple, eh?
Regardless, one of the top things searched for on this site is meatballs - meatballs in every shape and form, from Italian to spicy to Swedish. Presented here today is an article by Paul Altobelli, who advocates cooking the meatballs separate from the sauce, which is how I have always done unless making a specific side dish for a party. The old Coon learns something new each day!
Enjoy…
Yum! This is very close to how my ex-MIL taught me to make meatballs. She cooked them stovetop in olive oil, but I bake mine. I think the cheese is the key. She adds some dried parsley as well.
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