Everyday Meatballs
Tags: Beef Dinner Italian Pork
Yield: Yield: 22 to 24 small (about 1.5-inch or 1.5 tablespoon) meatballs
- 1 pound ground meat (I use a mix of beef and pork)
- 2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs or 1/2 cup panko
- 1/3 cup milk or water
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (optional)
- 2 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt, divided
- Pinches of red pepper flakes or few grinds of black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 large eggs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 28-ounce can of tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
- Place meat, crumbs, milk or water, parsley, cheese (if using), 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, onion powder, eggs and half of your minced garlic in a large bowl. I like to mix all of this together with a fork, which does a good job of breaking up the eggs and chunks of meat. Form mixture into 1 1/2 to 2-inch meatballs and arrange on a plate. I like to let them set in the fridge for a bit — 30 minutes, if you can spare it — which helps them keep their shape.
- In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and some pepper flakes and let sizzle until garlic is golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes (beware the splatter!) and season with remaining salt. Let mixture simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes (with a thicker puree) or 20 (for crushed tomatoes, which are usually more watery), stirring occasionally.
- With stove on the lowest heat possible to maintain a gentle simmer, add meatballs to sauce one by one, and cover with a lid. It will be hard but please don’t touch or move them for at least 20 minutes of the 25-minute cooking time, so that they have a chance to keep their shape. Meatballs should be fully cooked through at 25 minutes, but it cannot hurt to cut one and half to verify.
- Eat however makes you happy:
- — as-is.
- — with spaghetti: I’ll cook it very al dente, a generous minute shy of done, reserve a little pasta water, then once the spaghetti is drained, place it back in the pot with a splash of the water and a ladle or two of the sauce beneath the meatballs and cook it together over high heat for a minute. Tip spaghetti into a large, wide bowl, add the meatballs on top. Note: If your family likes a lot of sauce with their spaghetti, you might consider making the meatballs with an extra half or whole can. Just use what you need.
- — “parmesan”-ed: Place meatballs in a shallow baking dish with some of their sauce. Tear about 8 ounces mozzarella over the top and broil until melted. Finish with some parmesan, if desired, some breadcrumbs fried in a little olive oil and/or chopped parsley.
- — with garlic bread (don’t do this, just don’t).
