Meatballs 2.0

I've revamped my meatball recipe. Recently, I made these in a large batch and froze most of them. One batch (below) will yield about 12 meatballs if you make them golf ball sized. That is what the cooking time is based off of as well. For smaller meatballs, I'd check them 5 minutes earlier, and for larger ones, give them an extra few.

You will need:

1lb meatloaf mix (50% ground beef, 25% ground veal, 25% ground pork)... you can use 90/10 (or higher) ground beef as well, but this mix is delicious.

1 large egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (Italian season or plain)

2 tsp salt (sometimes I do 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp soy sauce)

1.5 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder (cut back the salt if you use garlic salt)

1 tsp onion powder (I use this because it is quick and those who don't like onion don't complain when they can't see it... you can saute a finely diced, small onion)

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1/2 - 1 tsp (crushed) red pepper flakes (I usually lean towards the 1/2, but my husband likes them spicy, and if I'm using a non-spicy sauce, I'll put in a whole tsp. I don't always use crushed, I use what I can find in my cabinet first.)

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the cheap stuff you find in the pasta aisle that comes in the green canister is fine for this)


Preheat oven to 350.

Take all that and dump it into a large bowl. Mix it together with your fingers. Once well-blended (but not overworked), roll into golf ball sized balls. Place on a baking sheet (I line mine with aluminum, as it makes clean up MUCH easier) and bake for 20 minutes. I check mine around 15 minutes to see that they are still slightly pink on the inside. They should not be gray all the way through. If they are slightly pink in the middle, pull them out! Not only will they cook in the sauce, but they will continue to cook outside the oven (just like taking a steak off the grill).

You can pan-sear the meatballs first, then bake for an additional 10 minutes, or throw them right into your sauce from the pan for 15 minutes. I bake mine because more of the grease comes out, and we try to be healthy. (I know I'm topping carbs with meat, but they are baked meatballs! That makes it somewhat better! AND tomato sauce is very good for you.)

I usually make 2 or 3 batches and freeze most of them. These are very versatile, so you can use them in a variety of sauces, or even soup (but you might want to make them smaller for soup, and do pan-sear them).

Some people cook their meatballs right in their sauce. I do not recommend this, as you will have soggy balls (if they even hold up at all), and nobody wants that. Add them to the sauce right before you eat - about 10-15 minutes before - and they will flavor the sauce without making ragu out of your pomador sauce. I also freeze them plain so that I can use them in many things, not just 20 servings of sauce and meatballs.

If you do freeze them, put the balls you would like to use in the refrigerator in the morning, and they will be ready for dinner. If, like me, you can't remember your name before you have had some coffee and the likelihood of planning for dinner at 6:45am as you rush out the door is slim to none, the microwave defrost or some time on the counter before dinner works just fine, too.

Lastly, have fun. You can add different spices to these, add more or less breadcrumbs, change things around... this is just a base recipe. Try different things out and see what you like best!