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Our favorite Italian Meatballs

Print Recipe
Course Main Course, sandwich
Cuisine American, Italian, Italian-American
Servings 24 1/4 cup meatballs

Ingredients
  

MEATBALLS:

  • 3 TBS extra-virgin olive oil PLUS 2 TBS for the baking sheets
  • 1 large onion chopped (1 ½ to 2 cups)
  • 4 cloves garlic approx. 1 TBS minced
  • ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup milk any kind
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
  • 3 tsp. Kosher salt I use Diamond Crystal
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 lb. ground veal
  • 1 lb. ground pork

MY GO-TO BASIC TOMATO SAUCE (enough for ½ batch of meatballs):

  • 2-4 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 28 oz. can WHOLE tomatoes authentic San Marzano if possible

Instructions
 

MEATBALLS:

  • Pour 3 TBS of olive oil in a large sauté pan and place over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring frequently 7-10 minutes. They should be soft, almost wilted, but not brown (reduce heat if you need to). Stir in the garlic and the crushed red pepper flakes and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and allow the onions and garlic to cool.
  • Preheat the oven to 375F (or 350F convection which is what I use). Line a half sheet pan (or two quarter-sheet) with foil and drizzle 1 TBS of olive oil onto each, using your hands or a pastry brush to cover the entire bottom with a thin coat.
  • In a large bowl combine the Panko, milk, eggs, cheese, salt and pepper, and parsley. Stir until thoroughly combined. Add the cooled onion mixture from the pan and stir it in. Using your hands, add the meats and squish it into the other ingredients using loose fingers (don’t compact the meat). Once all of the ingredients are uniformly mixed, scoop into balls and place on the baking sheet without the meatballs touching.
  • Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through. If you used a ¼ cup scoop (perfect for subs or spaghetti and meatballs), bake for 25 minutes. Meatballs the size of a walnut take about 15 minutes. Larger meatballs will take longer (this is where a probe thermometer is your friend). If you have used two pans on two oven racks, switch them (top to bottom/front to back) halfway through cooking.
  • At this point, plop them into your warm tomato sauce, cover and let simmer on lowest heat for about 20 minutes to an hour. The longer they simmer, the softer they get. If you are not going to use them right away, cool completely and refrigerate or freeze them until you need them.

TOMATO SAUCE (Make when the meatballs go into the oven):

  • Crush the tomatoes, either by hand or in a food mill (which is what I do) if you like a smoother sauce. You can use a blender or stick blender in a pinch. Set aside. Into a deep saucepan (4 quart works well), pour the olive oil and put over medium low heat. Add the garlic and stir for 1-3 minutes until you can smell the garlic but it gets no color. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir. Cook over low to medium low heat (just a bubble every second or so) for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 20 minutes, if using immediately, reduce the heat to very low, add the meatballs and cover the saucepan. Otherwise, cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate. Before using, reheat over very low heat and proceed with recipe.
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