MEATBALLS

Written By Josh Deri

MEATBALLS

A Sunday tradition for me growing up. It was either meatballs, chicken parm or baked ziti and my grandma would surprise us every Sunday with what she was making, but you could never go wrong with anything she made. And don’t worry, I am already planning on making my version of both of those other two recipes as well!

My recipe for Italian style meatballs includes a mix between ground beef and ground pork along with the rest of the recipe down below. I guarantee you, this will be the best meatball you ever had. It is super moist and tender and they hold up really well being braised down in my tomato sauce. Then, I top it with burrata and fresh basil. Cannot beat it.

Make these for your next Sunday dinner!

 Meatball mix:

  • 1 pound ground beef (80/20 or 85/15)

  • 1 pound ground pork

  • salt to taste

  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

  • 1 tsp calabrian chilies

  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 1 bunch parsley, chopped

    1. Combine all in a bowl and mix well

Buttermilk-egg-Breadcrumb mix (Panade… if you want to be fancy):

  • 2 eggs, cracked

  • 1.5 cups buttermilk

  • 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

  • 1/2 cup grated Pecorino-Romano

  • salt to taste

  • 3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

    1. Mix well in a bowl to combine, then add to your ground meat mixture.

Caramelized shallots and garlic:

  • 2 shallots, peeled and diced

  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and grated

  • 2 tbsp butter

  • salt to taste

  • 1 tsp momofuku soy sauce

  1. in a small pot, add your butter, shallots and garlic and cook over medium heat until they begin to turn light golden.

  2. then add your salt and continue to cook until the mixture is golden brown.

  3. then add your soy sauce, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

  4. then add it to your meatball mix

To Form:

  • Re-mix everything in your large bowl to make sure your ground meat, breadcrumb mix and caramelized shallot mix are all thoroughly mixed together.

  • Form your balls into whatever size meatballs your prefer and then add 1 cup of olive oil to a medium pot and heat over medium high heat.

  • Sear your meatballs in the olive oil on both sides until they are golden brown on both sides then remove from the pot and drain 3/4 of the oil and turn of the pot until you make your sauce. Recipe below for that!

Tomato Sauce:

  • 1 large shallot, peeled and diced

  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and grated

  • 6-8 basil leaves

  • 1 tsp calabrian chilies

  • 2 tsp tomato paste

  • 16 oz whole peeled tomatoes

  • salt to taste

  • 1 tsp ground black pepper

  • 2 tsp dried Sicilian oregano

  1. in the same pot you seared your meatballs in, turn the heat back up to medium high and add your shallots and garlic and cook until light golden, then add the basil, calabrian chilies and tomato paste.

  2. cook for 2-3 minutes, while stirring so that nothing burns.

  3. add in your whole peeled tomatoes, salt, black pepper and Sicilian oregano and bring to a light boil.

  4. then turn down the heat to medium low and add back in your meatballs

  5. cook your meatballs over low heat for about 25-30 minutes, then enjoy!

  6. I love topping my meatballs with burrata, fresh basil and some really good extra virgin olive oil!

Amazon links down below for most ingredients and other amazing things found in this video that we highly recommend!

Josh Deri
Next

KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN