I've mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of ground meat, which means I don't usually like meatballs. Regardless of the fact that I don't like ground meat, I don't want to deprive my family of things they enjoy, like hamburgers and meatballs. I decided to try a recipe that a friend of mine from junior high and high school posted on her blog a while back. Can I just say that these are so yummy?! And I don't even like meatballs! You can find her original recipe here, but I've made just a few changes to it to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand.
Meatballs
2 slices stale bread (I used whole wheat)
1/3 cup cold water
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup grated onion
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
Ground black pepper, to taste
Olive oil
If your bread isn't quite stale (dry) enough, place in a 250 degree oven until dry. Place staled bread in a food processor and pulse until you have fine bread crumbs. Add 1/3 cup cold water to rehydrate bread crumbs; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, parmesan, parsley, salt, onion, garlic, and egg. Mix to combine (using your hands works best). Season with pepper. At this point, you can take a little chunk and cook it in a frying pan to taste your seasonings, adjusting if needed.
Gently form the meat mixture into balls slightly larger than golf balls. You want to be careful not to pack them too tightly, as this will result in tough meatballs. Refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add as many meatballs as you can fit without overcrowding your pan. Cook, turning frequently, until all sides are browned; about 6 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a plate. Drain oil from skillet and wipe it down; repeat until all meatballs have been browned. Drain oil and wipe skillet, then return all meatballs to skillet, along with marinara sauce of choice. Nicole gives her recipe here, but I chose to used jarred marinara (yes, I cheated). Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer, swirling the pan occasionally until the meatballs are cooked through and the cheese in them begins to melt. Serve over pasta.
We got several meals out of these. I'll show you what else I made with them another time!
2 comments:
My family loves meatballs, but I haven’t made them in a while. I will have to give this recipe a try. It sounds really good.
How many cups of bread crumbs do you think you used?
I have a quite a freezer full of ground beef and pork Italian sausage from the local steer we buy each year and the hog we just butchered. I'll bet I could make up a quadruple batch of your meatballs and freeze them on wax paper to have them handy in for quick meals. Better yet, I think I’ll have my 11-year-old “mini-chef” make them. He will LOVE squishing raw meat into meatballs!
Thanks for the recipe. My family will love you!
You know, to be honest, I have no idea how much it ends up being and it's been a while since I made these. Next time I make them, I'll measure. Sorry!!!
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