Learn how to make juicy, soft Italian meatballs the old-school way! Note, you will need to cook the meatballs in three quarts of tomato sauce. You can make three batches of my Homemade Marinara Sauce.
¼ cupcanola oil (plus extra if needed to fry the second batch)
Tomato Sauce to Cook the Meatballs
3quartsHomemade Marinara Sauce(Make three batches of my marinara sauce recipe. For the tomatoes, use a total of 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes and 1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes.)
Instructions
Make the Meatball Mixture
Remove the crusts from four slices of white bread. Cut the bread into little cubes until you have two cups of diced bread. Place them into a small mixing bowl. Pour the water evenly over the cubed bread and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Rinse the parsley, pat it dry and cut up the leaves with scissors or chop them. Add the parsley to the bowl. Press the garlic or peel and chop it finely. Add the garlic to the bowl.
Add the Romano, salt and pepper to the bowl.
You may wish to wear disposable gloves for the next steps, to keep your hands clean. Squeeze the soaked bread cubes together and pull apart any hard chunks. Use your hands to mash the bread into a mushy paste (called a "panade"). Add this to the bowl.
Add the ground beef and mix all the ingredients gently with your hands, until evenly combined. Don't overwork the mixture, or the meatballs might be tough.
Shape the mixture into meatballs about 2.5 inches wide, rolling them gently in your hands. You should end up with 16 or 17 meatballs. Wash your hands well after handling raw meat (or dispose of the gloves you wore).
Make the Tomato Sauce
You can start making tomato sauce at this point. Make three batches of my Homemade Marinara Sauce recipe in a 6-quart pot or larger. (Triple the marinara sauce recipe that is linked in the ingredients list. For the tomatoes, use a total of two (28-ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes and 1 (28-ounce) can of whole, peeled tomatoes. Use a potato masher to smash the whole, peeled tomatoes in the pot). Keep the sauce simmering on the stove over low heat.
To Fry the Meatballs
Place the oil in a 12-inch (or larger) skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is rippling hot, add about half of the meatballs to the pan, making sure they are not touching. Don't overcrowd the pan, or the meatballs won't brown properly. Let the first side cook for 5-7 minutes, or until a dark crust forms on the bottom. Do not move the meatballs during this time, or they could break. When you nudge them and they move easily, you know it's safe to turn them. If you have a splatter screen that fits on top of your pan, use it to protect yourself from any splashing oil. You also could wear oven mitts.
Turn the meatballs slightly to brown another side, allowing them to cook for three minutes. Turn again to cook another side/edge for two minutes. Continue browning the entire surface of the meatballs. They should look very dark (see photos in the article.) Remove each browned meatball to a large platter or pan lined with paper towels to absorb the grease.
Before you fry the rest of the meatballs, check to see if the oil is too low or has become too brown. If the oil is too low, you can add extra. If the oil has become too brown, you can wipe it out with paper towels (off the heat, being careful not to burn yourself). Then add fresh oil. Fry the remaining meatballs and drain them on paper towels. (If you wish, you can eat any of the fried meatballs if they're cooked enough on the inside.)
To Bake Instead of Fry
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the meatballs on a foil-lined baking sheet greased with cooking spray. Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes.
Finish Cooking the Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
After frying or baking the meatballs, carefully place them into the simmering pot of tomato sauce. Place a wooden spoon on top of the edges of the pot and place the lid on top, keeping it propped open.
Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for at least two hours, gently stirring occasionally so the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Cooking the meatballs for this amount of time allows them to impart flavor to the sauce. The meatballs also will become tender and juicy. If you remove the meatballs too soon, the sauce will not have as much meat flavor, and the meatballs won't be as tender.
Serve the meatballs with the sauce and pasta, if desired. Store leftover meatballs in the refrigerator for up to four days. You also can freeze the meatballs (see notes.)
Video
Notes
Nutrition info does not include sauce.Organic, grass-fed, 85% lean ground beef provides the best flavor for meatballs! It makes a huge difference. If you can't find organic, at least get the grass-fed beef. Oil for Frying - Canola oil has a higher smoke point than olive oil and will be better for frying the meatballs. If you use olive oil, it will turn brown quickly, and you will have to replace it after frying the first batch.To Cook Raw Meatballs in Sauce If you want to skip frying or baking the meatballs, you can place raw meatballs into a pot of tomato sauce and let them simmer over low heat. Do not taste the sauce until you've let the meatballs cook for at least 30 minutes and have checked inside one to see if it's no longer pink. (You don't want to consume raw meat.) You can either remove the meatballs at that point, or let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for another 90 minutes to impart more flavor to the meat sauce.You can use less olive oil in your sauce when cooking raw meatballs in it, because fat from the meat will seep into the sauce. I use this method for my Gluten-Free Turkey Meatballs in Sauce.Freezing InstructionsYou can freeze meatballs, either raw or cooked. If freezing them after they're cooked, let them cool off first.
First, flash freeze the raw or cooked meatballs on a sheet pan for at least an hour. Then transfer them to a freezer bag and store in the freezer. Use raw meatballs within 1-2 months for best quality.Thawing InstructionsTo thaw frozen raw meatballs, place them in the refrigerator overnight. Then you can cook them as directed in this recipe.
To thaw frozen, cooked meatballs, you can either place them in the refrigerator overnight or reheat them right out of the freezer. You can stir them into simmering tomato sauce until heated through, or defrost them in the microwave.