Here are the ingredients. The ground beef is lean. You can skip the italian sausage if you prefer and use all ground beef.
Everything goes into a large bowl and using your (clean) hands, gently mix the ingredients together. Over mixing makes the meatballs tough.
Use an ice cream scoop to form golf ball sized balls. Once formed, you can pop the baking sheet into the freezer for 10 minutes. It will help the meatballs hold their shape when you brown them. This recipe makes 40.
Add a few tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Gently roll the meatballs in flour and place them in the skillet. I do this in 3 batches, adding more oil with each batch.
Don’t even think of walking away from the stove. :) Every few minutes flip the balls to a different side, aiming for about four turns to brown every surface of these meaty gems.
When browned (but not completely cooked through), remove the meatballs to a baking sheet. Set aside the ones you want to use right away and place the rest in the freezer for one hour, on the baking sheet.
After one hour, pop the firm meatballs into a large freezer bag to enjoy in the future.
For our dinner I baked some in a sauce: combine equal parts of bottled BBQ sauce and marinara and pour over the meatballs. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.
The humble meatball is a thing of beauty.
Meatballs
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lb. italian sausage (fine to omit and instead, use an additional lb of ground beef)
2/3 c. finely diced onion
2/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
2/3 c. milk
2/3 c. bread crumbs
4 large eggs
1/4 c. flat leaf italian parsley, chopped fine
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
Mix everything together in a large bowl, gently combining with your hands. Over mixing will cause the meatballs to be tough. Use a large ice cream scoop to form balls the size of golf balls. Place them on a baking sheet. If you want, you can place the filled sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes to help the meatballs better hold their shape when browning.
Heat a skillet over medium heat; add several tablespoons of olive oil. Working in three batches, gently roll the balls in flour and place them in the skillet. Don’t walk away from the stove! Every few minutes flip the meatballs to brown another surface for a total of about four turns. You want everything browned but not fully cooked through. Add more oil between batches.
Remove the browned balls to a baking sheet. Set aside what you will be using right now. For the rest, place the whole sheet pan into the freezer for one hour. After an hour they will be firm enough to pop into a large freezer bag and freeze for future use.
Serving ideas: (thaw the meatballs first)
- Make a sauce of equal parts bottled BBQ and marinara. Poor over the meatballs in an ovenproof dish. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes. This is great for dinner or as an appetizer.
- Make my favorite red sauce to serve over pasta. Don’t use any meat when preparing the sauce but rather, add meatballs to the sauce during the last 15 minutes of cooking.