I think it’s about time that I introduce you to my Italian side (in the form of a meatball recipe, of course). My great-grandmother was 100% Italian, born of Italian immigrants (she was born shortly after they landed in America) and growing up I was absolutely and irreconcilably spoiled by her fettuccini and meatball recipe. She. made. the. best. and I turned up my nose at any others I was ever offered, it was just never good enough. She passed away several years ago at 101 years of age and I regret that I never got her actual meatball recipe, but I did have incredibly high standards and a seriously discriminating palate. I set out to make my own meatballs (and sauce), and while I’ll admit it’s not the same as hers, it passes the test and I always look forward to a big plate of this:
So How Do They Taste?
So what’s so great about this meatball recipe? It yields meatballs that are:
Incredibly flavorful, good enough to enjoy on their own.Super moist and tender insideSimple to make! I have a lot of notes in the recipe, mostly due to my tendency to over-explain and because I want to make sure you understand exactly how to make them, but it’s really not a complicated recipe!
I also include my killer sauce recipe (I’ve borrowed from this for many of my Italian recipes, like my rigatoni!). The meatballs are first briefly seared (which gives them BIG flavor then the sauce is built on this flavor. After making the sauce, the meatballs are returned to the pot and simmered until cooked through. This technique makes my meatball recipe incredibly flavorful (as do a few other tricks and techniques I have up my sleeve… starting with the panade)
Panade
If you’ve made meatballs before, it’s possible you’ve made a panade but not realized it. A panade is simply starch and liquid mixed together (here: white bread and whole milk) and its purpose is to add moisture to the meat. I credit this panade to the incredible flavor and moisture that my meatball recipe has. Well, mostly. Another key factor is the mixing technique. Tip: Use white bread and remove the crust for the softest meatballs! Do not use breadcrumbs or they won’t be nearly as soft & juicy!
The Secret’s In How You Mix It
Here’s where a lot of people go wrong when making their meatballs: they tend to over-work the meat. It’s necessary to work the panade and the remaining ingredients together, but thoroughly combining these two very different textures so often causes the meat to be over-worked. This causes the meatballs to lose their moist, soft texture. So, after lots of experimenting and lots of research, I ended up borrowing a technique from Serious Eats. Rather than trying to mix together our panade and our meat all at once (high over-mixing risk!) we first stir together the panade and all of the remaining ingredients except for the meat, then add only a few Tablespoons of the meat. This we mix together very, very thoroughly (a technique that Daniel Gritzer cleverly refers to as a “temper”). Then we’re safe to gently incorporate the remaining meat, which works together easily. It’s much easier to combine and you’re much less likely to over-work your meatballs this way. Tip: You want your ingredients, especially your meat, to be as cold as possible (if the meat gets too warm the fat will melt and you’ll lose precious flavor). Keep the meat in the fridge until the last-second, and consider using a chilled metal bowl when mixing things together!
The Perfect Sear (for Best Flavor!)
For the best meatball recipe, I sear them first so the outsides are browned and cooked (the flavor this gives them is amazing) but the insides are still pink. Then I remove the meatballs from the pan, make my sauce, and then drop them back into the sauce where they’ll cook through.
This not only creates the best tasting meatballs but it imparts an incredible flavor into the sauce, making it seriously to-die-for. To properly sear:
Tip: The meatballs might stick a bit to the pot, even with the oil. I recommend using a small spatula to gently pry loosen them from the pot before turning them with tongs.
If you have an excessive amount of grease in the pot you can drain some (but not all) of it. I usually aim to have 2 Tablespoons to cook my onions/sauce in.
There will be plenty of browned bits remaining in the pot once you’ve seared all of your meatballs. These are total flavor-bombs and should never ever be scraped out/removed. Never! This is the starting point and a critical building block for the sauce. The browned bits will be loosened from the bottom of the pot as you cook and stir your onions (scrape the bottom of the pan with your spatula). It’s going to taste so good!
The sauce that I include in my meatball recipe is just a slight variation of my homemade marinara sauce recipe. Once the sauce is prepared, the meatballs will be returned to the pot and submerged to simmer until cooked through.
Tip: In a pinch you can substitute 3 cups of your favorite sauce, but if you have the time I highly recommend making the recipe as written!
More Recipes You Might Like
Baked ZitiThe BEST Chili Recipe (seriously, it’s won dozens of cook-offs!)Stuffed Shells (if you’re looking for something hearty and vegetarian_Lasagna Soup
I seriously cannot wait to hear how you like this meatball recipe! Please leave me a comment (and I love seeing your pictures on Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @sugarspun_sam! Let’s cook together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
