Authentic Northern Italian Meatballs Recipes

Steps:

• Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
• Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.
• Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand.
• Use your bare hands for best results.
• Roll meatballs to about the size of a golf ball. (wet your hands to prevent the meat from sticking to them while rolling the meat balls).
• Drop raw meatballs into large (I use a stock pot) pot of sauce.
• (I have an incredible sauce recipe {#92096} I use for my meatballs).
• Simmer for about 3 hours.

Steps:

• Grate the bread or pulse into crumbs in a food processor. In a small bowl toss the bread crumbs with milk to re-hydrate.
• In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, pork, veal, beef, Parmesan, parsley, salt, onion, garlic, and egg and mix until combined. Season the meat mixture with pepper.
• Using your hands, gently form the meat mixture into 18 slightly larger than golf ball-sized balls. (Packing the meat mixture too tightly together will result in tough meatballs). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
• Heat half the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Drain the oil and wipe out the skillet, return to the heat, and repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs.
• Drain and wipe out the skillet again. Return all the meatballs to the skillet and pour in the marinara sauce. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, swirling the pan occasionally, until the meatballs are cooked through about 15 minutes. The cheese in the meatballs will start to melt when the meatballs are ready. Serve immediately with the Quick Marinara Sauce and spaghetti or on sandwiches. If serving with spaghetti, toss with 1/3 of the sauce.These meatballs can be stored, covered in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for up to 6 weeks.
• Copyright (c) 2004 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved.
• Serving suggestions: 1 pound cooked spaghetti or linguini.
• Quick Marinara Sauce
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 medium onion, diced (about 3 tablespoons)
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 (28-ounce) cans whole, peeled, tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves chopped
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, the herb sprigs and basil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes or until thickened
• Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the salt and season with pepper, to taste. Serve or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
• Copyright (c) 2004 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the ground beef and ground pork in a large bowl. Set aside.
• In a food processor, combine the milk, eggs, garlic, basil, parsley, cayenne and salt. Process until pureed.
• Add the wet ingredients to the meat and mix to combine. Then add breadcrumbs and Romano, and gently combine; be careful not to overwork the meat.
• With the help of an ice cream scoop (for even sizing), shape the mixture into 2-ounce meatballs and place on a baking sheet.
• Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake the meatballs for 30 minutes.
• Add the meatballs to the Roasted Tomato Sauce and simmer for another 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a deep lasagna pan, add the garlic, anchovies, olive oil, red pepper flakes and salt. Place the pan on the stovetop and saute for 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Remove from the heat and add the canned tomatoes and oregano; mix well.
• Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until the tomatoes are nicely charred on top, 45 minutes. Let cool, then blend to your liking with an immersion blender; we like our sauce a bit chunky, but feel free to puree if you choose.

Steps:

• Grate the bread or pulse into crumbs in a food processor. In a small bowl toss the breadcrumbs with 1/3 cup cold water to re-hydrate.
• In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, pork, veal, beef, Parmesan, Pecorino, parsley, salt, onion, garlic, and egg and mix until combined. Season the meat mixture with pepper.
• Using your hands, gently form the meat mixture into 18 slightly larger than golf ball-sized balls. (Packing the meat mixture too tightly together will result in tough meatballs). Refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 24.
• Heat half the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Drain the oil and wipe out the skillet, return to the heat, and repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs.
• Drain and wipe out the skillet again. Return all the meatballs to the skillet and pour in the marinara sauce. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, swirling the pan occasionally, until the meatballs are cooked through about 15 minutes. The cheese in the meatballs will start to melt when the meatballs are ready. Serve immediately with spaghetti or on sandwiches. These meatballs can be stored, covered in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen for up to 6 weeks.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the salt and season with pepper to taste. Use now, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix bread crumbs, Romano cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder together. Combine with water and eggs. Add ground beef and mix well. Roll mixture into balls and place on a nonstick baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• With clean hands, mix all ingredients except for milk and salt in very large bowl. Mixture will feel somewhat dry.
• Start adding milk approximately one cup at a time until the mixture feels more moist and pliable.
• Sprinkle the top of the mixture finely with the season salt and work that in as well.
• (The size of the meatball is up to you- I like them on the bigger side so I roll them bigger than a golfball but smaller than a tennnis ball. I also prefer baking them in the oven over frying them. They seem to brown more evenly and they hold their shape better.).
• Line them in a 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray (12 per pan) and bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 min.'s or until browned.
• Transfer them carefully into your pot of simmering tomato sauce and simmer them only for about an hour. If you cook them too long in the sauce, they will lose their flavor.
• This is a good amount for a large crowd. You can freeze half if needed.

Steps:

• Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic and parsley in a blender of food processor and puree.
• In a large bowl, combine the pureed stock mix, meat, bread crumbs, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, red pepper flakes and salt. Combine with both hands until mixture is uniform. Do not over mix.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put a little olive oil on your hands and form mixture into balls about the size of golf balls. If you prefer bigger or smaller, it will only affect the browning time.
• Place 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil a baking sheet. Add the meatballs to the pan (working in batches if necessary). Place the meatballs in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• While the meatballs are browning, heat the marinara sauce in a stockpot over medium heat. Transfer the baked meatballs to the marinara sauce. Stir gently. Simmer for 5 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.
• Serve with a little extra Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top. Serve alone over spaghetti.
• FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS: No matter what method of packing you decide to use, it is important once they have completely cooled, to place the meatballs on a baking sheet and freeze them before packing. You want the meatballs to be independent from one another for ease when you want to use them. If you have a vacuum sealer at home, please proceed packing the meatballs according to the manufacturers directions. If not, place the meatballs in airtight containers or freezer bags. You can pack the meatballs with the marinara sauce after you've frozen them, or you can pack the marinara separate from the meatballs.
• SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Please see photo gallery for all the different ways I have served these meatballs.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix the ground beef, bread, onions, parsley, eggs, cheese, and garlic.
• Add salt and pepper to taste; If the mixture is dry, add ½ cup of cold water and mix well. Form into about 12 meatballs.
• Place the meatballs in a sauté pan with the olive oil and fry over medium to high heat until brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients until completely combined. If the mix is dry add cold water. it should be moist, but not wet.
• Have a large quantity of homemade marinara sauce very hot on the stove. Turn the sauce to very low heat. Form mixture into meatballs (size is your choice), and add raw meatballs to sauce (add them gently, as the pan will be crowded.
• Cover and walk away for three hours.
• Return, gently stir, cover, walk away for three more hours.
• Stir, and degrease the top.
• Cover, leave cooking for two more hours.
• Enjoy--you will love these.