Well this morning I was hit with a meatball craving and decided I had to have it! So I waited alllll day at work, finally got out, ran to the store, grabbed supplies, ran home, and got down to business.
This is my dad's recipe and it's kind of odd because there are never any real measurements, so I'm kind of winging it here.
-1 1/4 lb 80/20 ground beef -2 eggs
-1/2 large sweet onion -2 cups chopped bread
-1 clove garlic -1 1/2 cups milk
-2 tbs chopped flat leaf Italian parsley -1/2 cup breadcrumbs
-2 tsp worcestershire sauce -Salt and pepper to taste
-2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1. Chop the onion into a small dice.
2. In a small skillet, saute the onions just until they are translucent- don't brown them. Set aside.
3. Finely chop the garlic clove- set aside.
4. Roughly chop the parsley- set aside.
5. Cube the bread into half inch pieces. You can use white bread, but I'd suggest a bread with more body. A good sourdough or ciabatta. I used a rosemary olive loaf. Amazing. Put that into a bowl and pour the milk over to have it absorb.
6. Place the meat in a large bowl.
7. Throw in the parsley, onions, garlic, worcestershire sauce, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, and some salt and pepper.
8. Squeeze as much milk from the bread as possible, definitely don't want soggy wet bread. Toss that into the meat as well and discard the milk.
9. Wash your hands, roll up your sleeves and mix that meat up! You can use a fork if you're one of those people who doesn't like to get in there with their hands, but your hands are really the best tool for the job. Don't overmix, but make sure you incorporate everything.
10. Grab yourself a heavy bottomed non stick pan (enamel cast iron works best) and coat the bottom with some olive oil. Remember, we aren't deep frying, just want a thin layer of oil. Some people are baking people, some people are fry then bake people, and then there are the straight up fry people. And I'm one of those people. Nothing better than a dark brown crunchy meatball. Oh yes.
11. At this point it's always good to do a little test nuggest to check for seasoning.
12. After you have determined you like the way they taste, you're ready to get rolling and frying.
13. Roll a golf ball sized meatball and place into the pan. You may have to do batches depending on the size of your pan, don't crowd it.
14. The way we always cook the meatballs it ends up being more of a square because you do top, bottom, and all sides. Takes a bit longer but it's so worth it. Sooooo worth it.
15. After 10-15 minutes they should be done. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
How beautiful do those look! So crunchy and salty and yummy oh my goodness. Now that they are done you can do what you want with them! make some sauce and get some bread and make yourself a meatball sub. Break them up and put them on a pizza! Make some classic spaghetti and meatballs. Or you can just eat them : ) These also freeze well so there's another option for ya!
For my dinner tonight I decided to do kind of an open-faced meatball sub. It wasn't horrible.
These meatballs always make me think of family and holidays. They are just an instant comfort food. When we make them at home we always use this certain pan that is older than I am I'm sure and doesn't work very well, but it's the meatball pan! I've put in a request that it be left to me in the will.
-Meaghan
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