Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
When fall rolls around, the first thing I think about is Italian food. And when I think
about Italian food, the other thing I think about is meatballs. I'm going to show you
a very easy meatball recipe today. Just a few simple ingredients and I guarantee you
this is going to be your "go to" meatball every time. I'm gonna start with water. I've
got about a half a cup of water. I've got two eggs. I've got about a teaspoon of Italian
seasoning. I've got a third of a cup of Pecorino Romano cheese. And I like to use Pecorino
Romano cheese. It's a little saltier than Parmigiano Reggiano. I really think the flavor
of that cheese marries well with the meat. And, I've got 2 tablespoons of chopped, flat
leaf Italian parsley. I like to use that more than the curly parsley. It's a little more
floral. And, I've got 2 teaspoons of minced garlic. Just a small amount of salt and pepper.
And, I've got one cup of Panko breadcrumbs. OK, it looks like a lot of moisture and that's
what we want. I want a nice, soft tender meatball. And, part of the reason that's going to be
nice, soft and tender is I'm going to use eighty percent lean ground beef. OK, more
fat in the ground beef means for more flavorful for more tender meatball. So that goes right
in. So every thing's in the bowl. The best tools in the kitchen are always gonna be your
hands. I'm gonna get right in here and to mix it together just until it comes together.
Being careful not to over mix. The beauty of meatballs is classically its peasant food.
They were trying to figure out a way, they didn't have a lot of meat. But, they always
had bread and they always had chicken. So eggs and bread were plentiful to try to stretch
the meat to get more servings out of a little bit of meat. And, that's why every meatball
that I think should be nice, soft and tender. And, you can see I'm and just mixing it together
with my hands until everything just comes together. And, now I'm done. OK, I'm going
to use a scoop. And I'm just going to go ahead and round it up. I like to use a scoop. You
could use your hands and just eye it. But a scoop, I think, always makes a consistent.
And, I'm just going to form it into balls. And again, I didn't over mix it. I don't want
to worry about making these perfectly round. I like these nice little ridges that we get
in there. And that way, when we bake in the oven they're gonna get nice and crispy on
the outside. I'm gonna heat 'em up in tomato sauce. And these little crevices are going
to hold tomato sauce. I'm gonna go right on my sheet pan. Same idea, and, again, just
try to form nice round shapes not worried about making perfect little balls. OK, so
all my meatballs are done. Again, you make them any size you want bigger, smaller it's
completely up to you. I'm gonna wash my hands. These are going into a 450-degree oven for
about 15 minutes. So, it's been about 15 minutes and the meatballs look exactly the way I want
them to look. But, it is ground beef, so I do want to make sure that we have a temperature
of 160 degrees. Just go ahead. They're the same size so you can pick anyone that you
want. And, that's exactly where I want to be. And, from here you can do whatever you
want. What I like to do with meatballs, I like to get them into a pot red sauce. And,
just simmer a little bit longer just so they plump back up a little bit more. You can turn
them into sandwiches. Do whatever you want to do with them. It's a simple meatball recipe.
It's great for a weeknight. It's great for slow-cooked tomato sauce. You gotta try it
at home. You're gonna love it.