Classic Italian Meatballs

Earlier in the week I posted about spaghetti sauce. Well, like wine and cheese or peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs are a team. I'm certainly not opposed to a mouthwatering meatball hero or a plate of creamy spaghetti carbonera, since both spaghetti and meatballs can evenly hold their own, but combined they deliver a poweful dinner staple.

Even though spaghetti and meatballs couldn't be a more classic dish, there are probably more than a million and one ways to make meatballs. My recipe, of which I have about six different adaptations is probably still undergoing renovations but that isn't stopping me from making it or sharing it.

Classic Italian Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground sirloin (I try to buy the leanest available, such as 93/7)
1 egg
1 Tbsp. mayo
3 slices bread, moistened (for best results use 2 slices of corn bread and one slice of white bread, but any will work)
1/2 - 3/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
3/4 cup grated fresh parmigianno reggiano cheese (pecorino romano will also work)
Basil and oregano, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Mix the meat, egg and mayo until fully combined. In the meantime, run the moistened bread through a food processor to break down into tiny pieces. It won't completely crumble due to the moisture, but that's okay. If you don't have a food processor you can use your hands to tear the bread into tiny, tiny pieces.

2. Add bread to meat mixture, combining well. You don't want the bread to be visible, otherwise they'll be obvious in your meatballs. If your bread has a thick crust, you'll want to remove that as well. Even though these are best with a combination of white bread/corn bread, I've made them using entirely whole wheat and they've turned out great. The different types of bread all lend different flavors to the meatballs but the biggest difference is in the texture.

3. Add seasonings and cheese to the meat mixture and mix well. I use my (freshly washed) hands for this step because I really haven't found a mixing implement that does as good of a job at blending everything together.

4. Preheat oven to 350. On a baking sheet, form meatballs into shapes - you'll get about 18-24 meatballs depending on their size. Bake until cooked through and then simmer on stove, for one hour, in the tomato sauce of your choice.

*Note: given that these bake and then simmer, some of you may question whether these are in fact a "worknight dinner." I believe that they absolutely can be whether you're home from work at 5p.m. and have the luxury of starting dinner early, or are like me and perfectly comfortable eating dinner at 10 PM.

You can very easily use jarred sauce for the last step, but if you're like me and are trying to swear off jarred sauce when possible, try my quick and easy weeknight tomato sauce to simmer your meatballs to perfection.

Comments

[Elra]

I love classic dish like this, it's very comforting.
Cheers,
elra

[Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella]

Very interesting that you mention for best results use a combination of cornbread and regular white. I must save some cornbread next time I make it and use it in some meatballs :)

[janelle]

Thanks for the inclusion! Meatballs are so great... and so forgiving! Don't you just love that? Now I make a big ole batch and fill some small freezer bags with 6-8 of them for future fast meals...

Nice blog!!

[Leslie]

Cool..that is a great recipe for meatballs!

[kat]

There is nothing like a good tender meatball

[Sara]

Lately I've been using a variation of the Barefoot Contessa recipe. I'll have to try your version.

[Daryl]

Once baked these can be put in a freezer zip loc bag and frozen. Then you can just take out what you need making it a very doable worknight dinner.

[Kimberly]

Oh my gosh...I know what I'm making this weekend. By the way, your food photography is great!

[laura]

Thanks very much for the link! Your meatballs sound very good, would work very well for us since my husband thinks he does not like onion but I know he is OK with onion flavor :)

[Food Hunter]

They sure look good. Just curious about the mayo?

[Sophie]

Maris, this dish looks so appetizing!!! MMMMM.....wirth a glas of good red wine,.....

[Heather]

mmmmm. those look lovely. i make meatballs a lot. i usually add nutmeg, which my grandma says is the secret ingredient to pretty much every italian meal. i like the addition of mayo, here - i'll bet it makes them a smoother texture. lovely pics, too :)

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

Just learned today that one of my new cats loves meatballs! I wonder if he was Italian in one of his former lives?

[magda]

I've been buying frozen meatballs from trader joe's for way too long. It's time to take a stand! I'm definitely making this up, hopefully soon. My spaghetti is forever grateful : )

[Kendall]

Thanks for making me really hungry for meatballs. On a Friday during Lent.

Sigh.

These look delicious.

[alexandra]

meatballs are so good! and i haven't made them in ages (maybe even over a year ... yikes!) you are inspiring me Maris!

[Joanna]

Oh I totally agree with you - meatballs MUST be mixed by hand! Even if there were a gadget that could do a good job, I'd use my hands anyway, because I kind of love squishing everything around. Anyway these look delicious! My recipe is really similar to yours, although I've never used mayo... interesting addition. Does it keep the meatballs more moist?

[Luci]

I've been making meatballs and speghetti for many years, and I've never seen mayo addedto it. However, it sounds DELICIOUS! I'm going to try your recipe the next time I making Italian!

(I'm guest blogging for my daughter this week, (Storm of Thoughts)so that's not really MY website.... but I wanted you know know how much enjoy your blog!)

[Susan from Food Blogga]

Meatballs are one of my all time favorite comfort foods and yours looks delicious. I make mine the way my mom and her mom always did-- beef, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs. I'm curious about the mayo. I have never heard of putting it in meatballs before. I wonder how that came to be.

[Home with Mandy]

Yes yes yes, I love to make my own meatballs and they freeze VERY well. This is the first recipe I've read that uses a combo of cornbread and white bread. I will have to give that a try. Great post! I mentioned your blog on my blog today!