Italian American Meatballs
00:00 Intro
00:40 Tomato Sauce
02:38 Meatball Mixture
05:38 Shaping and Cooking Meatballs
Tomato Sauce:
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3 Tbsp olive oil
2 diced yellow onions (about 350g)
4 minced garlic cloves
Pinch of chili flakes
28oz (800g) can of tomatoes with their juice (whole, diced, or crushed)
1 cup dry white wine (optional)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sugar (or to taste)
Salt to taste
Set a large pan over medium heat. Add the oil, onions, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are tender and golden, about 15 min. Add the garlic, chili flakes, and a small pinch of salt. Cook until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes (if using whole tomatoes, crush them with your hands first), wine, and bay leaf. Simmer until thick enough to your liking. Season with sugar and salt to taste. The sauce can be made ahead and rewarmed.
Meatballs:
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All the percentages are based on the meat weight, which is 100%. If not using the meatloaf mix, make sure the fat content of your meat is roughly 20%. The exact amount of onion and celery doesn’t matter as long as they sum up to 20% of the meat weight.
Makes about 25 meatballs (8 portions)
118g of crustless white bread in small cubes (10%)
188g kefir or buttermilk or yogurt or milk (16%)
165g yellow onion, coarsely chopped (14%)
70g peeled celery, coarsely chopped (6%)
4 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
35g parsley leaves (3%)
60g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes (5%)
60g parmesan, coarsely chopped (5%)
1180g (2.6 Lb) meatloaf mix of beef, pork, and veal (100%)
17g salt (1.44%)
Black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp oil for high heat cooking like canola
In a large bowl, soak the bread in kefir while preparing the other ingredients. Put the parmesan into the food processor and pulse until it turns into tiny crumbs. Remove and set aside. Pulse the onions, celery, garlic, and parsley in a food processor, scraping down frequently until finely minced. Add the bread and butter and pulse until minced into small pieces (it’s ok to have a few pieces of butter the size of peas). Move this mixture back into the large bowl you used to soak the bread and add the meat, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Toss with your hands to distribute the veggies evenly throughout the meat. Then mix well until homogeneous. This mixture can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the fridge. If it looks wet after refrigeration, remix to reincorporate the juice.
Preheat the oven to 300F (150C). Shape the meat mixture into 75g meatballs. Set a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (I do it in 2 skillets -- a 12 inch and a 10 inch). Add 1 Tbsp oil to each pan. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs in a single layer. Brown on 3 sides. Move the meatballs to the pan with the sauce. Scoop most of the fat out of the pans used to brown the meatballs (don’t discard yet). Add a splash of water and simmer just until you scrape up the brown bits. Pour over the meatballs. Dab the tops of the meatballs with the reserved fat and bring to a simmer on the stove top. Place in the oven until they reach the desired doneness. For juicier, but firmer meatballs, cook to 160F (71C), which will take about 15 min. For softer meatballs (this is my preference), cook in the oven for 1 hour.
Let rest for 15 min. Skim the fat off the top of the sauce if desired, and serve. Can be made a few days ahead and rewarmed.
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