Italian Meatballs

#cuisines/italian #dishes/main #scalable #active-time/30-to-60mins
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220854/chef-johns-italian-meatballs/
Servings: 6-8 (about 30 large meatballs)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking and stirring until onion is very tender, about 15 minutes more.
3. Gently stir beef and pork together in a large bowl. Add onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, Italian herb seasoning, and red pepper flakes; mix together using a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 425º F (220º C).
5. Form mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter; arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
   Note: cooked meatballs can be frozen in a single layer in a ziploc bag.

Journal

• 2024-01-14: Made with Maria and Liz. Used Whole Foods mild Italian sausage instead of ground pork, omitted Parmesan, and used oregano instead of dried Italian herb seasoning. Ate with bucatini and arrabbiata sauce. Delicious!
• 2025-01-29: Made with Maria. Used 80/20 beef and ~85/15 pork. Really good with Preserved lemon raita
• 2025-02-21: Made again with Maria and ate with a simple salad. This time used Dubreton pork and it was very good.