True Northern Italian Meatballs Recipes

HOMEMADE ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.
• Roll into 1 1/2" balls and place them closely together in 9x13 pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. **You can place a wire rack on the baking sheet and bake the meatballs on the rack so that the fat drips down if you'd like.**
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.
• Serve the meatballs immediately with sauce and spaghetti, put them in the slow cooker along with sauce to have them simmer, or freeze the meatballs in Ziploc bags to use another time.
• If you freeze the meatballs, allow them to cool completely before packaging them.

CHEF JOHN'S ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
• Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.
• Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand.
• Use your bare hands for best results.
• Roll meatballs to about the size of a golf ball. (wet your hands to prevent the meat from sticking to them while rolling the meat balls).
• Drop raw meatballs into large (I use a stock pot) pot of sauce.
• (I have an incredible sauce recipe {#92096} I use for my meatballs).
• Simmer for about 3 hours.

CLAUDIA LAMASCOLO

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix all together.
• Shape into balls by hand or using an ice cream scoop to form the meatball.
• Fry in 2 inches of heated oil or bake on a lined oiled sprayed cookie sheet until crispy on both sides turning a few times while cooking.
• These are hot so be careful eating until cooling a few minutes.
• These can be added to a rich tomato Traditional Sunday Sauce
• Note: If Air Frying shape meatballs to fit air fryer into an oil sprayed basket and air fry at 400 degrees until browned around 15 minutes to 20 minutes.
• If baking place meatballs on parchment paper or a heavily greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until browned around 35 minutes.

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl with your hands making sure everything is well mixed. Form into meatballs and fry in a large skillet with about ½ cup olive oil over medium high heat. Turn on all sides to brown and cook through. When all the way cooked, add them to your sauce and let them cook slowly for about 1 hour. Can also be browned in the oven on a baking or broiler rack. This will produce less greasy but also drier meatballs.

ITALIAN SUNDAY GRAVY-RECIPE HANDED DOWN FROM NONNA.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 large, rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil. Brush the foil with olive oil.
• Arrange (in a single layer) pork neck bones or country-style ribs on one baking sheet and the Italian sausages on the second baking sheet. Brush the tops of all the meats lightly with olive oil.
• Cook meats in the preheated oven, until deep golden brown on all sides, turning as needed to cook evenly. Allow approximately 1 hour for the pork necks and ribs and 40 minutes for the sausage. Set cooked meats aside.
• Meanwhile, in a very large, heavy-bottomed stock pot, brown ground beef and pork, over medium heat, crumbling into small pieces. Remove ground meats to plate and set aside.
• Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Add onions, minced garlic, and carrots and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until they soften and begin to caramelize.
• Add the wine to the pot and cook, scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook until the wine is reduced by half.
• Add whole tomatoes with their juices, tomato paste, water, bay leaves, oregano, fresh basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
• Add the browned grounded meats, pork necks or country style ribs, and sausages back to the pot. Bring the gravy to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer.
• Simmer, uncovered for about 3 1/2--4 1/2 hours. If you have the temperature right, you should see a cheerful little bubbling on the surface of the gravy. Moderate the heat to maintain this gentle simmer throughout out cooking time.
• Stir occasionally so the meats don't stick. If the gravy becomes too thick as it simmers, add water. (If it's simmering gently, you shouldn't need to add any extra water.)
• While the sauce simmers, make the meatball. After the sauce has cooked for 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours and is nice and thick, give it a very good stir, digging down to the bottom of the pot, then add the meatballs. Continue to simmer the gravy without stirring for another 30-40 minutes, or until the meatballs are hot and the flavors marry. Remove bay leaves. You're READY to Serve. Mangia! Mangia!

AUTHENTIC NORTHERN ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic and parsley in a blender of food processor and puree.
• In a large bowl, combine the pureed stock mix, meat, bread crumbs, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, red pepper flakes and salt. Combine with both hands until mixture is uniform. Do not over mix.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put a little olive oil on your hands and form mixture into balls about the size of golf balls. If you prefer bigger or smaller, it will only affect the browning time.
• Place 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil a baking sheet. Add the meatballs to the pan (working in batches if necessary). Place the meatballs in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• While the meatballs are browning, heat the marinara sauce in a stockpot over medium heat. Transfer the baked meatballs to the marinara sauce. Stir gently. Simmer for 5 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.
• Serve with a little extra Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top. Serve alone over spaghetti.
• FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS: No matter what method of packing you decide to use, it is important once they have completely cooled, to place the meatballs on a baking sheet and freeze them before packing. You want the meatballs to be independent from one another for ease when you want to use them. If you have a vacuum sealer at home, please proceed packing the meatballs according to the manufacturers directions. If not, place the meatballs in airtight containers or freezer bags. You can pack the meatballs with the marinara sauce after you've frozen them, or you can pack the marinara separate from the meatballs.
• SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Please see photo gallery for all the different ways I have served these meatballs.

TRUE NORTHERN ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• In a large bowl crack the eggs and stir in the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, pepper, red pepper, and cheese. Mince the basil, parsley, and garlic. Once minced, stir into with the above mixture. Pre-Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Now hand mix in the pork and ground beef. Once you have everything mixed well, start hand forming 1-2" balls. Once you have the meatballs formed, get a large frying pan out and heat it with garlic and olive oil. Place the meatballs in the frying pan and brown evenly. (appox 5-10 minutes) Once browned, place the meatballs in a deep pyrex dish and drizzle the left over frying pan juice on top of the meatballs. Place meatballs in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

CLASSIC MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat 2-3 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine with your hands the beef, pork, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, egg, parmesan, breadcrumbs, ricotta, and salt.
• Using a small cookie scoop, form 1 1/4 inch balls out of the mixture.
• Heat olive oil over medium-high in a large skillet. Working in batches, add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. (Add more olive oil if needed and turn down heat if they're starting to burn.)
• Place browned meatballs on the baking sheets and transfer to the oven to finish cooking for 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and combine with spaghetti sauce and pasta, or let cool and freeze for another day!