Italian Meatballs
What are authentic Italian meatballs? Those made with breadcrumbs or with bread? A mixture of beef and pork, or just one type of meat? Stiffed with cheese or without the cheese?
I wondered about these things too and could never get the right answer because there are so many recipes out there. A few months ago, I was invited to my friend’s home.
My friend has Italian heritage, but I was surprised when I saw her grandmother, “Nona,” a cheerful silver-haired lady with an Italian flare. The table was full with Italian food, prepared by the older ladies from the family, and of course the meatballs were there.
Naturally, I had to ask how they are made, but instead of receiving the recipe, a day after, I was invited to a personal cooking lesson.
The meatballs I made then are the best meatballs I have ever made. I will share the recipe and all the tips I received during that private lesson here, and I’m sure you will enjoy these as much as I do!
How To Get Tender Meatballs
I learned that over-mixing meatballs is the thing that breaks the deal. Over-mixed meatballs will be too tough.
These are the other tips I picked up for tender meatballs:
Soak The Bread
Bread is something you must use in meatballs. Still, you can’t use just use any dry bread. The bread must be soaked, otherwise the dry bread will soak up all the moisture from the meat.
The Italians usually soak their bread in milk, but Nona gave me another tip: grate the onion and soak the bread in onion juices. Grated onion is also preferred over chopped onion, because it will blend better with the ground meat.
Also, this step will allow you to use onion directly with the meat, and without cooking, unlike you would be able to do with chopped onion.
Stir With Your Hands
The Italians like to be in touch with their food. They really do invest in every meal, and speaking of touch, all they make is carefully mixed with their hands. Meatballs are no exception.
Forget about a spoon or spatula. Wash your hands and start mixing. The trick I learned for deciding when you’ve mixed enough is when your cold meat and room temperature fillers (egg, breadcrumbs) reach the same temperature.
How To Shape Meatballs
You can shape the meatballs in desired sizes, but I always shape mine with a rounded tablespoon. I find it a perfect size for serving, but also very easy to flip and turn during cooking.
What Are Italian Meatballs Made With?
As you can already see from the text above, the meatballs are made with bread, onion, eggs, and meat. The Italians use veal or beef. I went with the beef in this recipe.
I learned that Italians do not often use raw pork for their meatballs, but now and then they do add the in some pancetta. The pancetta also makes the meatballs extra juicy and you can try it too.
Around 3 oz of pancetta per 1lb of ground beef is more than enough. The parmesan is unavoidable part of meatballs, and it must not be skipped.
What’s In The Sauce?
The sauce is traditionally made with fresh tomatoes, but many Italians also agree the sauce made with a can or strained tomatoes is perfectly okay. The base starts with frying onions and garlic in olive oil.
Olive oil is a must! Afterwards, the tomato sauce is added and seasoned with salt, pepper, and some Italian herbs. You can go with a mix of herbs, or just stick with basil or oregano.
Once you have the tomato sauce made, you can add your meatballs into the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes. Now, you can serve your meatballs as desired.
How To Serve Meatballs
Meatballs and spaghetti is not something you will see served in Italy. Meatballs like this are served with some fresh bread dipped in tomato sauce.
So, serving meatballs with spaghetti is not very Italian, but it sure does taste good!
Tips For The Perfect Meatballs
- Grate your onion and combine it with broken up stale bread or breadcrumbs. This will ensure you have more moist and flavorful meatballs.
- Use parmesan cheese. The small amount of cheese acidity will make the meat more tender, plus the cheese adds some creaminess.
- To add some brightness, add 1 tsp of grated lemon zest into the meatballs.
Italian Meatballs Recipe
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (use stale bread, remove crust and process shortly)
- 1 onion
- 14 oz ground beef
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped parsley, as desired
- 2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
For the sauce:
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 2 14oz can of tomato sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tsp Italian herbs, dried
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For serving:
- Cooked spaghetti
- Fresh bread
Instructions
1. Grate the onion using a grater. Place the onion into the bowl.
2. Add breadcrumbs and stir together with clean hands.
3. Let the breadcrumbs soak with the onion juices for 5 minutes.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly with clean hands.
5. Shape the mixture into meatballs.
6. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the meatballs in heated oil until browned on all sides.
7. Remove the meatballs from the skillet. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring for 5 minutes.
8. Pour in tomato sauce, water, and spices. Bring to a simmer and place the browned meatballs back in.
9. Simmer the meatballs for 15 minutes in the sauce.
10. Serve with spaghetti or bread.
Italian Meatballs
These decadent meatballs are made the traditional Italian way!
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (use stale bread, remove crust and process shortly)
- 1 onion
- 14 oz ground beef
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped parsley, as desired
- 2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
For the sauce:
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 2 14oz can of tomato sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tsp Italian herbs, dried
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For serving:
- Cooked spaghetti
- Fresh bread
