Meatballs

Who doesn't love Italian Meatballs?  For Sunday dinner I am making a big pasta dinner with meatballs.  My recipe is easy and makes 25 good sized meatballs. 

Recipe:

2.75 lbs. ground beef, organic 80/20 mix preferred
3 eggs, beaten with fork (I used organic brown eggs)
1/4 cup milk (Organic)
1/2 cup Italian Seasoned breadcrumbs (I used organic crumbs)
5 basil leaves, chopped (grown in my garden)
15 fresh oregano leaves, chopped (grown in my garden)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped (grown in my garden)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Put the meat in a large bowl.  Do not just dump it in there, break it up with your hands as you put it in there.  You want the end result to be light and fluffy, not a densely packed ball.

Meat broken up by hand

In a small bowl, crack the eggs and add the milk.  Use a fork to scramble the eggs and combine.

Eggs and milk

Add milk mixture to meat.  Chop all the herbs.

Chopped parsley

Oregano.  Finely chop the leaves.

Pile the basil leaves onto each other.

Roll them up like a cigar

Cut them vertically.  This is called chiffonade.  Then cut them horizontally to get small pieces.

Grate the cheese on a microplaner and then add it and the herbs to the meat bowl.  Finely chop garlic or run it through a garlic press and add it to the meat.  Add the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to the meat.

Using a fork, combine the all the ingredients.  Do not pack the meat.  Mix until it is uniform.




This is ready to shape into balls.

Using a large cookie scoop, shape the meat into balls.  This will make the balls uniform and help them to cook evenly.  You are shaping the balls and want them to stay together, but you do not want them to be tightly packed.  Place each ball onto a cookie sheet.  You should get about 25 balls.

Put the cookie sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes.  They will be browned all over and release their fat.  Remove them from the oven.  They are ready to add to sauce or any other uses you have.  They freeze well if you have more than you need or if you want to use them later.

Browned and ready to add to sauce.

Tips:
You can use dried herbs if you do not have fresh. Reduce the amount and use only 1/3 of the called for amounts.

If you are going to cook the meatballs in the sauce do not over cook them in the oven.  If they are still pink inside it is OK because you are going to finish them in the sauce.  They should be just done inside after 40 minutes.

I use herbs from my garden but it is ok to buy them in the store or at a farmer's market.

I use organic ingredients but you can use conventional items if that is what you have.