Chef John's Italian Meatballs
World Cuisine European Italian
Homemade meatballs are a very easy to make, and since we skip the very messy step of pan-frying these before they hit the sauce, it becomes downright simple. Here I use a standard half-beef/half-pork mixture. You can substitute water or beef broth for the milk, if preferred.
Servings per recipe: 30
Calories per serving: 82
Preparation time: 20m
Total cooking time: 2h 15m
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
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- 1 Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- 2 Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
- 3 Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.
- 4 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.
- 5 Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- 6 Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
- 7 Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
Nutrion facts:
| Total Fat | 5.5g | 8% |
| Saturated Fat | 2.0g | |
| Cholesterol | 32mg | 11% |
| Sodium | 192mg | 8% |
| Potassium | 93mg | 3% |
| Total Carbohydrates | 1.7g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.2g | |
| Protein | 6.2g | 12% |
| Sugars | 0g | |
| Vitamin A | 85IU | |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | |
| Calcium | 19mg | |
| Iron | 1mg | |
| Thiamin | 0mg | |
| Niacin | 2mg | |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | |
| Magnesium | 7mg | |
| Folate | 6mcg |
