Special Italian Meatballs Recipe
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
25 minutes
Servings:
12 Meatballs
Ingredients
  • ½ cup plain breadcrumbs
  • 4 tablespoons milk
  • ½ pound ground beef
  • ½ pound veal or pork
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped Vidalia onion
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 4 ounces (about ½ cup) cubed or diced cured pancetta
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ cup dry red Italian wine, such as Chianti
  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • basil, for serving
  • grated Parmesan, for serving
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
  2. In a small bowl, make a panade by combining the breadcrumbs and milk until a dry paste forms. Set it aside.
  3. Add the meat, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, Parmesan, and egg yolk to a large bowl.
  4. Mix the contents with your hands until just combined, then add the panade until the mixture is firm but not dry. Do not overwork.
  5. Prepare a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack.
  6. Roll the meat into 12 2-ounce balls, or about the size of golf balls.
  7. Place the meatballs on the wire rack.
  8. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes, until browned. (They will not be cooked all the way through.)
  9. While the meatballs are in the oven, heat the oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.
  10. Add the pancetta and cook until browned. If blending the sauce, remove it from the skillet.
  11. Add the onions and garlic to the skillet and cook them in the pancetta fat until they soften and begin to stick to the bottom of the pan.
  12. Deglaze with the wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
  13. Let the sauce simmer until it is reduced by half.
  14. Add the tomatoes to the skillet and bring everything to a simmer. If desired, remove the pan from the heat and blend the sauce with an immersion blender to make it smooth. If you removed the pancetta, add it back to the sauce.
  15. Once the sauce is simmering, add the parcooked meatballs and turn the heat down to low.
  16. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or 2 hours for best results.
  17. To serve, top the meatballs and sauce with torn basil and extra grated Parmesan.