Italian Meatballs with Marinara
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds ground beef lean
- ½ lb. Italian sausage casings removed
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs* see note below
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ½ large onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons dry basil
- 1- 1 ½ teaspoons salt** see note below
- ½ teaspoon pepper fresh ground
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Best Ever Marinara Sauce
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients except oil in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined**.
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Form mixture into 1 ½ inch meatballs. (An ice cream scooper works great to scoop up the meat.)
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Preheat oven to 400˚F. Place meatballs on a sheet pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil to save on clean up. Drizzle oil over meatballs and turn to coat. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until lightly browned (parmesan cheese will be oozing a bit. Remove and let drain on paper towels.
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Add to Best Ever Marinara Sauce and simmer for 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
*I like to use a good quality baguette for this (The bread doesn't have to be super fresh, a bit stale is fine). I just break it in pieces and use some long pulses in food processor till the crumbs are fairly small. About ¼ of an average size baguette will yield 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs. You can also use (the same quantity of) dried bread crumbs but the meatballs will be a bit more dense.
** It can be difficult to get the right amount of saltiness in meatballs. Everyone's taste is different and each brand of Italian sausage is different in salt content. I like to start with a smaller amount. of salt After I have all the ingredients mixed together, I form a small ball (about ½ inch in diameter). I fold a paper towel in quarters and wrap the little meatball inside. A 20-30 second stint in the microwave is all it takes to cook the meatball. I let it cool a bit then taste it to see if it more salt is needed.
*** It's difficult to mix up meatballs unless you use your hands. I always hated the mess and my hands got so cold. I decided to try using dishwashing gloves and keep a pair just for making meatballs (I mark them with a laundry marker just to make sure they're not used for anything else. When I'm done, I wash my hands (with the gloves on) with lots of soap and rub till they're squeaky clean. I dry my (gloved) hands well with a paper towel and store the gloves in a zippered plastic bag till my next meatball adventure.