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Not your mama’s meatballs

…unless your mama is Italian. In that case, don’t tell her I said this! These huge meatballs are the ultimate comfort food. They include simple, classic flavors that keep you coming back to this recipe over and over again for an easy meal that the whole family will love. I make this one for my husband and I only, and we gorge on the leftovers for days to come. I swear it’s even better the next day. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 to 1.5 hours

Level: Easy

Ingredients - serves 4

  • 1 pound ground beef (high quality lean if you can get it)

  • 1 pound ground pork

  • 1.5 cups Italian bread crumbs

  • 1.5 cups shredded asiago cheese

  • 2 eggs

  • 3 cloves minced garlic

  • 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves (or 1.5 tsp. fresh)

  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

  • 2 tsp. Kosher salt, separated in half

  • 1 cup of water

  • 2 28oz. cans of crushed tomatoes

  • 1/2 cup sherry wine

  • 2 tsp. fennel seed, whole

  • 2 tsp. granulated garlic

  • Black pepper to taste

  • 2 tbsp. olive oil

  • Your choice of pasta: spaghetti, fehttuchini, and linguine work great

 

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, eggs, cheese, minced garlic, thyme, crushed red pepper, 1 tsp. of the Kosher salt, and some black pepper. Thoroughly mix with your hands (this is the best way to get the most even distribution).

  2. Add the water in once fairly well mixed to loosen up the mixture, making it less dense.

  3. Roll out meatballs in your hand gently and set aside to cook later. When balling them up, make them just slightly smaller than a baseball. Big, I know! But that’s what makes these amazing! Also, be sure to roll lightly in your hand (don’t “pack” them in). You want them to just hold together, but if you roll them too aggressively, they’ll come out with too dense of a texture in the end. Don’t worry, when you brown them, they’ll stay intact!

  4. Set meatballs aside and get another large mixing bowl out to prep the sauce.

  5. In that bowl, combine the crushed tomatoes, sherry wine (real, not cooking or vinegar - the real stuff is very cheap at most liquor stores and a lot of my recipes use it), fennel seed, granulated garlic, another 1 tsp. of Kosher salt, and some black pepper. Stir and set aside.

  6. In a large skillet (not cast iron), heat up 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Carefully place the meatballs down and let them sizzle on one side for about a minute or until lightly browned. Turn meatballs by hand or with tongs to another side and let them brown again. Do the same two more times to brown on different surfaces of your meatballs.

  7. Dump the mixing bowl of sauce into the skillet with the meatballs and stir around, covering the meatballs with sauce. Turn heat from medium high to medium. Once the sauce has reached a simmer, lower to just below medium to let it simmer gently. Some stove tops may need it even lower. Try to get it bubbling but not splattering all over your beautiful kitchen.

  8. Let meatballs and sauce simmer together lightly for at least 30 minutes, if not as long as hour (suggested) to develop the most flavor. Stir every so often and cover the meatballs with sauce.

  9. Serve warm.

    Plating: These meatballs are tasty on their own, but of course, it’s great on pasta. Serve over a bed of your favorite noodles!