Best. Meatballs. Ever.

That’s right. Oh. My. God. These are yummalicious. I mean, I really enjoyed them. And so did Oliver. I hope you will too if you make the recipe I’m about to share.

I found it here and I made a few slight alterations. (What’s new?)



That’s Peanut’s bowl of course. He’s been asking for meatballs lately. I had some in the freezer, but he’s done cleaned me out. I decided to try a new recipe this time and went in search of one which included a list of ingredients I already had around the home. I hunted down a real Italian recipe and this one seemed as authentic as I could find. OK, truth is, it had all the ingredients I had on hand, but hey, it actually sounded good. So here's the recipe:

Best. Meatballs. Ever.

INGREDIENTS (all organic except for the beef)

• 1 lb.  ground sirloin* – grass fed
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 pieces of dark wheat bread with crust
• 3T bread crumbs
• 1T dried oregano
• fresh basil, about 10 leaves or more 
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese*
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed and minced
• splash of red wine (about 1/8 cup)
• salt and pepper to your own tastes

*I used ground sirloin which was much lower in fat. That way there was not any grease in the pan at all as I cooked the meatballs. 

** For the cheese, I used Organic Valley’s Italian mix which was comprised of Parmesan, Romano, Mozzarella and Provolone cheeses, shredded.

METHOD

• get a large mixing bowl out and add the meat to the bowl
• chop the basil, add to the bowl
• take the bread and rub it under the faucet and get it soaking wet. Then squeeze as much of the water out as possible. The bread should be a gooey consistency, called “Meat Ball Glue.” Break the bread up and add it to a mixing bowl.
• add all of the other ingredients to the bowl 
• add salt and pepper to your own liking
• mix together by hand, making sure all ingredients are mixed well
• form meatballs by hand, 1" balls
• get out a pan, coat it with olive oil and get it very hot
• brown the meatballs; they should possibly roll around the pan once you loosen them from the pan and they are cooked firm
• add the meatballs to your sauce; simmer in the sauce for up to 2 hours. The longer they cook in the sauce, the more tender they become.

So thanks to Anthony for his colorful and authentic recipe. If you’d like to see a step by step, check this out or this photo gallery. In fact, you really must check out his site! It’s a hoot! He’s awesome!