When I first started making meatballs, I used to make them with only ground beef. While they were edible, I always found them to be a bit dry. I learned that using a combination of ground beef, ground pork and ground veal would create an overall higher quality meatball that was juicier and full of flavor.
I found this recipe that uses the above combination from Food Network, although they state the recipe is courtesy of Rao’s, which also happens to be my favorite jar sauce.
These meatballs are DELICIOUS. You can double this recipe if you need more, or would like to freeze some. Did you know that you can freeze the meatballs raw, and when you are craving a few (or six!) take out only what you need to cook for that night. I’ve tried baking them, and they came out fine, but I would recommend cooking them in olive oil on the stove-top or, the BEST way really is to cook them in the air fryer. I cannot recommend this method of cooking enough, as you do not need any oil (except for spritzing the trays a tiny bit), you do NOT have to stand by the stove to keep an eye on them, and they taste FANTASTIC! The only changes I’ve made to the recipe are to the number of garlic cloves used and the breadcrumbs. I use store-bought breadcrumbs; the recipe calls for you to make your own. The recipe calls for ½ small garlic clove, I use, um, well, much more than that. You can certainly adjust the garlic to your personal preference. Okay, enough said, let’s jump right in!!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground lean beef
- ½ pound ground veal
- ½ pound ground pork
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ small garlic clove, peeled and minced, optional
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups bread crumbs, method follows
- 4 cups lukewarm water
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Grate cheese, chop parsley, peel and chop garlic cloves.
Combine beef, veal, and pork, eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper to taste and bread crumbs. Slowly add water in to mixture, mixing well after each addition. It will be very moist, but that is what you want.
Use medium or large scoop to shape into balls.
FREEZING: To freeze the meatballs raw, place them in a freezer safe zip top bag and lay flat in freezer, so they do not stick together. You can then take out what you need for cooking later.
STOVE-TOP: Heat oil in a large sauté pan. When oil is very hot but not smoking, cook meatballs in batches, do not overcrowd the pan. Sauté 2-3 minutes per side, then reduce heat and cook 10-15 minutes more, flipping occasionally, until cooked through. Alternatively, you can put them in a pot of sauce after they are nicely browned for 15 minutes on low heat until cooked through.
OVEN: Preheat oven to 400⁰ F; place meatballs on stone or sheet pan, and bake 20-25 minutes, until cooked through.
AIR FRYER (BEST and EASIEST Method):
Place meatballs on air fryer trays spritzed with olive oil. Set to AIR FRY, 18 minutes, press START. Switch trays at the halfway time. If you like them crisper, adjust the time accordingly.
IF YOU ARE AIR FRYING FROZEN MEATBALLS: Adjust the time to 25 minutes.
That’s it! These are a staple in our home, and I hope that you will give them a try.
The BEST Meatballs!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ½ lb ground pork
- ½ lb ground veal
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 ½ tbsp flat parsley, chopped
- 1-5 cloves garlic, chopped
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- 4 cups lukewarm water
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil only if cooking on stove
Instructions
- Grate cheese, chop parsley, peel and chop garlic cloves.
- Combine beef, veal, and pork, eggs,cheese, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper to taste and bread crumbs. Slowly add water in to mixture, mixing well after each addition. It will be very moist, but that is what you want.
- Use medium or large scoop to shape into balls.
- FREEZING: To freeze the meatballs raw, place them in a freezer-safe zip top bag and lay flat in freezer, so they do not stick together. You can then take out what you need for cooking later.
- STOVE-TOP: Heat oil in a large sauté pan. When oil is very hot but not smoking, cook meatballs in batches, do not overcrowd the pan. Sauté 2-3 minutes per side, then reduce heat and cook 10-15 minutes more, flipping occasionally, until cooked through. Alternatively, you can put them in a pot of sauce after they are nicely browned for 15 minutes on low heat until cooked through.
- OVEN: Preheat oven to 400⁰ F; place meatballs on stone or sheet pan, and bake 20-25 minutes, until cooked through.
- AIR FRYER (BEST and EASIEST Method): Place meatballs on air fryer trays spritzed with olive oil. Set to AIR FRY, 18 minutes, press START. Switch trays at the halfway time. If you like them crisper, adjust the time accordingly.IF YOU ARE AIR FRYING FROZEN MEATBALLS: Adjust the time to 25minutes.
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