Italian Meatballs

Meatballs

To finally fulfill my Christmas promise to Sidney I cooked up a batch of meatballs this past weekend.  Not being able to find any ground meat that I liked in the local stores, I purchased whole portions of veal and pork and ground my own.  Yes, I finally broke out the Kitchen Aid meat grinder attachment Glenn gave me for my first birthday in Albania (isn't he romantic?!?) and made my own ground meat. I don't know why I waited so long.  Not only was it easy but the quality of the meat was so much higher.  It looks like the meat grinder will be getting a workout in 2013.

ITALIAN STYLE MEATBALLS

1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 lb ground veal

1/2 lb ground pork

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1 small onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 pinch ground cloves

1 tsp dried marjoram leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil as needed for frying

1)  Combine bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Breaking out the meat grinder for the first time

2)  In a large bowl combine veal, pork, egg, Parmesan cheese, onion, garlic, and spices.  Add the bread

      and milk mixture.  Season with salt and pepper.

Everything goes into the bowl

3)  Using your hands, knead the mixture until all of the ingredients are well combined.

Some therapeutic mixing going on

4)  Using your hands, form 1-inch sized balls.  Place on a tray or baking sheet until ready to fry.

Ready to cook

5)   Heat 1/4 inch of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  

6)  Once the oil is shimmering add the meatballs, in batches, to the oil.  After 2-3 minutes, turn the

      meatballs over so that they brown on all sides.

Frying to a golden brown

7)  Remove the meatballs from the oil and drain on paper towel lined plates.  

8)  Continue frying the meatballs until they have all been browned.

9)  Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.  

10)  Place the meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minute until hot and cooked through.

Yields:  50 1-inch meatballs

The meatballs can be served with a tomato sauce over pasta, with ketchup (Sidney's preferred method) or as is.

Because one can not survive on meatballs alone, I served
these with risotto and steamed spinach