ITALIAN-AMERICAN MEATBALLS

ITALIAN-AMERICAN MEATBALLS

#SIAintheKitchen

Who doesn’t love a good ‘ol Italian-American meatball? You know what I'm talking about. Baseball-size, specks of fennel and Italian parsley, juicy, and bathed in tomato sauce and topped with parmeggiano reggiano? Rip me off a piece of crusty white bread and let’s get to it.

I had never made meatballs before. I know, shocker. But I thought had a general understanding of what would make a good meatball. A mix of beef, veal and pork. Breadcrumbs. Aromatics. Herbs. Eggs. BUT IT’S SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

It was my boyfriend’s sister’s birthday and I knew she really liked Italian food so I decided to make an Italian-themed dinner. Pesto fusilli, charcuterie, focaccia bread with oil and vinegar, tiramisu and of course, meatballs. I went all out and followed the Serious Eats recipe almost to a tee! Thank you, Daniel Gritzer.

I did 50% ground beef, 50% ground pork, Italian parsley, fennel seeds, panade, gelatinized stock and full-on broil browning. It was totally worth. I made the meatballs about 1/2 the size of a baseball as I found the mixture to be less firm than I wanted to. Some of the meatballs actually fell apart once I placed them into my sauce but tasted wonderful. It would’ve definitely benefitted from the pancetta which I omitted but the balls were super juicy and meaty-tasting. Next time I make this, I would 2/3 cup of fine bread crumbs to solidify it to my comfort level. Leftovers made for a great loco moco or even a burger patty! So much yes to this recipe.

ITALIAN-AMERICAN MEATBALLS - makes 24 palm-sized meatballs (adapted from Serious Eats)

• 1 envelope unflavoured gelatin

• 1/2 cup chicken stock

• 4 oz. bread (I used 2 slices of whole grain bread), cut into 1/2” cubes

• 1/3 cup milk

• 1 medium onion, minced

• 8 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 oz. freshly-grated parmeggiano reggiano, plus more for serving

• 1/2 cup loosely-packed Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• 3 tsps kosher salt

• 4 large egg yolks

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1 lb ground beef

• 1 lb ground pork

1. In a heatproof measuring cup, sprinkle gelatin all over surface of stock and let stand for 5 minutes (if not using stock and gelatin, proceed to Step 2). Microwave stock, stirring once or twice, until gelatin completely dissolves, about 2 minutes. Pour stock into a wide heatproof bowl and refrigerate until fully set, about 30 minutes.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine bread with milk, tossing to coat. Let stand, tossing occasionally, until bread is completely moist, about 10 minutes. Squeeze bread between your fingers or mash with a spoon to make sure there are no dry spots; if there are dry spots that refuse to moisten, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time until bread is moist throughout.

3. Add onion, garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, salt, pepper, pancetta, egg yolks, oregano, and fennel to bread/buttermilk mixture. Finely mince gelled stock, if using, and add.

4. Set mixer bowl in stand mixer and attach paddle. Starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, beat bread mixture until thoroughly blended, stopping to scrape down sides as necessary. Add 1/3 each of the beef and pork and beat at medium-high speed until thoroughly blended with bread mixture.

5. Remove bowl from stand mixer and add remaining beef and pork. Using a clean hand, gently mix meatball mixture, teasing apart ground meat with your fingers, just until ground beef and pork are thoroughly distributed throughout; avoid mixing any more than is necessary for even distribution.

6. Preheat broiler and set oven rack in upper position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Form meatball mixture into handball-sized balls and arrange on prepared baking sheet; you should be able to make about 24. Broil meatballs until browned on top, about 7 minutes (browning times can vary dramatically, depending on oven broiler strength).

7. Cook the meatballs in your favourite tomato sauce and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Serve with additional parmeggiano reggiano and focaccia bread.