When I was young, I visited my grandparents almost every year. Each set was distinct and special, and both sets were committed to investing in us and their love exposed us to a greater, bigger, and better reality than a lot of people get to experience.
One of the benefits of having family committed to family, is the exposure to a wide range of people, cultures, and…flavors! For example, I had an “Auntie” on my dad’s side, Auntie Lena, who was stereotyically Italian–she was always cooking and cleaning, and no one left her house without almost exploding from all the food she would thrust upon us. Only at her funeral did I come to find out she wasn’t actually related to me. Whatever, love is thicker than blood.
So, one of the things that I feel like I made with Auntie Lena when I was a small girl in our home in North Carolina was meatballs. I’m not sure if this memory is real or imaginary. What I know though, is when I recreated meatballs the other day based off this memory, they were pretty tasty. In fact, many of the people with whom I shared them told me they were the best meatballs they had ever had. And get this–they weren’t even that unhealthy!!
Chicka, whaaaat?? That’s right. Here are some tips:
- Common mistake 1: Using only one form of meat–use at least 3, this helps with the texture, mouthfeel, and flavor.
- Common mistake 2: Overworking the meat–these are tasty treats, not a science project, more love, less process.
- Common mistake 3: Not letting it rest. After you mixed in the ingredients, it should rest for at least a few hours so the herbs and aromatics get a chance to work their magic.
- Not a mistake, BUT: To make a good meatball, the common trick is to fry them up first then baste in wine, sauce etc. See below, it cuts calories but you still get the flavor and texture you want!
Ingredients:
- 3 lb combo of 3 ground meats: beef, pork, veal are traditional – 1 lb each. But I’ve also used chicken, turkey, bison, etc. I tend to use a combo on the fats, too, (80/20; 90/10, etc)
- about 1 c fresh parsley, chopped (I use 1/2 big bunch)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 med red onion and 1/2 med white onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme–chopped*
- 1/4 – 1/2 c breadcrumbs (I use panko usually, and generally
- 1-2 c. nice red wine; I prefer full-bodied, deep wines, with a little oak and just a subtle jamminess–like a cab, grenache, or zinfandel.
- a lil salt n pepper.
In a bowl, using your hands, blend the trio of ground meats together. To avoid overworking the meat, don’t worry about consistency in blending, that happens as you add other ingredients–this is just the party mixer part. Lightly “dust” with salt and pepper, as desired (I tend to put a lot more pepper and small amount of salt.). Add the egg, parsley, thyme, onions and garlic; again, blend with your hands. Add the cheese, turn the meat again so the cheese is evenly distributed. Add just enough breadcrumbs for it to hold together.
Let sit for 3-4 hours in the fridge, or overnight, if possible.
After the meat has rested, preheat oven to 350.
Take out a large glass baking dish. Pour enough wine to cover the bottom of the dish, add just a little more, now.
Take your prepared meat and make small balls out of them. Meatballs are supposed to be very small, about two civilized bites’ worth. I tend to end up making mine the size of small beefy biscuits. Then again I’m southern, so it’s fitting.
As you are making your spheres of delight, place them in the wine of your baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for another 5-10 depending on how they look. I usually turn mine halfway through so the flavor is consistent. I like my meatballs to be pink in the middle because 3 lbs of meet plus the fixins means a lot of meatballs. You can freeze these for up to 2 mos, but they taste best when sharing!
You can use the wine and the juices from your dish to make a demiglaze sauce, or if you are making your own sauce, or dressing up the one in the jar (c’mon, we’ve all been there) this would be great to add. Would recommend fine straining, first.
De-stemming Thyme: I hold the sprig at the top with one hand. I run my index finger and thumb together down the main stem to remove the leaves from the main stem, much as you would rosemary. Unlike rosemary, thyme is relatively soft so you won’t have a problem if you leave it attached to the stem, but I try to get just the leaves. They’re so small that a quick rough chop will work.
foodandthefury 
Katherine, those meatballs look so good! I’ll have to try that recipe some time. I need to get on here more and steal your incredible recipes…or you could just come back down to Arkansas and cook for us again! Keep the juices flowing! And in all seriousness, we really want to come visit you in DC this fall. We’ll talk. Love you! Betsy
Betsy–Somehow I only now just saw this–wow thanks so much, high praise, indeed!