The Best Italian Meatball Recipe



You are here:  > > The Best Italian Meatball Recipe

This is my family's recipe for meatballs. This is how mamma made them, how grandma made them, and how my mom made them, so, for posterity that is how I made them here.

The only difference is that my family would fry the meatballs in a pan and add them directly to the sauce, where they would cook for several hours. This does two things, it gives the sauce an even better flavor that is just impossible to describe, and, it turns the meatballs into dried out flavorless meat sawdust balls. Seriously, they are horrible like that - oh but that sauce is sooooo good!

The other reason I fry them in a deep fryer, rather than a pan, is that in a pan the meatballs flatten on the sides coming out looking something like a three dimensional pyramid with rounded edges. In a deep fryer they come out nice and round.

So by changing up the method of preparation I get a really good meatball that is nice and round with a great presentation as well as flavorful and moist, like a meatball should be.

One Of The Best Italian Meatball Recipe's You Will Ever Taste

Meatballs on a plate.My Mom's Meatball Recipe Is The Best Italian Meatball Recipe
2 pound boneless chuck roast.

2 pound boneless chuck roast.

The chuck roast cubed and ready to grind.

The chuck roast cubed and ready to grind.

Ingredients for meatballs in a mixing bowl.

Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl, making sure to add the eggs last, so that they are on top.

Meatball mixture in a bowl.

Using your hands mix everything together until it forms into an homogenized mass.

Raw meatballs ready to fry.

Form into balls about 2 inches / 5 centimeters in diameter.

Meatballs resting on a plate.

Gently place 4 balls at a time into the basket of your deep fryer and fry until golden brown.

Meatballs on a sheet pan.

Once all of the meatballs are fried transfer them to a parchment lined sheet pan, arranging the balls in rows with 1 to 2 inches of space between each ball. Bake in a 350 F oven until cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest until ready to serve.

Homemade Fettucine, Spaghetti Sauce With Meat, Italian Meatballs And Rosemary BreadHomemade Fettucine, Spaghetti Sauce With Meat, Italian Meatballs And Rosemary Bread

Recipe For Italian Meatballs

  • Yield: varies, but about 16 meatballs
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Oven: 350° F / 175° C.

Equipment

  • Deep Fryer

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 pounds / 680 grams / 24 ounces ground chuck, see notes
  • 1/2 cup / 56 grams / 2 ounces pine nuts, toasted
  • 1 medium bunch parsley, washed, stemmed and rough chopped
  • Scant 1/2 cup / 50 grams / 1-3/4 ounces bread crumbs, toasted
  • 1/2 cup/ 56 grams / 2 ounces Pecorino Romano, grated
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons / 10 grams kosher salt
  • 20 grinds black pepper, about 1/4 teaspoon
  • 5 eggs
  • Optional, 1 recipe Meat Sauce

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F / 175° C.
  2. Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl, making sure to add the eggs last, so that they are on top.
  3. Using your hands mix everything together until it forms into an homogenized mass.
  4. Form into balls about 2 inches / 5 centimeters in diameter. Gently place 4 balls at a time into the basket of your deep fryer and fry until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to rest while you finish the remaining meat balls.
  5. Once all of the meatballs are fried transfer them to a parchment lined sheet pan, arranging the balls in rows with 1 to 2 inches of space between each ball.
  6. Bake in a 350° F / 175° C oven until cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest until ready to serve.
  7. About 20 minutes before you are ready to serve add the meatballs to your meat sauce. Cook long enough to heat through.

Notes

  1. An option for you, and this is how I normally make my meatballs, is to add about a half cup of raisins to the mix. It gives them a unique flavor that is really amazing. Give it a try both ways and see which you like better.
  2. If you don't want to deep fry the meatballs or you don't have a deep fryer, you can fry them in a pan with a little olive oil.
  3. If you don't want to make the meat sauce you can substitute marinara or just serve the meatballs sans sauce.
  4. To make the recipe with raisins add a half cup of raisins to a small saucepan and add enough red wine to just cover the raisins. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and let rest until cool. Strain the raisins out and add them to the meat mixture.
  5. If you want to try the recipe both ways first make the recipe without raisins. Separate half of the meat mixture in one bowl and add about a 1/4 cup of raisins to the remaining half of the recipe. Be sure to soak the raisins first, see above.
  6. For this recipe I ground the chuck immediately before making the meatballs. See How To Grind Beef.

Tags: best italian meatball recipe, how to cook italian meatballs, recipe for italian meatballs, meatballs