Josephines Meatballs Recipes

DELICIOUS BEEF & PORK MEATBALLS

Steps:

• 1. Combine the ground beef, pork, ricotta, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes grated onion, garlic, and fennel in a large mixing bowl. Chef's Note: For the mixing, use the best tools a chef has... your hands. Mix with your hands until all the ingredients have been fully combined. Prep Tip: For the onions, use the large holes on a basic grater, and then use a few paper towels to squeeze out the extra water from the grated onion before adding to the mixture.
• 2. Grab a piece of the mixture, and roll into a round, golfball size meatball. Chef's Note: If you're like me and you measure EVERYTHING... then you are looking at about 2 ounces (55 grams) of mixture. Prep Tip: While I'm making the meatballs, I have a baking sheet covered with a piece of parchment paper, and I lay them on the parchment, and then move to the next. Tool Tip: If you have a #20 size ice cream scoop, it makes a perfect meatball.
• 3. Place a rack in the middle position of your oven, and then preheat to 430f (220c).
• 4. In a large baking dish, drizzle the 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, and evenly distribute with your fingers, then place the meatballs in neat rows until they are almost touching. Note: Since the recipe produces about 2 dozen meatballs, you may need to cook these in batches.
• 5. Chef's Note: Cooking these in a baking dish is excellent; however, I found an old unused Ebelskiver pan in the storage room of our restaurant, and I had an idea. I used the rounded depressions of the pan to place the meatballs, and then cook them in the oven, in the pan. That way they come out perfectly round. One other thing: If you use this type of non-stick pan, you won't need the 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Cooking Tip: When that pan comes out of the oven, that handle will be very hot. A trick I use, so that I don't accidentally grab that hot handle is to drape a tea towel over the handle... that way I know that it's hot. I've burned my hand more than once, before I was showed that simple trick.
• 6. Roast for about thirty minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 165f (74c).
• 7. Serving Suggestion: At the restaurant we used a white oval baking dish, added a good tomato sauce, placed three meatballs in a row, and then covered with a bit of mozzarella. Back in a 450f (230c) oven for about 12 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and brown in places... then serve... heaven. Of course these meatballs go great with a bit of pasta and sauce, and a sprinkling of parmesan on top. Additional Serving Suggestion: If you cut the size in half, and add a good chili sauce they make brilliant appetizers for your guests to nosh on, before the big event. Note: I do have an excellent recipe for some tomato sauce, and another for some homemade pasta... both from Aunt Josephine. When I get a chance, I'll post them; however, I'll just bet there are some brilliant sauce and pasta recipes right here on this very site. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

CLASSIC MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil; spray with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, mix all ingredients. Shape mixture into 24 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs. Place 1 inch apart in pan.
• Bake uncovered 18 to 22 minutes or until temperature reaches 160°F and no longer pink in center.

EXCELLENT MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil, add the onions and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. The onions should be very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley and bread crumbs. It works well to squish the mixture with your hands. Add the onion mixture and season generously with salt and squish some more. Add the water and do 1 final really good squish. The mixture should be quite wet. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini hamburger size patty and cooking it. The mixture should taste really good! If it doesn't it is probably missing salt. Add more. Add more anyway.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Shape the meat into desired size. Some people like 'em big some people like 'em small. I prefer meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball. Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through. If using right away, add them to your big pot of marinara sauce. If not using right away, they can be frozen for later use. Serve with pasta and sauce or just eat them straight out of the pot! YUM!
• Coat a large saucepot with olive oil and add the pancetta. Bring the pot to a medium-high heat and cook the pancetta for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, season generously with salt and stir to coat with olive oil. Cook the onions for 6 to 7 minutes stirring frequently. The onions should become very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes stirring frequently.
• Pass the tomatoes through the food mill. Be sure to pass all of the pulp through the holes leaving only the stems and the seeds, and be sure to scrape the pulp off of the bottom of the food mill. That's all of the big money stuff! Add the tomatoes to the pot and rinse out 1 of the empty tomato cans with water and add that water to the pot (about 2 to 3 cups). Season generously with salt and TASTE IT!!!! Tomatoes take a lot of salt. Season in baby steps and taste every step of the way. Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and tasting frequently.
• Use the sauce right away on pasta or for any other tomato sauce need. This sauce can also be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for a few days and freezes really well.
• Yield: 2 quarts

QUICK AND SIMPLE MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine eggs, water, onion, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic and seasonings; mix well. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place meatballs on greased racks in shallow baking pans. Bake, uncovered, until no longer pink, 15-18 minutes. , Freeze option: Freeze cooled meatballs in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in the microwave.

JOSEPHINE'S MEATBALLS

Steps:

• 1. Mix all the meatball ingredients together. Shape into 1" balls, put in greased 9x13 pan, 1 layer only. Mix sauce ingredients. Spoon over meatballs.
• 2. Bake 1 hour uncovered at 350 degrees. Makes 36 meatballs.