Meatball Factory Recipes

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.

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.

THE BEST MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add the water 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should be very moist but still hold its shape if rolled into meatballs. (I usually use about 1 1/4 cups of water). Shape into meatballs.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Fry meatballs in batches. When the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel. (If your mixture is too wet, cover the meatballs while they are cooking so that they hold their shape better.)

THE MEATBALL SHOP'S CLASSIC BEEF MEATBALLS

Steps:

• For the Meatballs: Preheat the oven to 450F
• Drizzle the olive oil into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface
• Set aside
• Combine the ground beef, ricotta, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and fennel in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated
• Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches), making sure to pack the meat firmly
• Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid
• The meatballs should be touching one another
• Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through
• A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165F
• While the meatballs are roasting, heat the tomato sauce in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often
• When the meatballs are firm and fully cooked, remove them from the oven and drain the excess grease from the pan
• Pour the tomato sauce over them
• Return the meatballs to the oven and continue roasting for another 15 minutes
• For the Classic Tomato Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat
• Add the onions, bay leaf, oregano, garlic, and salt and cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes
• Add the tomato paste and continue cooking for 5 minutes
• Add the tomatoes and stir constantly until the sauce begins to boil
• Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 5 minutes or so to prevent the sauce on the bottom of the pot from burning
• Taste and season with additional salt, if desired
• Remove the bay leaf before serving

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

COPYCAT OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Combine chopped onion, garlic, parsley and bread crumbs in a food processor and mix 30 seconds. Break the egg into a 3 quart bowl and mix well using a wire whisk. Add water, olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the egg and whisk until well whisked. Add the bread crumb mixture, combining with a spatula. Add the ground meat and mix thoroughly until ingredients are well distributed and the mixture is binding together tightly. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Using a medium sized ice cream scoop, scoop out a portion onto a lightly oiled jelly roll pan. Form each meatball by rolling in the palm of your hand until they feel tight and solid. (The finished meatballs should be about the size of a golf ball.) Pour 1/4 cup water into the pan and place in the oven. Time 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and loosen with a spatula. Return to the oven an additional 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain. Heat the tomato sauce in a large skillet. Add the meatballs and simmer 2 minutes. Serve over pasta or rice.

MEATBALL FACTORY

Steps:

• In a skillet, heat oil and saute onions till soft and starting to carmelize. Add garlic, reduce heat and continue cooking until garlic is soft (mushy). Remove from heat and add rest of seasinings, allow to cool, refrigerate. (this may be done the day before, to allow the flavors to marry).
• Puree cooled seasonings mixture with blender (I use hand held variety), adding eggs, salt and 1c. liquid (milk, water or stock).
• In a large mixing bowl (or even your turkey roaster) blend together beef and pork adding breadcrumbs and romano cheese. Add seasoned egg miture mix well. (generally for this step I remove watch, scrub up to the elbows and knead using my hands) You should also work fast as to not allow your meat to spoil. If mixture seems dry or is hard to mix add more liguid, a bit at a time.
• Return meat to refrigerator if its warming up too much.
• Set a large stock pot 3/4 full of water on to Boil. Once this is at a rolling boil you may add your batches of meatballs.
• Start rolling like a mad person! Here I generally flatten out a large (1/4 of the batch) approx 15"x15" square about 1.5" thick then cut 1.5" strips then go crosswise cutting into 1.5" squares. This ensures same sized meatballs and they're much quicker to grab and roll.
• Carefully drop rolled meatballs into boiling water. They will come to the surface in approximately 7-8 minutes allow then to boil for 5 minutes longer.
• Remove from pot with large slotted spoon and place on tray (cookie sheet also works) to cool. As the meatballs cool, they turn brown as of baked or fried (yet they remain soft and moist).
• Keep doing this until all your meatballs are cooked and cooled.
• (Do NOT throw away that yucky water! As I usually have a bunch of little helpers with me in the kitchen, their favorite treat comes next. The last batch of meatballs rolled are mini ones. The Fat is skimmed from the water (which is now a broth of sorts) veggies and acini de pepe (small pasta)along with the mini meatballs are added a bit of fresh parsley. And Voila - "Meatball Soup")
• Set Trays in Freezer, and allow meatballs to freeze for a couple of hours.
• Remove. Tap trays to loosen meatballs. Package in ziplock storage bags. And return to freezer.

OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a jelly roll pan. Combine chopped onion, garlic, parsley and bread crumbs in a food processor and mix 30 seconds.
• Break egg into 3-qt. bowl and mix well using a wire whisk. Add water, olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to egg and whisk until well whisked. Add the bread crumb mixture, combining with a spatula. Add the ground meat and mix thoroughly until ingredients are well distributed and the mixture is binding together tightly.
• Using a medium sized ice cream scoop, scoop out a portion onto prepared pan. Form each meatball by rolling in palm of your hand until they feel tight and solid. (The finished meatballs should be about the size of a golf ball). Pour 1/4 cup water into pan.
• Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven and loosen meatballs from bottom with a spatula. Return to oven an additional 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain pan.
• Heat the spaghetti sauce in large skillet. Add meatballs and simmer 2 minutes. Serve over pasta.

TURKEY MEATBALLS RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the ingredients starting with the cheese and up to (including) red pepper flakes, and mix well.
• Add turkey meat, egg Worcestershire sauce, and blend with your hands until well mixed.
• For the perfect texture, if you have time, cover the meat mixture and chill for an hour or up to 24 hours. It's easiest to form the meatballs when they are very cold.
• When ready to cook for the meatballs, I usually use a one to two tablespoons cookie scoop to measure the meat mixture and roll it into balls.
• Place a large saute pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the meatballs just enough to fit in the pan without crowding them.
• Brown the meatballs on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes, and then transfer to a plate, add more oil if needed, and cook the rest of the meatballs.
• Once done cooking the meatballs, add the marinara sauce to the pan and bring it to a simmer. Make sure to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Taste the sauce and adjust for salt and pepper. Once hot, add the meatballs and their juices to the pan, gently toss to cover the meatballs with sauce and lower the heat. Cover the pan and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve hot, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with parsley and grated parmesan cheese.

BEEF MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450˚ F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and coat with cooking spray.
• Combine the beef, breadcrumbs, milk, eggs, onion, garlic, parsley, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl; mix with your hands until combined. Form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs (about 30). Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake the meatballs until browned and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.