Mi Nonis Italiano Meatballs Recipes

MI NONI'S ITALIANO MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Place your preferred meat into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl beat eggs until smooth. Add half measured seasoned bread crumbs and half of beaten eggs to meat and mix thoroughly. Add the remainder of all measured ingredients including the eggs and bread crumbs. You may need to mix everything with your hands to make sure that all ingredients are well incorporated into the meat. The consistency of the meat should be wet, not sticky or pasty. If the meat wants to stick to your hands while rolling a meatball then you should add another egg, one extra egg won't hurt the end result no matter the amount of meat being used.
• Once you have a wet consistency of meat cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours(overnight is best).
• To prepare meatballs have a small bowl of lukewarm water handy to keep the meatballs from sticking to your hands while rolling. Scoop meat with a tablespoon to keep size consistent and timing for frying. When rolled into a ball the meat should be about the size of a golf ball. Fry meatballs in a 12 inch skillet in olive oil. Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes per side or until browned on both sides. Please note that the fry time is one quarter the time of being fully cooked since these meatballs finish cooking in a 2 hour tomato sauce. When all meatballs fried drop into your tomato sauce.
• Note: If you prefer you may bake the meatballs as well. Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until nicely browned. Again the cook time is for meatballs that are halfway cooked since they again go into a tomato sauce for final cooking. Also ground turkey will cook faster than pork and or beef so be sure to test the doneness of the ground turkey. Any over cooking before dropping your meatballs into your sauce will result in dry over cooked meatballs.

AUTHENTIC NORTHERN ITALIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Place the chicken stock, onion, garlic and parsley in a blender of food processor and puree.
• In a large bowl, combine the pureed stock mix, meat, bread crumbs, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, red pepper flakes and salt. Combine with both hands until mixture is uniform. Do not over mix.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put a little olive oil on your hands and form mixture into balls about the size of golf balls. If you prefer bigger or smaller, it will only affect the browning time.
• Place 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil a baking sheet. Add the meatballs to the pan (working in batches if necessary). Place the meatballs in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• While the meatballs are browning, heat the marinara sauce in a stockpot over medium heat. Transfer the baked meatballs to the marinara sauce. Stir gently. Simmer for 5 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.
• Serve with a little extra Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top. Serve alone over spaghetti.
• FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS: No matter what method of packing you decide to use, it is important once they have completely cooled, to place the meatballs on a baking sheet and freeze them before packing. You want the meatballs to be independent from one another for ease when you want to use them. If you have a vacuum sealer at home, please proceed packing the meatballs according to the manufacturers directions. If not, place the meatballs in airtight containers or freezer bags. You can pack the meatballs with the marinara sauce after you've frozen them, or you can pack the marinara separate from the meatballs.
• SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Please see photo gallery for all the different ways I have served these meatballs.