Chef John's Italian Meatballs

By Chef John, Allrecipes

Homemade meatballs are a very easy to make, and since we skip the very messy step of pan-frying these before they hit the sauce, it becomes downright simple. Here I use a standard half-beef/half-pork mixture. You can substitute water or beef broth for the milk, if preferred.

prep:

20 mins

cook:

35 mins

total:

2 hrs 15 mins

additional:

1 hr 20 mins

Servings:

30

Yield:

30 meatballs

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs
• ¼ bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Step 1

Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Step 2

Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.

Step 3

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.

Step 4

Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.

Step 5

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Step 6

Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.

Step 7

Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

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