spaghetti & meatballs

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
aaaaaaaah, so..... I'm back to "simple is good."

spaghetti and meat balls. how can anything go wrong?
oh dear, way too many ways.....

this draws raves from the peanut gallery:
it's all the the wrist....

80/20 ground beef
salt
fresh ground black pepper
minced fresh onion
one egg per pound of beef
mix/mash it all together.
make meat balls slightly smaller than a golf ball - two biters I call them - lop in half with a fork, just right bite size.

cast iron pan; 1 tbsp butter
place meatballs in pan; not too crowded
medium high - need to brown but not burn
add a dollop of olive oil if the pan dries up.
using two (wooden) spoons, rotate meatballs 180 degrees to brown opposite sides.
plunk the pan into a 300'F oven for 40 minutes to cook the meatballs through.
remove meatballs from pan; drain oil & leftover goodies/fond thru a fine strainer. you'll get about 4-5 tbsps of 'schufft' per pound of beef - it's soft onions bits that fell out of the mix plus coagulated proteins that oozed out of the meat.

The Sauce:
nothing special needed - I use Ragu Mushroom. in a sauce pan, heated to a vigorous bubble, turn down heat to low simmer.
plunk in the meatball pan "drippings"
start the pasta cooking - for dry pasta I use 12 minutes
at 'same time' put the meatballs in the sauce to warm through.

grate some block Parmesan.

bingo. all done.
the trick is in browning the meatballs and then also capturing the pan solids to flavor the sauce.
simple, dumb, fool proof. you'll wonder why all those recipes call for 15-100 different herbs & spices.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
This is one of my all-time favorite meals, Chowder!

Some people put milk-soaked bread in their meatballs (I don't, but they are good that way).

My best friend puts LOTS of chopped parsley in her meatballs and they are excellent! So I do that now, too.

I can't remember ever meeting a home-made meatball that I haven't liked! :wub:

Lee
 

luvs

'lil Chef
Gold Site Supporter
yum.

lee, i put milk-bread in my own. has gone on fer generations in my family- figure that was 1 way to stretch a $ way when ago. not sure.

chowder, i may put basil/oregano in- a dab. garlic & that onion. that is plenty. there is already plenty in a sauce.
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I make my meat balls using 80-20 ground beef also but not all I use.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground Beef
1/2 lb of Italian Sausage (skinned or loose mild or hot is up to you)
1/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 whole egg
1/3 Parmigiana cheese (fresh grated)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic optional

Instructions:
Add all ingredients in large bowl and mix by hand. Form by hand, don't over work. Once formed put in refrigerator to firm up, about 30 min to 1 hour.

I prefer mine cooked in the sauce but have also fried them a bit before depending on my mood at the time.

I cook in sauce which is heated to a medium simmer and submerge meat balls in sauce. It takes about 2 hours to cook completely however the sauce should be stirred every so often but do it gently as to not break up the meat balls.

Serves 8 large (between a golf ball and tennis ball in size)

Notes: If you
 
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