First things first: Spoiler Alert—these meatballs aren’t nearly as good as Mrs. Butcher’s recipe, but they are serviceable. They’re billed in the recipe collection as an appetizer—something to be eaten on their own—but I decided to throw them into a red sauce instead because no way am I eating 142 sort-of-blah meatballs on their own.
A caveat before we get started: The recipe calls for over four pounds of ground beef. I happened to have two pounds of ground beef and two pounds of ground pork, so that’s what I used. The recipe needed all the help it could get.
Here’s what you’ll need:
4 ¼ Lbs. Ground Beef
1 Cup Onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs. Butter
4 Cups Fresh Breadcrumbs
4 Eggs, beaten
1 Cup Milk
4 tsp. Sea Salt
¾ tsp. Black Pepper
Sauté onion in butter for five minutes.
While onion is cooking, mix breadcrumbs, eggs, milk, sea salt and black pepper until well combined.
Add sautéed onion and ground beef until well combined.
Roll tablespoon-sized meatballs and place in greased baking dish. Mixture should yield roughly 126 meatballs.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.
These meatballs are WAY too bready and it detracts from the overall flavor profile. Four cups of breadcrumbs is too much by a long shot. I think One could easily cut that down to two cups and be in perfectly good shape. Plus, add a shitload of garlic. Oh, and almost a shitload of Romano cheese. While I’m on the subject, a large handful of freshly chopped parsley. Now that I’m thinking about it, some nutmeg as well. Of course, adding some freshly chopped thyme and oregano wouldn’t hurt either…
Right you are – but look at your lovely rows of same-sized meatballs. +10 for consistency!
I’ve never baked meatballs, do you need to rotate them half way through? I always pan cook them and roll them over every couple minutes.
Interestingly enough, no, they can just sit there and cook through. My typical method is also to throw enough into a pan to cover about half of the bottom, then I shake the pan every 30 seconds to roll them around. The meatballs never stick or break up and it’s a lot less tedious than grabbing every single meatball with a pair of tongs. However, this baking technique might have converted me.
Pretty sure dunked in bbq sauce that’s the appetizer I’ve had at a lot of weddings, to the recipe name suits.