Meatballs from Heaven

Wouldn’t it be great if each time it rained, it rained meatballs from Heaven?  I know the song lyrics say “pennies”, but pennies would hurt!  These meatballs are soft puffs of melt in your mouth goodness. Way better than pennies!

Meatballs have been a part of almost every food culture around the world. My guess is that it must have something to do with how easy it is in incorporate them into a dish.

They are insanely easy to eat – put them in something else, or just pick them up and pop ‘em in your mouth.

These little meatballs can be served up in many ways. Make a batch and coat them with your favorite sauces; they’re equally comfortable in a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce or a creamy mushroom sauce as they are in an Italian Red Sauce.


Meatballs from Heaven
Yield: 24 Meatballs     Preparation Time: 25 Minutes     Cooking Time: 20 Minutes


Ingredients

• 2 Large Eggs
• ½ Cup Half & Half
• ¼ Cup Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic, mashed with 1 teaspoon of Kosher Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• ½ Teaspoon Dry Mustard
• ⅔ Cup Dry Bread Crumbs
• ½ Cup Parmesan or Romano Cheese, finely grated
• 1 Pound Ground Chuck
• 1 Pound Ground Pork
• ¼ Cup Olive Oil


Preparation Steps

Step 1. Whisk together the Eggs, Half & Half, Onion, Garlic, Black Pepper, Worcestershire Sauce and Dry Mustard until blended.

Step 2. Stir in the Bread Crumbs and Parmesan or Romano Cheese until combined.

Step 3. Add the Ground Chuck and Ground Pork and use your hands to mix thoroughly. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Step 4. After the meat mixture has rested, spread a large sheet of parchment paper on your work surface. Roll all of the meat mixture into 1½” (golf ball sized), balls and place on the parchment.

Step 5. Put a large fry pan over medium-high heat and add Olive Oil. When the Oil is hot, carefully add meatballs to the pan in two batches and cook until browned all over, about 6 minutes. Remove browned meatballs to a parchment lined baking sheet and keep warm in the hot oven until the other batch has been cooked. This will also insure that the meatballs are cooked through.

Use these meatballs with wild abandon! They’re perfect for a buffet, or on a sandwich with grilled onions and peppers and of course as the ideal addition to spaghetti! They’ll take to any sauce, but I believe they’re partial to my Essential Red Sauce with Meat!


Tips and Trending

~ If you’re making this batch of meatballs for use in my “Essential Red Sauce with Meat, etc...” use the same olive oil in the fry pan from this recipe to sauté the onions, garlic and mushrooms in the first step of that recipe.

~ Instead of frying, you can bake these meatballs. Lightly coat a 9”x13” baking dish with olive oil, place the meatballs in the dish in a single layer (all 24 should fit) and bake at 450ºF for 20 minutes or until the meatballs read 165ºF. Remove and let them sit for 10 minutes, loosely covered before serving with your favorite sauce.

~ The grated cheese is the key to the soft texture of these meatballs. If you want a more intense cheese essence try using Asiago instead of Parmesan or Romano. For an entirely different flavor note substitute a hard, aged Gouda, Cheddar or French Mimolette.