Today I'm going to show you how to make tender and juicy meatballs
plus I've got a delicious tomato sauce that complements the beef
It's a restaurant-quality dish inspired by my husband's Italian grandmother
Grandma Rose was a very busy woman, and she would make meatballs even on the weekdays
so she recommended using high-quality Italian canned tomato products
I like to use crushed tomatoes
because as it simmers down it's going to create a
nice thick consistency that's going to cling to the noodles
I also use tomato paste which is going to add a hint of sweetness and thickness to the sauce
To add a little bit of freshness and aromatics to the sauce I'm going to use onions and fresh garlic
Just trim off the ends of the onion peel, take off that papery skin
and we want to mince the onions so that you don't get too big of chunks in the sauce
We need half a cup of minced onions
I'm going to mince the garlic about 2 teaspoons, or about 3 cloves, just cut off the ends and then
give a light little smash
peel off that skin
The onions and garlic not only smell good
when they hit the hot oil but they're also rich in glutamates
which is going to enhance the savory flavor of the meatballs
Set the oven rack to the lower-middle position, heat the oven to broil
In a large pot or dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium-low heat
once hot add 1/2 a cup of minced onion and 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Saute until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes
Stir in 6 ounces of tomato paste and cook for 1 minute
Stir in 7 cups, or 56 ounces, of crushed tomatoes 2 teaspoons kosher salt,
and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
This is starting to smell good already
I'm going to let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes making sure that I stir it occasionally
because you're gonna get some little pockets of air that bubble up
but once we add the meatballs into the sauce it's going to have a lot of juices and flavor
that's going to make the sauce even better and add a ton of dimension
but in the meanwhile, we're going to go make the meatballs
For the meatballs, I like to use 80 to 90%
lean ground beef which is going to give you 10 to 20% of fat which is going to add a ton of flavor
The first thing we're going to do is add 2 large eggs, 1 cup of breadcrumbs,
1/2 a cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 a cup of finely minced onion,
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, and 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
and I like to combine this all with my hands
so that I could really get everything mixed in really well
and I can see and feel the consistency change while I'm mixing the meatball mixture
The starches in the breadcrumbs are starting to
get hydrated creating a starchy paste which we call a panade
As the panade cooks, the starches are going to start to swell
and create this gel-like matrix that's going to
lock-in all that flavor and juices into the meatball
and prevent the meatballs from shrinking too much
Everything looks evenly mixed, I think we're ready to shape them now
I have a large baking sheet that I've lined with foil and just lightly greased with some olive oil
to prevent the meatballs from sticking when I broil them
So I like to use about a 1/3 cup measuring cup, or about 3 ounces in size of meat
you want to go for the size of about an egg, and just roll it into a ball
This meatball recipe is very customizable
if you want you could use a different mixture of meats like ground beef, veal,
and pork together which is very traditional for Italian recipes
or you could use ground chicken or turkey if you want a leaner meatball
Also if you have some fresh herbs like parsley,
oregano, or basil you can chop those up and add them in too
Typically I could get about 14 to 15 large meatballs
and if I have some extra ground beef mixture,
I'll just see which ones look a bit smaller and add some meat back to it
These are ready now, we're going to go brown them under the broiler
Broil the meatballs until the surface is browned, about 10 to 12 minutes
Turn over and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes to lightly brown the other side
Wow, these look amazing
I broiled the meatballs for about 10 to 12 minutes until the surface was golden-brown
It's going to enhance the flavor on the surface due to Maillard browning,
creating hundreds of new flavors
Also, it's going to create this crust that sets the structure
If I didn't broil the meatballs and added them in raw it's going to become mushy and fall apart
I'm going to flip the meatballs over so that we can lightly brown the other sides as well
for about 2 or 3 minutes
Okay, now I'm going to pop them back into the oven
Slowly simmering the meatballs in the acidic tomato sauce is going to
tenderize any of those tough connective tissues in the beef, making for extremely tender bites
We're going to simmer for about an hour and a half over low heat
making sure that we stir it about every 20 minutes
I'm going to put the lid on slightly ajar and I'll be back to check-in
The trick to restaurant-quality pasta is that you make sure you season the water
generously with salt
The salt is going to dissolve and when the starches swell and
the pasta absorb that water, it's going to have a nice savory taste
In a large pot, add 4 quarts of water and bring it to a boil over high heat,
stir in 1 tablespoon of kosher salt until dissolved
Add 1 pound of pasta
The starches on the surface of the pasta are going to be released
and it's going to cause those noodles to stick to the side of the pot and to each other
so throughout the cooking process make sure you check in and stir it occasionally
I like to cook the pasta until it's al dente,
so it's soft on the outside but has a little bit of a firm bite on the inside
This looks ready, it's time to drain
Oh, the meatballs look good they're ready
I made sure to stir every 20 minutes so that the sauce doesn't get burnt on the bottom of the pot
and the sauce is pretty thick, so if you want
a thinner consistency, add about a tablespoon of water at a time
stir just make sure you get to that desired thickness and then make sure you taste the
sauce and season with a little bit more salt and pepper if you'd like
Okay, it's time to plate up
I've added the sauce to the spaghetti noodles so that
they're nice and coated and don't stick together
then I'm going to add some meatballs on top
and then I garnish with some freshly chopped basil
and of course a little bit more parmesan cheese
I hope you enjoyed learning the science behind meatballs and if you did
please give it a big thumbs up, it means a lot when you do
And if you're craving more Italian food,
check out my recipe right here for meat lasagna, it's our family favorite
See you in the next video