(light upbeat music)
- Hey everybody, it's Natasha of natashaskitchen.com
and today, I'm gonna teach you how to make
the juiciest meatballs.
These are make ahead, freezer friendly, so easy
and you'll learn the secrets
to making a truly juicy meatball, so let's get started!
(bell dings)
We'll start with three slices of white bread.
Trim off the crusts, and dice them up.
Transfer those breadcrumbs to a large mixing bowl
and add 2/3 cup of cold water.
Stir that together lightly,
then set it aside for five minutes.
Meanwhile, you can prep the rest of your ingredients.
You'll need three large garlic cloves finely minced
and finally chop up two tablespoons of fresh parsley.
All right, now that the breadcrumbs have had a chance
to absorb the water,
you're gonna mash it up thoroughly with a fork.
It should have an applesauce consistency.
(fork clanks)
Now add one pound of ground pork
and one pound of ground beef,
then add 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, one large egg,
your minced garlic cloves, and your finely chopped parsley.
Season the mixture with one teaspoon of sea salt
and half a teaspoon of black pepper.
The best way to mix is using your hands,
so stir that mixture together just until it's well combined
and make sure you do not over mix.
We'll start out by portioning the meatballs
and to make this easy,
I use a trigger release ice cream scoop
and I'll link to this in the notes.
You should get about 22 to 24 meatballs.
Portion them so they're about
two tablespoons of mixture each.
Now it's time roll them and it helps to roll them
with wet hands, so keep a small bowl of water next to you
as you roll.
Each of the meatballs should be
about one and a half inches in diameter.
Once all the meatballs are rolled, we're ready to cook them.
Now you can either bake them or saute,
and I love to saute because it creates
a beautiful golden brown crust
and seals in the juiciness of the meatballs
but I will leave instructions on baking and freezing
in the recipe notes.
Place a large nonstick pan over medium heat
and add two tablespoons of oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs
to the skillet cooking in batches if needed,
and saute for about two minutes per side,
or about eight minutes total.
And I'll also link to the splatter guard
that I use to keep my stove top cleaner.
(meat sizzling)
When the meatballs are fully cooked through,
they should reach a safe 160 degrees Fahrenheit
in the center on an instant read thermometer.
And I will link to our favorite thermometer in the notes.
Once your meatballs are done, transfer them to a platter.
You can add more oil as needed and repeat the process
with the next batch of meatballs.
(laughs) These are done and don't they just look
so big and plump?
And they are so juicy.
I need to show you guys what's inside.
All right, while they're still hot and fresh.
(metal clanks)
Just cut one in half and do a quick taste test.
I'm hungry.
Always. (laughs)
Ah, look at that.
All right, here we go.
Mm.
Mm mm.
Now those are some juicy meatballs.
These are so satisfying and adding the breadcrumbs
adds that needed moisture, so do not,
do not skip the breadcrumbs.
Oh my kids love these and so does my husband.
My four year old says, "Mommy, you're the best cooker ever."
(Natasha laughs)
When she tried one of these, oh.
And they always disappear fast.
Once they're cooked, you have a couple options.
You can either turn them into a meal right away
and my favorite thing to do with this is so easy.
You just simmer some marinara sauce, add the meatballs,
cook them just until they're hot and heated through.
Add a little bit of parsley and voila!
You've got dinner.
Then just serve it over pasta.
Or put them in hoagie rolls for a meatball sub.
Mm. (laughs)
Easy peasy.
Or you can also put these meatballs in a gravy,
serve them over mashed potatoes.
If you toss them in like a teriyaki sauce,
you can serve them over rice for dinner
or you can toss them in barbecue sauce
and serve them as an appetizer with little tooth picks.
There is so much you can do with this recipe.
It works well with so many flavors.
Or, if you're not ready to eat the whole batch,
what I like to do is I like to freeze half of them.
So to freeze, this is so simple.
They freeze really well.
You just line a baking sheet with some plastic wrap
so that they don't stick.
Then transfer them all in a single layer.
We're going to loosely cover those
and freeze just until they're firm on top.
Just loosely loosely
And then once they're frozen, you're gonna put them
in a large Ziploc bag and keep them for about two months
in the freezer.
And then when you're ready to use them,
thaw and use them in just about any recipe! (laughs)
I love that these are make ahead.
So easy, so delicious.
Make these and you'll be known for your meatballs.
All right, somebody smelled the meatballs.
So we're gonna do taste test round two.
What do you think?
- More.
- More?
You can have more, that's fine.
- All!
- All?
All right here you go.
Here you go, take your meatballs. (laughs)
We're in trouble. (laughs)