Trying to perfect meatballs, is like a lifelong goal I think of many chefs. Getting just the right amount of meat mixture, the ability to make them stick together in a nice ball shape, and having them actually taste flavorful and not like a dull hunk of meats, is almost an art form.

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2014

I’ve tried quite a few recipes over the past few years and found the basics come down to: some mixture of ground meats, breadcrumbs, and egg. The rest seems to be up in the air and no two chefs are exactly in unison for how to prepare meatballs. I want to make meatballs like little Italian mamas do in those tiny restaurants dug out of the side of hill in Tuscany or something make.

When I tried this recipe I felt like the addition of cheese in them sounded different and tasty. I also like that you brown them and then bake them, so far so good. Not to mention this was actually pretty simple. The meat stuck nicely together and didn’t crumble while cooking, another good sign. Now on to taste…they were delicious! They melt right in your mouth and the little bit of onion and red pepper flakes added a nice hint of heat…but only a little don’t worry. I am now going to use this as my go-to meatball recipe, and maybe play with it here or there over time, but basically I recommend this as a no-fail starter recipe for any cook, new or old! Here are my meatballs:

Anne Burrell’s Excellent Meatballs ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2014

Excellent Meatballs

Recipe by: Anne Burrell, “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef”, Food Network

Yield: 9 to 10 meatballs
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, 1/4-inch dice
• Salt
• 1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup water
• Marinara Sauce

Directions
1. Coat a large saute pan with olive oil, add the onions and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. The onions should be very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

2. In a large bowl combine the meats, egg, Parmigiano, parsley and bread crumbs. It works well to squish the mixture with your hands. Add the onion mixture and season generously with salt and squish some more. Add the water and do one final really good squish. The mixture should be quite wet.

3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Shape the meat into desired size. I prefer meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball. Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through. If using right away, add them to your big pot of marinara sauce. Serve with pasta and sauce or just eat them straight out of the pot! YUM!

MAKE AHEAD TIP: If not using the meatballs right away, they can be frozen after you take them out of the oven. Let them unfreeze in the refrigerator a few hours or overnight and then add to pot of warming marinara sauce when ready to serve and let warm up about 10 minutes.