Blue Note’s Best Italian Meatballs

Italian Meatballs probably have more to do with New York than Italy. To start Spaghetti and Meatballs doesn’t come from Italy, it was made here in America from Italian immigrants. Born out of better access to meat in NYC than in Italy. This recipe is based on the classic American meatball, they are soft, supple, and melt in your mouth good.

I’m sure you’ve had or even made yourself, those Italian meatballs that are so dense and dry that no amount of sauce can help you choke them down. Now, there can be a lot of reason for that, almost too many to list. So I’ll focus on this, Italian Meatballs are more about what you put into them than keep out of them. A meatball made with mostly meat will be heavy, dense, and lacking any flavor. Meatballs made with many dry ingredients such as breadcrumbs, will in fact not help soak up moisture and make a good meatball. Breadcrumbs will suck the moisture from the meat making it dense yet again.

The incorporation of moist ingredients, especially those with fat, like milk and ricotta cheese is what will leave us with the perfect melt in your mouth italian meatballs. We do this by first soaking some bread in milk, this is in place of the breadcrumbs you be used to putting in meatballs. Then we add a few tablespoons of Ricotta cheese not only does this The incorporation of moist ingredients, especially those with fat, like milk and ricotta cheese is what will leave us with the perfect melt in your mouth Italian meatballs. We do this by first soaking some bread in milk, this is in place of the breadcrumbs you be used to putting in meatballs. Then we add a few tablespoons of Ricotta cheese not only does this add moisture and flavor, it adds fat that helps keep the meatballs from drying out. Other than that, they are flavored with little more than garlic, parsley and Pecorino Romano cheese. Yes, they will be harder to shape into a perfect ball, some of them may even fall apart a little while cooking. But you will not care once you taste them. Leftovers will find their way into meatball subs and your midnight snacks. You will undoubtedly eat 2-3 of them while you are making them, so it is wise to double or triple the batch and cook extra (I usually make this recipe x6 and freeze the extras in vacuum sealed pouches for later use).

Checkout my other Italian Recipes here.

EQUIPMENT

Here are some of the tools I used in this recipe.

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Kitchen Scale: GreaterGoods Digital Food Kitchen Scale, Multifunction Scale Measures in Grams and Ounces (Ash Grey)

Microplane: Microplane Classic Zester/Grater, Black

Chef’s Knife: Shun Cutlery Premier 8” Chef’s Knife; Lightweight, Agile, Extremely Comfortable Grip, Perfect for Slicing, Dicing and Chopping a Full Range of Foods, Beautiful and Versatile, Handcrafted in Japan

Measuring Cups: Pyrex Glass Measuring Cup Set (3-Piece, Microwave and Oven Safe),Clear

Sheet Tray: Checkered Chef Baking Sheet with Wire Rack Set – Single Set w/ Half Sheet Pan & Stainless Steel Oven Rack for Cooking

Parchment Paper: Unbleanched Parchment Paper for Baking, 15 in x 200 ft, 250 Sq.Ft, Baking Paper, Non-Stick Parchment Paper Roll for Baking, Cooking, Grilling, Air Fryer and Steaming

Mixing Bowl: Premium Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowls with Airtight Lids (Set of 5) Nesting Bowls for Space-Saving Storage, Easy-Grip & Stability Design Mixing-Bowl Set Versatile For Cooking, Baking, & Food Storage

Meatballs

Christopher Beaudoin

Meatballs are more about what you put into them, than keep out. These italian style meatballs are filled with flavor from simple ingredients. These simple ingredients also are the secret to the supple texture and moist interior.

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Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 14 Meatballs

Ingredients

  

• 2 Slices White Sandwich Bread Chopped Fine
• 1/2 Cup Whole Milk
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 Cloves Fresh Garlic Minced
• 1/4 Cup Flat Leaf Parsley Chopped Fine
• 1/4 Cup Pecorino Romano Cheese Finely Grated
• 3 Tbsp Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1 Pound 80/20 Ground Beef

Instructions

 

• In a large mixing bowl, combine your Chopped Bread and Milk, stir to combine.
• While the bread soaks up the milk, Chop and Grate your other ingredients.
• After the bread has soaked up most of the milk, squish the mixture between your fingers to break up any large chunks, this should be a smooth paste so you do not end up with large chunks of bread in your meatballs.
• Add all other ingredients except the beef to the bread/milk mixture.
• Mix well to evenly distribute the ingredients.
• Once all of the other ingredient are a homogenous mixture, add the beef and mix well to combine evenly.
• Preheat your oven to 425°f.
• Prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
• Using your hands and a scale, weigh out 2 oz meatballs, and roll them gently into a sphere, and arrange on the prepared sheet pan leaving at least one inch in between meatballs.
• Put sheet pan in the preheated oven on the middle rack.
• Bake for 16-20 minutes until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 160°f.
• To serve them, add some sauce over them, a dollop of ricotta, and some fresh chopped basil.

Notes

These are melt in your mouth, tender, supple, meatballs. It’s better to add them to your plate, and cover with sauce than it is to soak them in the sauce as they will mostly likely break apart when stirring the sauce.

If you absolutely must add them to your sauce, make the meatballs the day before and allow them to cool overnight in the fridge. This will firm them up a little as the collagen in the meat tighten up when chilled. 

Keyword beef, meatball, meatballs, tender