Italian Style Meatballs

My very first catering job as a professional chef was a wedding for a friend of my wife. Jan and her husband wanted to serve spaghetti & meatballs for a few hundred guests, so I ended up spending several hours making hundreds of meatballs from scratch. Since then I have made several varieties of meatballs for different recipes. From an Italian style that pairs with both pastas and meatball subs to a Swedish style served with stroganoff as a wonderful hors d'oeuvres to a Hawaiian style served over rice.

This morning a friend of mine asked me if I knew of an easy recipe for homemade meatballs. So here are a few for her.

Italian Style Meatballs

Yields: 50 - l oz meatballs

2 lbs Lean Ground Beef

1 lb Ground Italian Sausage (or remove from casings)

1 cup dried bread crumbs (run through a food processor to make a fine texture)

1 med. Onion, finely chopped

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 tbsp Minced Garlic (or garlic powder)

1 tsp basil (fresh chopped or dried)

1 tsp oregano (fresh chopped or dried)

2 Large Eggs

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2-3 tbsp water (as needed to moisten)

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Lightly oil a sheet pan (or line with foil). Combine all ingredients adding just enough water to moisten. Shape into meatballs. Broil the meatballs on the top rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Turn and broil for an additional 10 minutes. Drain any excess oil. Add to favorite sauce or can be frozen and reheated as needed.

Enjoy