Cloudy With a Chance of...

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I've never been a huge fan of meatballs in my spaghetti. It might be because my mom makes an amazing meat sauce so there was never a need for meatballs. Even as an adult, spaghetti in general is not one of my favorite foods. Tomato sauce is a little too acidic for my liking so I enjoy vodka sauce or ones that have a little more cream. About 10 years ago, my mom started making these gigantic homemade meatballs and I thought it was about time I share with you the recipe that made me look forward to spaghetti night. 

This is Tyler Florence's meatball recipe and unlike traditional homemade meatballs that are usually made with breadcrumbs, this recipe uses white bread that has been soaked in milk. Sounds strange, but trust me, it makes for an incredibly juicy meatball. Have some of your favorite pasta sauce prepared to serve with the finished meatballs.

(parmesan, salt, and pepper not pictured)


Ingredients Makes about 20 large meatballs (130g each)
2 lbs ground beef
2 lbs ground pork
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 white or yellow onions, chopped
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 slices of any white bread, crusts removed
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Kosher salt & pepper to taste

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
  2. Heat a large pan over medium heat with a turn of olive oil. Once heated add onions, garlic, and parsley to the pan. Saute until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. 
  3. In a medium sized bowl, pour milk over bread slices so all the bread can evenly soak. Set aside while you prepare the meat mixture.
  4. In a large bowl, combine beef and pork until well mixed with a gloved hand. Add parmesan to the meat, generously season with salt and pepper, and mix.
  5. Squeeze excess milk out of the bread and add to the meat mixture with the eggs and cooled onions. Mix just until everything is combined. (As always, you don't want to overmix - this will make a tough meatball)
  6. To shape meatballs, make as large or small as you want (mine are about the size of tennis balls). Just be mindful, the larger the meatball, the longer the cook time. 
  7. To cook, heat an oven safe pan (a cast iron or all-clad pan is perfect for this) over medium high heat with some olive oil and brown the meatballs on all sides. Finish in oven until cooked through (internal temperature of 140 degrees F), about 15 minutes for larger meatballs.

Meatballs don't have to be eaten with pasta! I had mine in some sauce on the side of a salad. Cooked meatballs can be frozen for later and thawed out in sauce. Enjoy!