Italian Meatball Recipe

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
or 2 pounds “meatloaf mix” (beef, pork and veal)
2 Italian sausage links (removed from the casing)
5 slices of fresh, sliced bread
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg (beaten)
milk
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon parsley flakes (or more)
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons black pepper
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Grate onion and seeded jalapeno with a cheese grater. Finely chop the garlic. In a pan, heat some oil and slowly cook the grated onion and jalapeno until soft and all the water has cooked off (note, do not brown! Just soften until translucent). Add the garlic, cook for 30 more seconds and turn off heat. Next, add thyme, parsley, plus red and black pepper to the onion mixture. Mix and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes but an hour is better.

Cut crusts off bread, cube the remainder and cover with milk in a bowl (wait 5 minutes).

In a big bowl combine ground meat and sausage, your (cool) onion-herb mixture, salt, sugar, Parmesan cheese and beaten egg. Using your hands, grab the now soaked bread and squeeze off as much excess milk and you can and add to the bowl. Mix thoroughly (should take at least 2 minutes if not longer). Once incorporated, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wet your hands with water and form racket-ball sized meatballs and place on a baking pan/sheet. Place meatballs in preheated oven for about 30 minutes (until there is some nice browning on the surface of the meatballs) then reduce heat to 275 degrees Fahrenheit for an additional 20-30 minutes or until the meatballs are browned all over. Remove from oven and rest for 5 minutes then remove meatballs from pan and discard fat.

Your meatballs are now ready for adding to spaghetti sauce, the freezer or anything else you want to do with them.