I grew up in the Chicago suburbs in the 1970s. Every Sunday was a trip to grandma's house for yet another macaroni and meatballs day (yes, "macaroni" was the word back then instead of today's "pasta"). The dinners were always the same - hot peppers in a jar (Giardinera) on the table, giant pot of sauce on the stove (referred to as "gravy" by my Italian heritage (Naples). Big pot of boiling water for the macaroni. The kitchen would be boiling hot, even if air conditioning was on. There would be salad on the table, but most of my relatives ate it after dinner! Always oil and vinegar for the dressing too. No choices there! I am not even sure ranch dressing was invented yet! :)
Inside the gravy/sauce would be meatballs, simmering in the bubbly juice for hours on end. Sometimes neck bones would be in there, too (adults would suck on those, while the kids would grimace and go after the meatballs). Back in my youth, no such thing as being able to buy a Barilla pasta where you can cook it al dente. My grandma would always overcook her macaroni noodles, and it would be way too soft for me! It turns me off for years on eating it, but once I hit my 20's, I started craving it all.
Holidays always consisted of ravioli or lasagna, complete with those aforementioned meatballs and neck bones, and the traditional Thanksgiving dinner would follow a few hours later. Christmas Eve always had the Italian food, and as a bonus there would be squid in the sauce - and no, I am not talking about breaded calamari - actual tentacle squid! Fortunately, grandma always had a big pot of non-squid gravy for those who did not partake. Along with the squid, you could find chicken feet in there too (why? Nobody ate them! Again, just sucked at them like those neck bones).
Okay, now I am digressing! So here is a meatball recipe -- the first rule is this: You do not use exact measurements, and it is REALLY difficult to screw up!
Now I have seen PLENTY of recipes for meatballs, and while my recipe is introduction-to-meatball-101 simple, I assure you they are always a big hit - and have been for years!
The Meatball Recipe:
2 pounds ground beef (no, I do not use a beef/pork mix or a beef/sausage mix, but you sure could if you wanted to)
Parmesan cheese (the kind you buy at the grocery store in the plastic bottle is just fine!)
2 eggs
bread crumbs (plain or Italian - your choice) - Grandma even used to use mashed up Saltine crackers if she ran out of bread crumbs.
salt
pepper
garlic salt
garlic powder
garlic pieces (very optional)
Put the ground beef in a big bowl. Add in your 2 eggs and a LARGE sprinkling of Parmesan cheese - perhaps 1/2 to 3/4 cup (you can NEVER add too much cheese, that is for sure!!) Add in some shakes of garlic salt, garlic powder, salt pepper, your garlic pieces if you like. Now comes the ying and yang of the recipe. It's time to add in the bread crumbs, approximately 1/2 cup. Mix everything with your hands (YES, I said HANDS). You want to get in there with both hands and knead it all together.
IF it is very sticky, you want to add more bread crumbs slowly (maybe 1/4 cup at a time) - if it is too dry/crumbly/stiff, then add a little water, (again 1/4 cup at a time should be fine). Once you feel you have a good consistency to grab a small fistful and roll into balls, you are good to go!
And now you have a few choices on the method of cooking them!
You can take your delicious raw meatballs and either:
- Fry them in a pan with some oil, turning constantly to get all sides browned, and then drain and place in your sauce to simmer all day.
- You can bake the meatballs on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees, checking every 20 minutes and turning them until they are browned on all sides, and then simmer in your sauce.
- My favorite way - and yes, the most modern way: I put the raw formed meatballs in my crock pot! I use a nonstick cooking spray lightly over the crock pot. Put the meatballs in, and cover with a small amount of sauce and some water. With this method, you will not use the sauce it cooks in to serve over your pasta at dinner time- you will want to cook it separately. The sauce in the crock pot will get very greasy from the meat, and just not have a good flavor. So use sparingly. I usually cook mine on low for 2-4 hours or so - turning them every once in a while. If things are too bubbly, or they seem cooked already, I turn it to warm. They do cook very fast, and honestly. If you cook in the microwave, these meatballs will stay intact, but will also be very, very soft and moist. My father has combined method 1 and 3, however and loves it. Brown first, drain, put in crock pot with your sauce and just simmer on low for a few hours!
Again, while this recipe sounds too simple to be good, I assure you it is. How big should the meatballs be? Definitely not softball sized. Not olive sized. I usually make them about 2 inches around. Not too big, and enough of a size where you want to cut it in half to eat it over your pasta.
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