Italian American Beef and Pork Meatballs

Yield: Serves 4 to 6 (makes about 10 handball-sized meatballs)

Ingredients

7 g 2 1/2 tsp 1

packet unflavored gelatin (optional, see note)

1/2 cup {120 g}

homemade chicken stock or low-sodium broth (optional, see note)

4 ozs {113 g} 3

slices fresh white bread, crusts removed and bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes or pulsed on food processor(about 2 unpacked cups)

1/3 cup {81 g}

buttermilk, plus more as needed or 1:1 yogurt:milk

{38 g} 1

medium onion, minced

{24 g} 8

cloves garlic, finely minced

2 ozs {57 g}

grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, plus more for serving.

1/2 cup {30 g}

loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, minced

12 g

salt

0 g

Freshly ground black pepper

{64 g} 4

large egg yolks

1 tsp {0.0 g}

dried oregano

1 tsp {2.0 g}

ground fennel seed

1 pound {454 g}

ground beef (at least 25% fat)

1 pound {454 g}

ground pork (at least 25% fat)

5 cup {745 g}

tomato sauce, such as Quick and Easy Italian American Red Sauce, The Best Slow Cooked Tomato Sauce, or The Best Fresh Tomato Sauce

Directions

In a heatproof measuring cup, sprinkle gelatin all over surface of stock and let stand for 5 minutes (if not using stock and gelatin, proceed to Step 2). Microwave stock, stirring once or twice, until gelatin completely dissolves, about 2 minutes. Pour stock into a wide heatproof bowl and refrigerate until fully set, about 30 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine bread with buttermilk, tossing to coat. Let stand, tossing occasionally, until bread is completely moist, about 10 minutes. Squeeze bread between your fingers or mash with a spoon to make sure there are no dry spots; if there are dry spots that refuse to moisten, add more buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time until bread is moist throughout.

Cook onion, garlic until softened, reserve and cool.

Add parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, salt, pepper, pancetta, egg yolks, oregano, and fennel to bread/buttermilk mixture. Finely mince gelled stock using fork, if using, and add.

Set mixer bowl in stand mixer and attach paddle. Starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, beat bread mixture until thoroughly blended, stopping to scrape down sides as necessary. Add 1/3 each of the beef and pork and beat at medium-high speed until thoroughly blended with bread mixture.

Remove bowl from stand mixer and add remaining beef and pork. Using a clean hand, gently mix meatball mixture, teasing apart ground meat with your fingers, just until ground beef and pork and thoroughly distributed throughout; avoid mixing any more than is necessary for even distribution.

Preheat broiler and set oven rack in upper position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Form meatball mixture into handball-sized balls and arrange on prepared baking sheet; you should be able to make about 10. Broil meatballs on topmost rack until browned on top, about 7 minutes (browning times can vary dramatically, depending on oven broiler strength).

Heat tomato sauce in a medium pot until simmering and add meatballs. Simmer until meatballs are just cooked through and register about 145F/62C on an instant-read thermometer, about 10 minutes.

Serve meatballs, spooning sauce all over and grating more cheese on top.

Source

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