This is a crazy thing for someone who cooks for a living to admit but, up until last week, I had never made meatballs.
Actually, that’s not technically true — thanks to my Viking roots, I am an old hand at Frikadeller, which are essentially Danish meatballs.
But what I’m really talking about here are Italian meatballs. You know, the ones drenched in tomato sauce and perched atop a twist of spaghetti or piled onto Italian rolls with tons of cheese and broiled until bubbly.
Yeah…those meatballs.
You may ask yourself, why would I want to use a recipe for meatballs created by someone who just took her first crack at it? But here’s the thing: every single person who tasted these tiny globes of deliciousness raved over them. And I don’t just mean Howard.
The whole reason for making meatballs stems from a lunch I volunteered to make for the Pender Island Fire Department. I just joined their culinary brigade, and have signed up to provide members with occasional meals to keep them fueled during training weekends.
Chief Charlie Boyte and DC Mike Dine have done an amazing job in the past few years to revitalize our island’s fire department. They have grown it from a competent — but WAY over-stretched — crew of fire fighters and first responders to a robust, well-rounded organization that draws upon the strengths of everyone in our community. From retired mechanics to under-employed chefs (cough) — the PIFR can use us all.
The first thing I thought of when I signed up to make lunch for everyone last Sunday was meatball subs and Caesar salad. Like I said, I haven’t made meatballs before, but I do have almost endless experience with meatloaf and sausages of many types. I asked the advice of another cook whose taste buds I admire, and off I went.
In the case of this first batch, I used 5 pounds of meat, plus some bacon. That made A LOT of golf-side meatballs. I had a hungry crew to feed, but I can also see the wisdom of making a big batch and freezing them for quick meals. That said, I’ve given you half that recipe, just because my recipes tend to serve 2-4 rather than 40.
I made some Italian Rolls from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, a batch of tomato sauce spiked with oregano and topped it all with a mix of shredded mozzarella and parm. Super yum, is all I can say.
(Click on the title below for a printable version of the recipe.)
Yield: 4 to 5 dozen golf ball-sized meatballs
: I can’t believe that I’ve never had meatballs in my freezer. Crazy. These ones are really, really good.
- Bacon, cut in lardons – 4 slices
- Onion, roughly chopped – 1 Cup (½ med)
- Celery, roughly chopped – ½ Cup (1 med stalk)
- Parsley, rougly chopped – ½ Cup (2 handfuls)
- Garlic, roughly chopped – 1 Tble (2 large cloves)
- Lean Ground Beef – 1½ lb (675 g)
- Ground Pork – 1 lb (450 g)
- Breadcrumbs – 1 Cup (240 ml)
- Worcestershire Sauce – 1 tsp (5 ml)
- Ground Fennel – 1 tsp (5 ml)
- Salt – 1 tsp (5 ml)
- Ground Pepper – ¼ tsp (2 ml)
- Chili Flakes – ¼ tsp (2 ml)
- Fry the bacon lardons over med heat to gently render the fat. When starting to crisp, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
- Pulse the onion, celery, parsley and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pureed.
- Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, together with the bacon and vegetables from the food processor. Use your hands to combine the mixture well. At this point, I fried a little bit to test the seasoning. I encourage you to do this, especially when making dozens at a time.
- Roll the mixture into golf-sized balls and arrange on a baking sheet. To serve them immediately, bake them in a 450° F oven for 12-15 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Serve with tomato sauce, any way you like…
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 15 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12
Culinary tradition: Italian
Copyright © © 2009-2011 Island Vittles/Theresa Carle-Sanders. All rights reserved. Don’t Steal — Karma’s Real.
What a wonderful group to be cooking for. I am sure they are going to LOVE this!
Woman, these look awesome! I’m literally drooling right now and totally want to have these like right now. And I’m totally surprised you’ve never made meatballs before! Super easy and delicious, aren’t they? Love that you mixed them with bacon and ground pork — the perfect little nugget of goodness.
How cool is your town! I love the community aspect that you provide to the fire department. What an awesome way to show them that you guys understand the great they they are doing. Bravo! As far as the meatballs, I’m a bit like you. I have only made them once or twice in my life. When I make spaghetti, it’s usually bolognese because I don’t like chasing food around my plate. I love the ratio of cheese to sauce that I’m seeing here too. That’s my kind of sandwich. :)
Yeah, Pender Island is pretty much the coolest place to live in the world! And the subs were well received…;)
Great work for your community! With these tucked in their tummy you are going to make a lot of people happy!
Oooo, lovely lunch! When are you going to invite me over?
I think you’re due for a return to the mother-land, Carolyn. You’re always welcome to make a stop on Pender — when you get to Vancouver, take a left — we’re about 2 hours out to sea…
Mmmm! In Germany, we make our own version of this, called Frikadellen, that are a bit more patty shaped, but not so different. Heavy on the onions, and such a staple of my childhood :) I love them cold, sliced on bread with mustard, too!
Leftover Frikadeller (I’ve got Danish roots) makes the best open faced sandwich! I always make extra just so there’s lots left over…
Looks like your first time around was quite successful. I would take a sandwich like that any day.
YES!!!!!!!!
I’m so glad you agree! ;)
I want to winter on Pender. And cook. Meatballs. Yours, mine and everyone’s.
Oh my goodness! These look heavenly! I’ve never made meatballs at home either. I must change that ASAP. This is such a delicious post. Thank you for sharing it with me!
We are excited to try this! i have a (silly) question… there’s just 2 of us so well be freezing quite a few meatballs… do you freeze them prior to cooking them or after? Thank you.
Wonderful Christina! You can do either — I prefer to freeze mine raw, but a few cooked ones are also great to have on hand for quick meals. Note that if the meat was previously frozen before you made the meatballs, you should not refreeze them while still raw.
Thank you!
That’s great Christina! You can do either — I prefer to freeze mine raw, but a few cooked ones are also great to have on hand for “emergencies” and quick meals. Note — if any of the meat was previously frozen, then you shouldn’t refreeze the meatballs while they’re still raw.
Oh my. You were right. SO very simple to make and so absolutely delicious. We ate subs 2 days in a row and froze the rest… which I regret because I could go a third day : ) YUM! This recipe will be added to our monthly schedule for sure : )
awesome! thanks for letting me know. :)
I can’t believe you’d never made meatballs! Well, looks like you’re an instant pro. These subs look unbelievably delicious. It’s so great that you volunteer with the fire department, very cool. I bet they were happy and well fed on this day!
Aaah, thanks Katherine! Your comments always make me smile…
Well, they look pretty perfect for a first time meatballer (that sounds dirty, I like it). And a look over the ingredient list – and the photos of course – has elicited an approving tummy rumble.
Pingback: Meatball Grinders « littlemissdomestic
So THIS is why people rave about meatball subs! I want this SOOO badly. I hope you don’t mind but I’m so inspired I’ve included this post in my Friday Food Fetish roundup. Thanks for sharing and MOAR please :)
Glad you like it, Javelin Warrior! I’m heading over to check out your round-up now…
For someone that’s never cooked meatballs before, you sure did hit the nail on the head with this one! This is definitely one of the most beautiful meatball subs I’ve ever seen =)
Thanks Peggy! It was pretty tasty too… ;)
You got something great going here! YUM YUM!
Pingback: Italian Meatball Sub Food Porn [Lunch Time]
I want an culinary brigade in my town! How awesome is that!?! And for you to be a member, of course you would be. Now I have to decide whether to start a brigade or join Pender’s fire department so I can eat your food. :) The subs look amazing. I have to admit that I’ve not made meatballs too often and have never made a meatball sub. I’ll need to rectify that with your recipe sometime. It looks fantastic.