Lantello Family Italian Recipes - Meatballs

Lantello Family Italian Recipes - Meatballs

 

***** This has been transcribed from my mom’s notes*****

If you cannot find certain brands, please try to find the best quality ones you can or can afford too. Quality products really make a difference.

 

Ingredients:

1/3 lb. ground veal

1/3 lb. ground pork

1/3 lb. ground beef

(most of the time, I just use all ground sirloin, but when I want to make them authentic and extra special, I use the combination veal, pork & beef.)

3 eggs, beaten with a fork

½ cup of Italian style bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated Romano or parmesan cheese, but use the decent imported stuff-definitely  DO NOT USE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES THE KRAFT PRE-GRATED STUFF THAT COMES IN A CAN OR ANY OTHER CHEESE LIKE THAT

5 cloves of garlic, chopped (or more!)

Salt and Pepper

 

I just guessed the amount of the parsley and the cheese, but the figures should be about what I throw in. The more important ratio is the eggs to bread crumbs ratio. 3 eggs plus ½ cup bread crumbs per each pound of ground meat works every time! The above should make about a dozen meatballs. Mine are usually somewhere around 1 – ½ in. diameter.

Throw everything in a bowl and mix it all up. Chop another couple of cloves of garlic and throw them into the bottom of your pot (my sauce pot is a 10 Qt. pot) and add enough olive oil to barely cover the bottom of the pot. Roll the meatballs up and brown them in the oil over medium heat. I usually put them in the pot, then cover the pot and let them fry over medium heat for about 5 or 6 minutes. Then I remove the cover and use a large stainless spoon (the serving spoon that usually comes with a set of flatware) and I use the spoon to gently loosen the meatball from the pan and turn it over. I make sure that they are nice and brown on that side before I turn them over. If they’re not there yet, I cover and let them cook another minute or two and then check again.

Once they are all turned over, I cover the pot and let them cook another 5 or 6 minutes.  Then I remove them from my pot and make my sauce.