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finished meatballs my way in casserole dish with spoon

Meal-Sized Meatballs

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The secret to the tenderness of these meatballs is in the mixing method. Including bacon in the meat mix takes the flavor to a whole new level!
Servings 6 jumbo meatballs
Author Breathing and Cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 pound ground beef 85% lean
  • 1/2 pound bacon diced
  • 3 ounces crustless sourdough bread cubed (about 2 lightly filled cups)*
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2/3 cup shallot
  • 2 tsp minced garlic if you have roasted garlic it's wonderful here
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan divided
  • 1/2 cup lightly packed chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 TBSP Diamond Kosher salt*
  • Cracked pepper about 15 cranks
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds ground
  • 1/4 cup chicken bone broth
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 28 ounces marinara sauce*
  • 2 pounds blanched fresh green beans*

Instructions

  • Place bread cubes in a large bowl (big enough to hold all ingredients), pour milk over and squish with your hands until no lumps remain and the bread is more like a slushy dough. Let stand 10 minutes.
  • While milk/bread mixture sits chop shallot, shred parmesan, chop parsley and dice bacon.
  • Process chopped bacon and shallots in food processor until coarsely ground. If you don't have a food processor just make sure to chop both ingredients very fine.
  • Into bowl with soaked bread add bacon, shallot, garlic, 3/4 cup parmesan, parsley, kosher salt, cracked pepper, egg yolks, oregano, fennel and bone broth. Mix very well until everything is evenly distributed.
  • Add 1/4 of the ground beef to the mixture in the bowl and combine until completely incorporated. You don't need to worry about over-mixing at this point.
  • Now that your base mixture is combined, break up the remaining ground beef with your hands as you gently combine it with the ingredients in the bowl just until evenly distributed. Do not overmix. Mixing in this way will keep the meatballs tender.
  • Divide mixture into 6 portions and shape each into a large meatball with your hands. You can wet your hands a little to make it easier to shape if they're very sticky
  • Place meatballs on a lined baking sheet (I use parchment, foil works, too) and chill for 30 minutes. This firms up the meatballs so that they don't flatten while cooking.
  • After meatballs have chilled, bake in a 400 degree F preheated oven 20 minutes
  • Reduce oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Place partially cooked meatballs in a casserole dish and pour sauce over to come halfway up sides, top each with a little shredded mozzarella and reserved parmesan and continue baking 25 minutes. Check internal temperature of meatballs, they should be 160° f
  • Top with fresh parsley and serve over blanched green beans with additional sauce

Notes

  • I use the Costco grass fed ground beef which comes in 1 1/3 Lb packs
  • Using sourdough bread adds a nice tanginess. You can use any firm white bread instead of sourdough.
  • Aways use Diamond Kosher salt in my recipes unless otherwise stated. If you're using table salt decrease to 1/2 tsp.
  • I like the flavor of shallots, you can substitute yellow onion if preferred
  • For the marinara you can make your own or use a jarred sauce. See my post on A Tale Of Three Red Sauces
  • To blanch green beans see my post on Simple Blanched Green Beans