One-Pot Wonders

Most Tender Meatballs

by:
January 10, 2021
0
0 Ratings
  • Prep time 1 hour
  • Cook time 3 hours
  • serves 6
Author Notes

I’ve made meatballs hundreds of times, but when I made this one, I knew it was the best. A higher pork to beef ratio, and heavy cream did it. —Brussels Sprouts for Breakfast

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • for the meatballs
  • 1 pound Ground pork
  • 3/4 pound Ground beef (85/15)
  • 1/2 Yellow onion (finely diced)
  • 3 Cloves garlic (minced)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 3 tablespoons Heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons Course Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon Fresh ground pepper
  • for the sauce
  • 28 ounces Can diced tomatoes
  • 1 Jar passata
  • 1/2 Yellow onion (diced)
  • 4 Cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 tablespoon Dried oregano
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound Hot Italian sausage (bulk)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons Tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup Red wine
Directions
  1. Start with the sauce. In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and brown, breaking up as you go for 7 minutes. Remove from heat to a plate and set aside.
  2. Lower heat to medium low. Add the full onion for both the sauce and meatballs to the remaining sausage grease. Sauté for 3 minutes and add garlic. Sauté for 1 minute. Remove half of the onion and garlic mixture to a large mixing bowl for the meatballs.
  3. Add the tomato paste and red wine to the onions to deglaze any bits left, and bring to a simmer, reducing for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, passata, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, once simmering, add the ground sausage back.
  4. As the sauce comes to a simmer, make the meatballs. Combine all ingredients in the bowl with the onion and garlic — pork, beef, eggs, panko, heavy cream, Parmesan, mustard, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Mix very gently until combined. Ball into 1 - 1.5 inch meatballs and drop directly into the simmering sauce.
  5. Turn heat to very low, and let gently simmer for 3 hours. Serve alone or with pasta.
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