Sheryl's Special Parmesan Meatballs: The Best Meatball Recipe Ever
Ranked #1,589 in Food, #37,153 overall
Make Great Meatballs for Dinner
This meatball recipe is full of flavor and is perfect for spaghetti, homemade meatball subs, or as an appetizer. So read on for how to make the best meatballs ever!
History of the Recipe
I love to cook and experiment. A couple years ago I learned to make basic meatballs with ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, and milk. It was okay but nothing special so I started playing with it.
Very quickly I found out that cooking the meatballs on the stove in a sauce pan like the recipe stated was wrong. The meatballs stuck to the pan, sometimes burned a little, and broke apart when I moved them around to keep them from burning. So instead I decided that since many of the ingredients were similar to meatloaf that I could cook them in the oven like meatloaf just for a much shorter amount of time. It worked beautifully! Nicely formed meatballs with no burned spots.
First thing to go was milk, I'm lactose intolerant and while I can handle a hard cheese like Parmesan but milk even in small amounts is out of the question. First I substituted just beef broth, then replaced half the beef broth with red wine. Then I added Italian herbs and garlic. It was getting better.
The thing that made it though was replacing half the bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese. Pure meatball heaven.
Very quickly I found out that cooking the meatballs on the stove in a sauce pan like the recipe stated was wrong. The meatballs stuck to the pan, sometimes burned a little, and broke apart when I moved them around to keep them from burning. So instead I decided that since many of the ingredients were similar to meatloaf that I could cook them in the oven like meatloaf just for a much shorter amount of time. It worked beautifully! Nicely formed meatballs with no burned spots.
First thing to go was milk, I'm lactose intolerant and while I can handle a hard cheese like Parmesan but milk even in small amounts is out of the question. First I substituted just beef broth, then replaced half the beef broth with red wine. Then I added Italian herbs and garlic. It was getting better.
The thing that made it though was replacing half the bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese. Pure meatball heaven.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Beef or Turkey
- 1/2 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs or 1 Cup Fresh Bread Crumbs
- 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1/4 Cup Red Wine *Never use cooking wine, the rule is if you wouldn't drink it you shouldn't cook with it*
- 1/4 Cup Beef Broth
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Finely Chopped Large Clove Garlic
- 1 Tsp Each Oregano, Basil, Parsley, and Thyme. Use double if fresh.
- Salt to taste.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Mix ground meat and dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix wine mix and eggs together thoroughly in a small bowl and add to the meat mixture.
4. Grease 9"x13" or larger cake pan.
5. Form meat mixture into golf ball sized balls and place in rows in the cake pan.
6. Cook in oven at 375F for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
7: Remove from oven and serve.
Makes roughly 2 dozen meatballs.
For Pasta: Mix meatballs into marinara sauce about 5 minutes before serving. Serve over pasta of your choice, I recommend whole wheat pasta not only is it healthier is has a heartier taste that goes well with the meatballs.
For Subs: Place meatballs into sauce pan and pour just enough marinara sauce over the top to cover the meatballs, cook over medium heat until sauce is hot. Spoon meatballs into sub rolls, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and toast in an oven at 400F for 10-15 minutes.
Appetizer: Simmer in a crock pot with sauce of your choice until thoroughly heated. If guests are serving themselves leave the crock pot on warm.
2. Mix ground meat and dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Mix wine mix and eggs together thoroughly in a small bowl and add to the meat mixture.
4. Grease 9"x13" or larger cake pan.
5. Form meat mixture into golf ball sized balls and place in rows in the cake pan.
6. Cook in oven at 375F for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
7: Remove from oven and serve.
Makes roughly 2 dozen meatballs.
For Pasta: Mix meatballs into marinara sauce about 5 minutes before serving. Serve over pasta of your choice, I recommend whole wheat pasta not only is it healthier is has a heartier taste that goes well with the meatballs.
For Subs: Place meatballs into sauce pan and pour just enough marinara sauce over the top to cover the meatballs, cook over medium heat until sauce is hot. Spoon meatballs into sub rolls, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and toast in an oven at 400F for 10-15 minutes.
Appetizer: Simmer in a crock pot with sauce of your choice until thoroughly heated. If guests are serving themselves leave the crock pot on warm.
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Tell me what you think.
casamonika wrote...
Looks like you started a meatball lovers club - I'm in! 5*
Posted September 16, 2008
Treasures-By-Brenda wrote...
Great lens, once again. Meatballs though are too finicky for me but I love to eat them!
There is a large white area after your videos...do you know it is there? It disrupts the flow of your lens a bit.
Brenda
Posted August 14, 2008
badmsm wrote...
OOOOOO, shouldn't read lenses like this before lunch! 5 Stars!
Posted August 07, 2008
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