Meatballs for Sauce

This is my mother’s recipe. Meatballs of this size are an American invention. Keep in mind that Italians don’t even put small meatballs (polpette) on their pasta but, rather, eat them by themselves or in soup. So, further adulterating their pasta with our tennis-ball-sized meatballs amounts to blasphemy. But, sacrilege or not, these meatballs taste great and provide the key flavoring for my mom’s tomato sauce. (And, yes, even her sauce defies many native Italians’ concept of tomato sauce, which is meatless.)

Over the years, some friends and family members have adapted the recipe for health or time considerations. I stick with the original ingredients and cooking methods, optimizing for taste. The eggs bind the meatballs together and add moisture. Browning off the meatballs in the Crisco oil seals in juices better than baking them does. (This step also helps keep the meatballs from falling apart later in the sauce.)

This recipe was originally scaled for three pounds of beef, but I’ve since increased it to avoid running out of meatballs. Believe it or not, I’m considering increasing it again—yes, the end result is that good.

6 large eggs

4.5 lb 85%-lean ground round

1.5 cups grated Pecorino Romano (though I usually add slightly more)

1.5 cups plain (unflavored) bread crumbs

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

3/4 tsp ground black pepper

3/4 tsp crushed red pepper

3/4 tsp salt

6 Tbsp curly parsley, chopped

Crisco vegetable oil (not the shortening)

1. Thoroughly mix all ingredients with hands. If you use a food processor to chop the garlic or parsley, I recommend using very short pulses to avoid over-chopping it.

2. Roll into 2-inch balls.

3. Fill a large frying pan with enough Crisco vegetable oil to reach a depth of 3/4 inch. (Make sure your frying pan is deep enough to accommodate over 1 inch of oil, though, since the level will rise once the meatballs go in. You can also use two pans at a time if you work fast!) You want the oil to be above the halfway-up mark on the meatballs. Heat oil over medium-high heat until it bubbles a little. I usually double this recipe and often have three frying pans going at once.

4. Add meatballs, quickly re-rolling each before placing in the oil. Make sure all sides get browned, slightly crisp, but not crunchy. I use two spoons to turn them. These will NOT be cooked through; they will finish cooking in the sauce.

5. Shake off excess oil as you remove the meatballs. Let them dry in a colander over paper towels as you continue browning your next batches of meatballs. If you find that later batches are cooking faster than that first one, lower the heat.

6. To discard the used oil, I wait for it to get close to room temperature, then dump it into a double-lined garbage container, then immediately throw that into the outside trash.

These can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Remember that these meatballs are NOT fully cooked!