| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 10 min |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 80 small meatballs |
Ingredients
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs, finely processed
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup small-diced sweet onions
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for deep frying
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound sweet pork sausage, no casing
- 1 pound ground veal
- 10 ounces Parmesan, grated, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely minced, plus more for garnish
- 2 eggs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Basic Tomato Sauce, recipe follows
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 fresh basil leaves
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Two 32-ounce cans tomatoes, such as San Marzano, drained and put through a food mill or food processor
Instructions
- Soak the breadcrumbs in the heavy cream in a medium bowl.
- Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic with the canola oil in a large saute pan. Once the onions are translucent, add the rosemary and then chill the mixture thoroughly.
- Combine the soaked bread crumbs, onion and garlic mixture, pork, sausage, veal, Parmesan, parsley and eggs in the bowl of a large electric mixer. Begin mixing on low speed. When relatively well incorporated, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat a small saute pan to cook a sample of the mixture. Taste for seasoning and make any necessary adjustments.
- Form the meatballs with a medium scoop into small balls and chill for 1 hour.
- Fill a Dutch oven halfway with canola oil and heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 375 degrees F. Bring the Basic Tomato Sauce to a simmer in a separate pot.
- Deep-fry the meatballs in the oil until golden brown, then remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Transfer the meatballs to the tomato sauce and simmer until tender and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Garnish with cheese and parsley and serve.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat with the basil, garlic and red pepper flakes until the garlic begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the milled tomatoes, bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Turn off and chill until ready for use.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 80 servings |
| Calories | 87 |
| Total Fat | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 22 mg |
| Sodium | 123 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 80 servings |
| Calories | 87 |
| Total Fat | 7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 22 mg |
| Sodium | 123 mg |
Reviews
Real good meatballs. I took the suggestion from below & did not mix the panko & milk untilI I was ready to mix it all together or else it gets hard to work with. I freeze them & take them out as needed for dinner as there is only 2 of us – Thanks GZ!!
GZ, your recipe is perfect. The panko is supposed to soak up the heavy cream to give lots of moisture like none other. I make 9 pounds at a time, use ice cream scooper, freeze and then put into freezer gallon bags. I cook and bake weekly for my elderly neighbors and everyone loves this recipe. You got all 5 stars except for one below I guess who was having a bad cooking day. Your recipe is perfect. Now bring us a new meatball recipe that is Asian inspired.
Best meatballs I have ever had. I only used pork (because that’s all I had). So moist and delicious.
These are the best meatballs I’ve ever eaten or made. Followed the recipe exactly and they are a hit with family and friends. For the sauce I use Lidia Matticchio’s basic marinara. So delicious.
Very nice as are all of your recipes. Thanks for the meatballs.
GZ – I have been trying to find your enormous cheese souffle for two years. Can you give this old granny the recipe? Not the chocolate one, the spectacular and enormous cheese souffle I saw you make on Chopped After Hours. I want it. It’s on my bucket list. <3
Bucket List Granny
Oh, where to begin! This has to be the absolute WORST meatball recipe ever! So, so many errors in it. First of all, you need to know that I am an extremely experienced cook. I have been cooking for over 50 years! And yes, I followed the recipe EXACTLY–to a tee! Let’s begin with what’s wrong with it: 1) So, it begins by telling you to soak the panko breadcrumbs (which have been whirred in the food processor to make them very fine) in the heavy cream. You need to know that within five minutes, the mixture will have hardened into a ball akin to cement. Soo, when you try to mix it with the meat and other goodies in the mixer, it will be nearly impossible. You will have to work the whole mass with your fingers for a very l-o-n-g time to break it down to get it to mix with the meat. 2) So, it tells you to mix everything together in the bowl of a “large electric mixer”. The biggest KitchenAid should work, right? Wrong! It really is too much to handle; the mixture keeps riding up to the top of the bowl, even at low speeds. Try the dough hook, you say. Okay, I did. No better. Might as well get your biggest bowl out of the cupboard and do it all by hand. Not convenient! 3) Next mistake–deep frying! So, I cranked up the heat to 375°and dropped in a few meatballs and kept an eye on them. Within a few minutes, they had exceeded the “until golden brown” required. Not only that! The parmesan cheese leeched out into the oil, and I had to keep on skimming the burned cheese. This kept on happening, and by the time I had cooked 8 meatballs, I had ruined 2 full quarts of oil. Even if I strain it, there is no hope for it. It is ruined. Thankfully, I was able to save the rest of the meatballs by heating my oven to 400° and cooking them for 25 minutes. They do taste good. If you do not want to have the same experience, I recommend that you: A) Add less cheese; I’m thinking that 6-8 ounces would be plenty. B) Skip deep frying, and bake them instead. Add the panko and heavy cream separately to avoid having it turn into cement! Good luck! In closing, I want to mention that I am extremely disappointed in both Geoffrey Zakarian (whom I previously adored) and the Food Network, for not having properly tested this recipe. Shame on both!
I make these all the time-love them!! I bake instead of fry and always keep a bunch in the freezer. I usually double the recipe but when I do I find in better with less panko-3 cups instead of 4
Absolutely the BEST meatballs I have ever had!!! I substituted 1/2 lb ground chuck (instead of using the full lb of sausage). Debated on deep frying them but it was worth the effort. This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Best meatballs you will ever make !! Sunday family dinners have been a hit at my house!
Made these yesterday in the crockpot for a party and served as sandwiches with provolone cheese. Everyone raved about them! Keeping this recipe to use again.
One note (and totally my fault): I substituted regular bread crumbs for the panko and when i soaked them in milk they became really clumpy. I tried to make sure there were no large clumps as I was rolling them and no one seemed to notice. Next time I’ll stick with the panko.