Italian Herb Butter Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

About This Recipe

This is a classic Italian-American meatball preparation -- a beef and pork blend bound with breadcrumbs soaked in milk (a panade, which keeps the meatballs tender) and simmered gently in tomato sauce rather than fried first, letting them finish cooking directly in the sauce so they absorb its flavor. The addition here is a spoonful of garlic-herb butter worked into the meat mixture, adding richness beyond what egg and breadcrumbs alone provide. The technique that separates tender meatballs from tough ones is the panade -- soaking bread or breadcrumbs in milk before mixing it into the meat -- combined with gentle, minimal mixing by hand. Overworking ground meat develops the proteins too much and makes for a dense, bouncy meatball rather than a tender one. Simmered low and slow in a simple sauce of San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, and basil, these meatballs are Sunday-dinner Italian-American cooking at its most comforting, served over pasta or piled onto crusty bread for meatball subs.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 0.5 cupfresh breadcrumbs
• 0.33 cupwhole milk
• 500 gground beef
• 250 gground pork
• 1egg
• 0.5 cupParmesan(grated)
• 2 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 0.25 cupparsley(chopped)
• 1.5 tspsalt
• 4 tbspbutter(softened)
• 1 clovegarlic(minced, for herb butter)
• 1 tbspfresh basil(chopped, for herb butter)
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1onion(diced)
• 2 cansSan Marzano tomatoes(400g each, crushed by hand)
• 0.25 cupfresh basil(torn, for sauce)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the herb butter

   Mix softened butter with minced garlic and chopped basil until combined. Set aside.

2. 2

   Soak the breadcrumbs

   Soak breadcrumbs in milk for 5 minutes until fully absorbed.

3. 3

   Mix the meatballs

   Gently combine beef, pork, soaked breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesan, garlic, parsley, salt, and half the herb butter. Mix minimally by hand until just combined.

4. 4

   Shape and chill

   Form into 20 meatballs, about golf ball size. Refrigerate 15 minutes to firm up.

5. 5

   Start the sauce

   Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion 6-7 minutes until soft, then add hand-crushed tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes.

6. 6

   Simmer the meatballs

   Gently add meatballs to the simmering sauce, cover, and cook 25-30 minutes, turning once, until cooked through.

7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Stir in remaining herb butter and torn basil off the heat. Serve over pasta or with crusty bread.

Variations

• •

  Add a handful of grated Pecorino along with the Parmesan for a sharper, saltier flavor.

• •

  Use all beef or all pork if you prefer a single-meat meatball, adjusting salt slightly.

• •

  Bake the shaped meatballs at 200C/400F for 15 minutes before adding to the sauce if you prefer a firmer exterior.

Storage

Refrigerate meatballs and sauce together up to 4 days; the flavor deepens overnight. Freezes well up to 3 months. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat.

Frequently Asked Questions