Pop Pop's Italian Meatballs
Homemade beef meatballs made with a mixture of ground beef and Italian sausages or you can do all beef! Easy to make, so delicious, and so many options on how to use them!
Servings: 24 meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 Italian pork sausages (casing removed) optional
- ½ cup romano (or parmesan) cheese grated
- 1 tbsp fennel seed
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ cup stale Italian bread or baguette soaked in water or milk & drained well
- ¼ cup Italian flat leaf parsley chopped
- 3 eggs
Instructions
- To prepare the stale bread mix, in a medium size bowl, add in the bread and cover it with water or milk. Milk is more authentic. This will soften the bread. Let it soak for a few minutes and then squeeze as much excess moisture out as you can.
- In a separate large bowl, add in all of the ingredients. Ground beef, sausage (casings removed), bread mixture, romano, fennel seed, sea salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and eggs.
- Mix well with your hands or a wooden spoon until everything is incorporated together.
- On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, roll out 24 meatballs.
- You can cook the meatballs in the hot pasta sauce. All you do is drop the meatball in the HOT sauce and let them cook for about an hour or until cooked through. This is my preference.
- Or you can fry them in a large skillet with avocado oil or vegetable oil. Just brown on all sides and cook until done in the center.
- Last option is baking them. Definitely not authentic, but is an option! You can bake them in the oven at 375F degrees until the internal temperature reaches around 145F degrees.
- Serve with your favorite sauce and pasta, on a hoagie roll for a meatball sub, or however you desire! Enjoy!
Notes
For Storing: Let cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days!
For Freezing: Once cooled, store in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.