What I mean to say is that I they don't taste like hamburger. And that's exactly the way I like them. There is cheese and egg and bread and bread crumbs and it's just this wonderful mixture of ingredients.
But I've always been intimidated by the thought of actually making them. I'd watched my grandmother mix the ingredients, acting on intuition and years of experience, making them near-perfect every single time. And the thought of making them (and knowing I was probably going to fail) absolutely depresses me. But I gave them a shot, anyway. Yeah, they didn't taste exactly like grandma's meatballs. But they actually came out well.
Grandma's Meatballs
(Quick disclaimer: there aren't actual amounts associated with this recipe...but I'll try to estimate what I added in to it)
Ground beef
Pecorino Romano Cheese
Breadcrumbs
Italian bread (soaked in water, with the crust peeled off)
Garlic, minced
Eggs
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
1. Soak the Italian bread in water, and peel off crust.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. I added about 2lbs of ground beef, a cup of cheese, a cup of bread crumbs, the soaked bread, 3 eggs, 2 cloves of minced of garlic and a pinch of oregano, salt, and pepper.
3. Mix them until well blended. Now, here's the kicker: I taste it. Yeah, raw egg and raw beef. Blah blah blah. If you don't like the taste, you need to add more...cheese, salt, breadcrumbs. Something.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking pan with Pam. Roll the meat into 1.5 inch balls and place in baking pan.
5. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce (see previous entry for recipe) and heat on low for 30 minutes.
Granted, I did call my grandmother freaking out in the midst of the mixing of the ingredients, because it just wasn't tasting the way I wanted it to taste. My grandmother's quick fix? Add more cheese...
Buon Appetit!
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