Meatballs and Meat Sauce

Sundays in Brooklyn: we’d loiter in the kitchen like cats at the fish market, watching my grandfather frying meatballs at the stove, hoping to get some straight from the pan. They were destined for the sauce, but we liked them better when they were still crispy and you could hold them like an apple in your hand. When my dad did the frying, he’d let a few cook a little longer for us so we could eat them—the ones for the sauce did not have to cook all the way through. 

There was some rivalry as to who made the better meatballs—my grandfather or my dad. My grandfather made his in the Sicilian style, with pignoli and (if I remember correctly) raisins, though he typically made some plain for us kids. I don’t know who, if either, made the better meatballs, but we always told Dad his were the best. We knew where our bread was buttered!

And speaking of bread, I typically use some breadcrumbs in my meatballs, but Dad insisted the secret to great meatballs was stale Italian bread, which he would soak in milk or water. He’d squeeze it out and tear it up and add it to the meat. Bread is sacred to the Italians, and they’ll find a way to use it even if it’s stale. Still, that seems like more effort than it’s worth, to me.

I do believe there’s a secret to great meatballs, but it’s not bread—it’s time. You need to let them sit for a few hours or overnight to let the garlic and spices suffuse through them. 

I should mention that meatballs were rarely the only meat that went into the sauce—there was also sausage and braciole (rolled up flank steak). These would all be taken out and served separately, alongside the pasta (typically ziti or rigatoni) with the sauce. In fact, what we called “meat sauce” was not sauce with meat in it (that’s a Bolognese) but rather this sauce, which was cooked with meat that was subsequently taken out. Also, meatballs are traditionally made with ground beef, pork, and veal. Ground veal is almost impossible to find nowadays (and probably very expensive if you do), but you can often find ground pork in the market. I typically use about a two-to-one ratio of beef to pork, but you can play with the proportions. Don’t try turkey—it’s too dry.

You can freeze the leftover sauce for when unexpected guests arrive for dinner. You probably won’t have any leftover meatballs, but if you do, they make great sandwiches—put them on a crusty roll and top them with a bit of mozzarella. 

There’s nothing more archetypically Italian(-American) than spaghetti and meatballs, so you need to learn how to make these! Though as I said, we would typically use a short tubular pasta, rather than spaghetti. 

Note: the measurements are really just estimates—you can modify to make this recipe your own. 

At this point, you can make the sauce: pour off the oil in the pan, and fry a few sausages (if using). Remove the sausages. Proceed with the basic marinara recipe: add some minced garlic and chopped onion, carrot, and celery to the pot. Sautee for a few minutes. Add chopped and crushed tomatoes, a half cup of wine, a cup of stock, and cook over moderate heat. Add the meatballs and sausage and simmer for another hour or so. 

Remove the meat and arrange on a platter. Serve beside (or after) a bowl of pasta (penne, ziti, rigatoni) with the meat sauce.

Buon appetito!