South Philly Style Meatballs

    Main

    Serves 4-6 PEOPLE
    Preparation Time 10 MINUTES
    Total Time 40 MINUTES
    difficulty EASY

    What you Need:

    • 1 lb ground beef (80/20)

    • ½ lb ground pork

    • ½ lb ground veal

    • 4 ounces Pecorino Romano

    • 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano

    • 1 cup Italian style breadcrumbs

    • ½ cup parsley (chopped finely)

    • 4 eggs

    • salt and pepper to taste

    • ¼ cup vegetable oil for pan frying

    • ½ tsp granulated garlic

    Method

    Step One

    Place all 3 ground meats in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, parsley, both grated cheeses, breadcrumbs, granulated garlic, one teaspoon kosher salt, and a small amount of cracked pepper (all ingredients besides the oil). 

    Step Two

    Using your hands, mix everything together until the parsley is spread evenly throughout the mix. This should not take more than 30 seconds. Test a small spoonful of the mix for desired salt level. Use the pan that you will be using to fry the entire batch. You can then roll the balls , about the size of a small ice cream scoop. You may use a scoop if you want all of your meatballs to be the same exact size, but they still must be rolled in your palms.

     

    Step Three

    Place a small bowl of water next to your meatball mix. Dip your hand in the water before you roll the balls. You don’t have to dip before each one, I usually do it once for every 2 or 3 meatballs. Have the entire batch rolled out before you begin to fry.

     

    Step Four

    Heat your frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl it around the pan. Gently place the meatballs around. Leave at least an inch of room in between each one so that you can turn it without disrupting the others. Check the middle meatball by turning it over with a spoon, after a minute or two. If the meat is browning too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Turn each meatball every few minutes until all the sides are browned. Do not try to fry all of the meatballs at once! This amount of meat will require at least two batches, maybe three, depending on the size of your frying pan. You should not have to add any extra oil after the first round.

    Step Five

    While the meatballs are frying, grab a large plate and lay two sheets of paper towels over top. After frying, let the meatballs rest on the paper towels to absorb the extra oil. You are now ready to either eat them all, or just a few…

     

    Serving Suggestion

    I like to add most of the fried meatballs to my pomodoro sauce (recipe here). Slowly braised in the sauce and sprinkled with some Pecorino Romano, it’s hard to go wrong.