These savory meatballs are fun to make together and delicious for dinner tonight or next week!

Ingredients for Meatballs

  • 3/4 lb Ground Beef
  • 3/4 lb. Ground Pork
  • 1/2 Cup Toasted Bread Crumbs
  • 2/3 Cup Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1.5 Teaspoons Fresh Thyme, chopped
  • 2 Egg Yolks
  • Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
  • 1/2 Medium Size Onion, finely minced
Our daughter loves to help Dad feed the beef and pork cubes through the mixer’s grinding attachment and then watch the meat ooze out the other end. When dad’s not around, I am happy to buy it in a package already ground!

She also enjoys forming (and even more, eating) the meatballs with us. The extra help makes light work of this recipe which usually makes 35 – 40 meatballs!

 Instructions

STEP 1

Heat oven to 400°. Mix all of the ingredients except the milk and the egg yolks together. (If you have a Kitchen Aid or other electric mixer, you can use that, a spoon, or even clean hands work great, too.)

STEP 2

Beat the egg with the milk and add to the meat mixture. Combine well and let rest for 15 minutes to a half hour. This step gives the mixture time to bind together so it will form good meatballs.

STEP 3

Line a cookie sheet with foil then set an oven-safe rack inside it. Spray with non-stick oil of your choice.

STEP 4

Roll the meat mixture into 1″ balls and place on the rack. (Note: baking the meatballs on a rack allows them to brown evenly, but this is the reason why the onion needs to be very finely minced. We have found that if the onion is too big, the meatballs fall between the racks, get stuck, and even sometimes fall apart.)

STEP 5

Bake in the oven at 400° for 35 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.

STEP 6

Enjoy with your favorite sauce or serve with linguine and our favorite Cream Sauce with Shallots and Thyme.

Meatballs Make-Ahead Tip

Make a double, or even triple, batch of meatballs, cool and freeze on racks then transfer to freezer bags for a quick weeknight meal. Meatballs can be tossed in the slow cooker still frozen. Add your favorite sauce and serve over pasta or rice. If you are really in a rush, pick up some buns at the store and make a quick Italian meatball hoagie.