Had dinner with someone the other night and the meatballs were pre-made
frozen from the supermarket. Ate one, hope to never have another. Got
me thinking, I miss the ones my wife made using Aunt Angie's recipe from
a couple of generations ago.

Being Italian, they usually had some good Italian bread in the house.
Set some aside to get stale.

For the meat, 50% beef, 25% veal, 25% pork. Yes, you can use all beef
but the mix is the best.

Soak the stale bread in water for about 15 minutes, then pull apart and
mix in with the meat. Add in some grated Parmesan cheese, salt and
pepper. Mix well, then form into balls.

In a pan, fry the meatballs to a nice outer crust. Of course, the sauce
has been cooking already for over an hour so just toss in the meatballs
as cooked. Serve in about an hour.

As an aside, since the sauce is cooking, you would have tossed in that
leftover pork chop or chicken breast too. Adds to the flavor.

On Friday, October 27, 2023 at 8:15:38 PM UTC-5, Ed P wrote:
>
> Had dinner with someone the other night and the meatballs were pre-made
> frozen from the supermarket. Ate one, hope to never have another. Got
> me thinking, I miss the ones my wife made using Aunt Angie's recipe from
> a couple of generations ago.
>
> Being Italian, they usually had some good Italian bread in the house.
> Set some aside to get stale.
>
> For the meat, 50% beef, 25% veal, 25% pork. Yes, you can use all beef
> but the mix is the best.
>
> Soak the stale bread in water for about 15 minutes, then pull apart and
> mix in with the meat. Add in some grated Parmesan cheese, salt and
> pepper. Mix well, then form into balls.
>
> In a pan, fry the meatballs to a nice outer crust. Of course, the sauce
> has been cooking already for over an hour so just toss in the meatballs
> as cooked. Serve in about an hour.
>
> As an aside, since the sauce is cooking, you would have tossed in that
> leftover pork chop or chicken breast too. Adds to the flavor.
>
I don't make meatballs, but I have cooked a portion of fresh hamburger meat
in a hobo pack. I've used breadcrumbs or even crushed saltine crackers soaked
in a bit of milk until they become mush. That and seasonings are mixed into
the meat and surrounded with onions and potatoes.

On Fri, 27 Oct 2023 21:15:32 -0400, Ed P wrote:

> For the meat, 50% beef, 25% veal, 25% pork. Yes, you can use all beef
> but the mix is the best.

TPTB have all removed veal from supermarkets here in Texas and
California. Eating babies that have been ripped out of their
wombs of their artificially-inseminated mothers, locked in dark
rooms for months, and fed Provimi... only to be ripped to shreds
for meat is very frowned upon by the sensitive-offended Karens who
run the show these dayz.

Any grocer that dare sell veal will have Molotov cocktails thrown
through their windows.

I kinda like the supermarket frozen meatballs. They're
highly-seasoned and greasy - great for sandwiches and pizza, but
not so much in a spaghetti sauce for pasta.

https://i.postimg.cc/V6pgckbJ/Meatball-pan-pizza.jpg

-sw

Ed P wrote:
> Had dinner with someone the other night and the meatballs were pre-made
> frozen from the supermarket. Ate one, hope to never have another. Got
> me thinking, I miss the ones my wife made using Aunt Angie's recipe from
> a couple of generations ago.
>
> Being Italian, they usually had some good Italian bread in the house.
> Set some aside to get stale.
>
> For the meat, 50% beef, 25% veal, 25% pork. Yes, you can use all beef
> but the mix is the best.
>
> Soak the stale bread in water for about 15 minutes, then pull apart and
> mix in with the meat. Add in some grated Parmesan cheese, salt and
> pepper. Mix well, then form into balls.

our tastes certainly differ as i do not like pork in
them and veal is an expensive addition for little
difference in flavor and texture, especially when you
don't mess them up with salt and pepper. really, if
your sauce is good you don't need that stuff. but
where you fall flat IMO is that there is no garlic,
onion or parsley and you can use milk instead of water
to soften the bread. a few eggs might also be used in
the mix.

> In a pan, fry the meatballs to a nice outer crust. Of course, the sauce
> has been cooking already for over an hour so just toss in the meatballs
> as cooked. Serve in about an hour.

we probably simmer the sauce at least three hours
and perhaps longer - just depends upon how much we're
making. tends to be two large pans so 5-6 gallons
of sauce and meatballs. no pan frying, we use trays
and bake them to brown otherwise it would take way
too long.

> As an aside, since the sauce is cooking, you would have tossed in that
> leftover pork chop or chicken breast too. Adds to the flavor.

the hell no, but if you want to flash the balls on
the grill to get some grill flavor after they've
browned a little i am ok with that, but really the
sauce and meatballs are fine without that and it's
an extra complication in the winter to get a grill
going.

songbird

On 2023-10-28, songbird <songbird@anthive.com> wrote:
> Ed P wrote:
>> Had dinner with someone the other night and the meatballs were pre-made
>> frozen from the supermarket. Ate one, hope to never have another. Got
>> me thinking, I miss the ones my wife made using Aunt Angie's recipe from
>> a couple of generations ago.
>>
>> Being Italian, they usually had some good Italian bread in the house.
>> Set some aside to get stale.
>>
>> For the meat, 50% beef, 25% veal, 25% pork. Yes, you can use all beef
>> but the mix is the best.
>>
>> Soak the stale bread in water for about 15 minutes, then pull apart and
>> mix in with the meat. Add in some grated Parmesan cheese, salt and
>> pepper. Mix well, then form into balls.
>
> our tastes certainly differ as i do not like pork in
> them and veal is an expensive addition for little
> difference in flavor and texture,

How would you know? You've never used it.

> especially when you
> don't mess them up with salt and pepper.

Salt and pepper doesn't mess them up.

> really, if
> your sauce is good you don't need that stuff.

I usually eat meatballs without sauce.

Here's the meatball recipe we use:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-italian-meatballs-3500767

For dry, seasoned bread crumbs, we make our own.

--
Cindy Hamilton

On 2023-10-28 10:02 a.m., Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On 2023-10-28, songbird <songbird@anthive.com> wrote:
>> Ed P wrote:

> Salt and pepper doesn't mess them up.
>
>> really, if
>> your sauce is good you don't need that stuff.
>
> I usually eat meatballs without sauce.

I prefer them with sauce.
>
> Here's the meatball recipe we use:
>
> https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-italian-meatballs-3500767
>
> For dry, seasoned bread crumbs, we make our own.

It seems odd that a cooking show recipe would suggest using seasoned
breadcrumbs. It is easy enough to season crumbs and better to have plain
crumbs that you can use as is or season to suit as required.

I used to save a lot of leftover stale bread. We had an Italian bakery
in town and I used to buy a loaf at least once a week, but since I don't
each much bread and my wife rarely has any, there was a lot of stale
bread. I would let it dry out completely and then put it through the
food processor to make crumbs. It was a surprisingly slow process and
with a low yield of crumbs. I came up and started breaking up the bread
and feeding it to the birds and buying tubs of ready make crumbs at the
bakery.

>

On 10/28/2023 8:18 AM, songbird wrote:
> Ed P wrote:
>> Had dinner with someone the other night and the meatballs were pre-made
>> frozen from the supermarket. Ate one, hope to never have another. Got
>> me thinking, I miss the ones my wife made using Aunt Angie's recipe from
>> a couple of generations ago.
>>
>> Being Italian, they usually had some good Italian bread in the house.
>> Set some aside to get stale.
>>
>> For the meat, 50% beef, 25% veal, 25% pork. Yes, you can use all beef
>> but the mix is the best.
>>
>> Soak the stale bread in water for about 15 minutes, then pull apart and
>> mix in with the meat. Add in some grated Parmesan cheese, salt and
>> pepper. Mix well, then form into balls.
>
> our tastes certainly differ as i do not like pork in
> them and veal is an expensive addition for little
> difference in flavor and texture, especially when you
> don't mess them up with salt and pepper. really, if
> your sauce is good you don't need that stuff. but
> where you fall flat IMO is that there is no garlic,
> onion or parsley and you can use milk instead of water
> to soften the bread. a few eggs might also be used in
> the mix.
>
>
>> In a pan, fry the meatballs to a nice outer crust. Of course, the sauce
>> has been cooking already for over an hour so just toss in the meatballs
>> as cooked. Serve in about an hour.
>
> we probably simmer the sauce at least three hours
> and perhaps longer - just depends upon how much we're
> making. tends to be two large pans so 5-6 gallons
> of sauce and meatballs. no pan frying, we use trays
> and bake them to brown otherwise it would take way
> too long.
>
>
>> As an aside, since the sauce is cooking, you would have tossed in that
>> leftover pork chop or chicken breast too. Adds to the flavor.
>
> the hell no, but if you want to flash the balls on
> the grill to get some grill flavor after they've
> browned a little i am ok with that, but really the
> sauce and meatballs are fine without that and it's
> an extra complication in the winter to get a grill
> going.
>
>
> songbird

When the original recipe was conceived in the early 1900s, veal was not
a rare and expensive as today.

As for falling short on the other item you mention, they are plentiful
in the sauce.

Aunt Angie would be horrified at the thought of grilling her balls.

On Sat, 28 Oct 2023 08:18:03 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
wrote:

>Ed P wrote:
>> Had dinner with someone the other night and the meatballs were pre-made
>> frozen from the supermarket. Ate one, hope to never have another. Got
>> me thinking, I miss the ones my wife made using Aunt Angie's recipe from
>> a couple of generations ago.
>>
>> Being Italian, they usually had some good Italian bread in the house.
>> Set some aside to get stale.
>>
>> For the meat, 50% beef, 25% veal, 25% pork. Yes, you can use all beef
>> but the mix is the best.
>>
>> Soak the stale bread in water for about 15 minutes, then pull apart and
>> mix in with the meat. Add in some grated Parmesan cheese, salt and
>> pepper. Mix well, then form into balls.
>
> our tastes certainly differ as i do not like pork in
>them and veal is an expensive addition for little
>difference in flavor and texture, especially when you
>don't mess them up with salt and pepper. really, if
>your sauce is good you don't need that stuff.

Everything needs the right amount of salt.

On Sat, 28 Oct 2023 12:41:53 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.xxx> wrote:

>On 10/28/2023 8:18 AM, songbird wrote:
>> our tastes certainly differ as i do not like pork in
>> them and veal is an expensive addition for little
>> difference in flavor and texture, especially when you
>> don't mess them up with salt and pepper. really, if
>> your sauce is good you don't need that stuff. but
>> where you fall flat IMO is that there is no garlic,
>> onion or parsley and you can use milk instead of water
>> to soften the bread. a few eggs might also be used in
>> the mix.
>>
>>> In a pan, fry the meatballs to a nice outer crust. Of course, the sauce
>>> has been cooking already for over an hour so just toss in the meatballs
>>> as cooked. Serve in about an hour.
>>
>> we probably simmer the sauce at least three hours
>> and perhaps longer - just depends upon how much we're
>> making. tends to be two large pans so 5-6 gallons
>> of sauce and meatballs. no pan frying, we use trays
>> and bake them to brown otherwise it would take way
>> too long.
>>
>>> As an aside, since the sauce is cooking, you would have tossed in that
>>> leftover pork chop or chicken breast too. Adds to the flavor.
>>
>> the hell no, but if you want to flash the balls on
>> the grill to get some grill flavor after they've
>> browned a little i am ok with that, but really the
>> sauce and meatballs are fine without that and it's
>> an extra complication in the winter to get a grill
>> going.
>>
>> songbird
>
>When the original recipe was conceived in the early 1900s, veal was not
>a rare and expensive as today.
>
>As for falling short on the other item you mention, they are plentiful
>in the sauce.
>
>Aunt Angie would be horrified at the thought of grilling her balls.

In the early 1900s aunts didn't have balls. That's a more recent
development.

Bruce wrote:
....
> Everything needs the right amount of salt.

i think it is often done too much out of
habit and it doesn't really enhance the flavor
to me.

like, i've never put salt on a salad. not
once in my life. the dressings usually have
that in there anyways but even if i were to not
use any dressing at all it would still be ok
and i'd not use it. i find that lettuces and
other vegetables have a lot of flavor of their
own. we've had a few people over for dinner
who would put salt on their food before even
tasting it (including their salads). i have
to come get the shaker from my room because we
don't use it enough to keep it in the kitchen.

we don't normally add salt to many things
here. the few exceptions are garlic toast and
when i fry a burger i like to use some garlic
salt for those. Mom pours a lot on her garlic
toast when she makes it (along with a lot of
butter) i probably use about 1/4 - 1/5 of what
she does.

same for pepper. this topic reminds me that
i should replace the pepper corns in my pepper
grinder as they are probably 15-20 years old.

songbird

On Sat, 28 Oct 2023 17:49:26 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>...
>> Everything needs the right amount of salt.
>
> i think it is often done too much out of
>habit and it doesn't really enhance the flavor
>to me.

Too much is bad, but eating food with no or too little salt is like
listening to music with the volume so low you can't hear it well :)

> like, i've never put salt on a salad. not
>once in my life. the dressings usually have
>that in there anyways but even if i were to not
>use any dressing at all it would still be ok
>and i'd not use it. i find that lettuces and
>other vegetables have a lot of flavor of their
>own. we've had a few people over for dinner
>who would put salt on their food before even
>tasting it (including their salads). i have
>to come get the shaker from my room because we
>don't use it enough to keep it in the kitchen.

I've never added salt to a salad either.

> we don't normally add salt to many things
>here. the few exceptions are garlic toast and
>when i fry a burger i like to use some garlic
>salt for those. Mom pours a lot on her garlic
>toast when she makes it (along with a lot of
>butter) i probably use about 1/4 - 1/5 of what
>she does.
>
> same for pepper. this topic reminds me that
>i should replace the pepper corns in my pepper
>grinder as they are probably 15-20 years old.

Maybe you like bland food.

On 2023-10-28 5:49 p.m., songbird wrote:
> Bruce wrote:
> ...
>> Everything needs the right amount of salt.
>
> i think it is often done too much out of
> habit and it doesn't really enhance the flavor
> to me.
>
> like, i've never put salt on a salad. not
> once in my life. the dressings usually have
> that in there anyways but even if i were to not
> use any dressing at all it would still be ok
> and i'd not use it.

People have different salt requirements and sometimes people need more
salt that others. I worked for a while in an alloy smelting plant and
we had salt pill dispensers. I learned to recognize when I needed salt.
I had never been one to add salt to my food, but I sometimes found
myself looking at a salt shaker and craving a lick of salt. There were
many hot summer days when I would lick the back of my hand, sprinkle
some salt on it and lick it and really enjoy the taste. I could not do
that if my body was not salt depleted.

Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2023-10-28 5:49 p.m., songbird wrote:
>> Bruce wrote:
>> ...
>>> Everything needs the right amount of salt.
>>
>>    i think it is often done too much out of
>> habit and it doesn't really enhance the flavor
>> to me.
>>
>>    like, i've never put salt on a salad.  not
>> once in my life.  the dressings usually have
>> that in there anyways but even if i were to not
>> use any dressing at all it would still be ok
>> and i'd not use it.
>
> People have different salt requirements and sometimes people
> need more salt that others.  I worked for a while in an alloy
> smelting plant and we had salt pill dispensers.  I learned to
> recognize when I needed salt.  I had never been one to add salt
> to my food, but I sometimes found myself looking at a salt
> shaker and craving a lick of salt.  There were many hot summer
> days when I would lick the back of my hand, sprinkle some salt
> on it and lick it and really enjoy the taste. I could not do
> that if my body was not salt depleted.
>

You've told that story so many times; I suppose working there
must have really fucked you up. It will be hard to get over it.

It's a type of PTSD.

Dave Smith wrote:
....
> People have different salt requirements and sometimes people need more
> salt that others. I worked for a while in an alloy smelting plant and
> we had salt pill dispensers. I learned to recognize when I needed salt.

true. when i'm sweating it out in the summer i
do need more. i find myself using more garlic salt.

> I had never been one to add salt to my food, but I sometimes found
> myself looking at a salt shaker and craving a lick of salt. There were
> many hot summer days when I would lick the back of my hand, sprinkle
> some salt on it and lick it and really enjoy the taste. I could not do
> that if my body was not salt depleted.

i've never gotten that bad but i think one summer
i really was dragging for a few weeks because i wasn't
getting enough salt.

songbird

Bruce wrote:
....
> Maybe you like bland food.

no, i eat hot sauces and bbq sauces and
spice things up pretty well if i'm cooking
for just me it is Mom who can't handle a
lot of spices.

i know how to cook many Indian, Thai and
Mexican style dishes and just happen to
have a bit of a hot chili pepper in my mouth
because i love the taste of actual chilis
(and not salt).

salt to me is like vinegar, i like it with
some things but i don't need a lot of it and
i really don't like sauces that are primarily
vinegar based. like if i make a mustard
based bbq sauce i don't want the primary
flavor to be vinegar. with so many foods
already having plenty of salt in them i often
avoid them for cooking because i know that i
won't want that much. home cooking really is
where i'm best. a bit of butter on many
things has plenty of salt added right there.

i was watching a vid yesterday of a guy
making a hot sauce and he put a few table-
spoons of salt in it. up to that point i was
ok, but i'd skip that - i want the chili
pepper flavor as the main attraction.

songbird

On Sat, 28 Oct 2023 19:56:24 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>...
>> Maybe you like bland food.
>
> no, i eat hot sauces and bbq sauces and
>spice things up pretty well if i'm cooking
>for just me it is Mom who can't handle a
>lot of spices.
>
> i know how to cook many Indian, Thai and
>Mexican style dishes and just happen to
>have a bit of a hot chili pepper in my mouth
>because i love the taste of actual chilis
>(and not salt).
>
> salt to me is like vinegar, i like it with
>some things but i don't need a lot of it and
>i really don't like sauces that are primarily
>vinegar based. like if i make a mustard
>based bbq sauce i don't want the primary
>flavor to be vinegar. with so many foods
>already having plenty of salt in them i often
>avoid them for cooking because i know that i
>won't want that much. home cooking really is
>where i'm best. a bit of butter on many
>things has plenty of salt added right there.
>
> i was watching a vid yesterday of a guy
>making a hot sauce and he put a few table-
>spoons of salt in it. up to that point i was
>ok, but i'd skip that - i want the chili
>pepper flavor as the main attraction.

I think that the right amount of salt makes the flavour of things come
out better. Unless you add too much, of course. I agree it's a bit
like vinegar. You don't want so much of it that you taste it instead
of what it's supposed to support.

On 2023-10-28, songbird wrote:

> i've never gotten that bad but i think one summer
> i really was dragging for a few weeks because i wasn't
> getting enough salt.

Did your muscles cramp easily? I have heard that is a symptom.

On 2023-10-28, songbird <songbird@anthive.com> wrote:
>
> salt to me is like vinegar, i like it with
> some things but i don't need a lot of it and
> i really don't like sauces that are primarily
> vinegar based. like if i make a mustard
> based bbq sauce i don't want the primary
> flavor to be vinegar. with so many foods
> already having plenty of salt in them i often
> avoid them for cooking because i know that i
> won't want that much. home cooking really is
> where i'm best. a bit of butter on many
> things has plenty of salt added right there.

Yeah, we're different there. Yesterday I ate some commercial
tortilla chips and salted them.
--
Cindy Hamilton

On 10/28/2023 8:25 PM, Bruce wrote:
> On Sat, 28 Oct 2023 19:56:24 -0400, songbird <songbird@anthive.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Bruce wrote:
>> ...
>>> Maybe you like bland food.
>>
>> no, i eat hot sauces and bbq sauces and
>> spice things up pretty well if i'm cooking
>> for just me it is Mom who can't handle a
>> lot of spices.
>>
>> i know how to cook many Indian, Thai and
>> Mexican style dishes and just happen to
>> have a bit of a hot chili pepper in my mouth
>> because i love the taste of actual chilis
>> (and not salt).
>>
>> salt to me is like vinegar, i like it with
>> some things but i don't need a lot of it and
>> i really don't like sauces that are primarily
>> vinegar based. like if i make a mustard
>> based bbq sauce i don't want the primary
>> flavor to be vinegar. with so many foods
>> already having plenty of salt in them i often
>> avoid them for cooking because i know that i
>> won't want that much. home cooking really is
>> where i'm best. a bit of butter on many
>> things has plenty of salt added right there.
>>
>> i was watching a vid yesterday of a guy
>> making a hot sauce and he put a few table-
>> spoons of salt in it. up to that point i was
>> ok, but i'd skip that - i want the chili
>> pepper flavor as the main attraction.
>
> I think that the right amount of salt makes the flavour of things come
> out better. Unless you add too much, of course. I agree it's a bit
> like vinegar. You don't want so much of it that you taste it instead
> of what it's supposed to support.

Salt and sugar are both good things to add at times. Just a little goes
a long way. Both are highly abused in almost all commercial food
products though.

Bruce has commented on the overuse of sugar. I've also noticed what
salt-bombs everything is.

I had a little 8-ounce frozen turkey dinner the other day.
It was tasty but only 240 calories. Everyone needs to eat way more than
that just to stay alive. This "appetizer" contained 57% of the daily
recommended amount of sodium. Good grief!

On Sunday, October 29, 2023 at 6:37:16 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
>
> I had a little 8-ounce frozen turkey dinner the other day.
> It was tasty but only 240 calories.
>
It mustn't have been much more than a hatchling.
Though I guess with genetic engineering...maybe
they spliced in some chickadee DNA.

--Bryan

Gary wrote:
....
> I had a little 8-ounce frozen turkey dinner the other day.
> It was tasty but only 240 calories. Everyone needs to eat way more than
> that just to stay alive. This "appetizer" contained 57% of the daily
> recommended amount of sodium. Good grief!

a few months ago Mom was talking about how she
wanted to buy some tv dinners and i recalled how
bad they were and asked her not to as we make
much better burgers of our own. she agreed with
me because i also reminded her of how much odd
smoke flavorings and other stuff they used in
them. she just can't eat that any longer without
her mouth blowing up. :(

songbird

Mike Duffy wrote:
> On 2023-10-28, songbird wrote:
>
>> i've never gotten that bad but i think one summer
>> i really was dragging for a few weeks because i wasn't
>> getting enough salt.
>
> Did your muscles cramp easily? I have heard that is a symptom.

no, i wasn't having that problem, just felt rather
wrung out. high heat and not being able to acclimate
really makes summer tougher than i could be. that was
the summer where i really decided i should lose about
30lbs. of that i've since peeled off 20lbs so i'm
getting there.

songbird

On Sun, 29 Oct 2023 07:36:30 -0400, Gary <g.majors@att.net> wrote:

>On 10/28/2023 8:25 PM, Bruce wrote:
>>
>> I think that the right amount of salt makes the flavour of things come
>> out better. Unless you add too much, of course. I agree it's a bit
>> like vinegar. You don't want so much of it that you taste it instead
>> of what it's supposed to support.
>
>Salt and sugar are both good things to add at times. Just a little goes
>a long way. Both are highly abused in almost all commercial food
>products though.
>
>Bruce has commented on the overuse of sugar. I've also noticed what
>salt-bombs everything is.
>
>I had a little 8-ounce frozen turkey dinner the other day.
>It was tasty but only 240 calories. Everyone needs to eat way more than
>that just to stay alive. This "appetizer" contained 57% of the daily
>recommended amount of sodium. Good grief!

Yes, I guess it's cheaper to get flavour from salt or sugar/HFCS than
from good ingredients.

On Sunday, October 29, 2023 at 11:21:40 AM UTC-4, songbird wrote:
> Mike Duffy wrote:
> > On 2023-10-28, songbird wrote:
> >
> >> i've never gotten that bad but i think one summer
> >> i really was dragging for a few weeks because i wasn't
> >> getting enough salt.
> >
> > Did your muscles cramp easily? I have heard that is a symptom.
> no, i wasn't having that problem, just felt rather
> wrung out. high heat and not being able to acclimate
> really makes summer tougher than i could be. that was
> the summer where i really decided i should lose about
> 30lbs. of that i've since peeled off 20lbs so i'm
> getting there.

I try for a dill pickle or Raisin Bran w/milk each morning

songbird wrote:

> Ed P wrote:
> > Had dinner with someone the other night and the meatballs were
> > pre-made frozen from the supermarket. Ate one, hope to never have
> > another. Got me thinking, I miss the ones my wife made using Aunt
> > Angie's recipe from a couple of generations ago.
> >
> > Being Italian, they usually had some good Italian bread in the
> > house. Set some aside to get stale.
> >
> > For the meat, 50% beef, 25% veal, 25% pork. Yes, you can use all
> > beef but the mix is the best.
> >
> > Soak the stale bread in water for about 15 minutes, then pull apart
> > and mix in with the meat. Add in some grated Parmesan cheese, salt
> > and pepper. Mix well, then form into balls.
>
> our tastes certainly differ as i do not like pork in
> them and veal is an expensive addition for little
> difference in flavor and texture, especially when you
> don't mess them up with salt and pepper. really, if
> your sauce is good you don't need that stuff. but
> where you fall flat IMO is that there is no garlic,
> onion or parsley and you can use milk instead of water
> to soften the bread. a few eggs might also be used in
> the mix.

I agree with the ground pork. We don't know the full recipe here so
probably had garlic and onion. May well have had eggs.

Bread soaked 15 minutes in water? Nope. That would just be a soggy
mess. I'd consider milk though I've not tried it.

> > In a pan, fry the meatballs to a nice outer crust. Of course, the
> > sauce has been cooking already for over an hour so just toss in the
> > meatballs as cooked. Serve in about an hour.
>
> we probably simmer the sauce at least three hours
> and perhaps longer - just depends upon how much we're
> making. tends to be two large pans so 5-6 gallons
> of sauce and meatballs. no pan frying, we use trays
> and bake them to brown otherwise it would take way
> too long.

I don't pan fry them or bake. A good meatball can cook in the sauce if
the sauce is good,

> > As an aside, since the sauce is cooking, you would have tossed in
> > that leftover pork chop or chicken breast too. Adds to the flavor.
>
> the hell no, but if you want to flash the balls on
> the grill to get some grill flavor after they've
> browned a little i am ok with that, but really the
> sauce and meatballs are fine without that and it's
> an extra complication in the winter to get a grill
> going.

Hell no from me too but for a different reason. He's got a really
tough pork chop and breast of chicken. They will both become just
wasted leather.