Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
here's my dad's response to me asking him for the meatball recipe for you. You betta reckanize:
I make the meatballs, but your mom is the quick gravy expert (it’s gravy, not sauce…what’s your last name REALLY? Oh yeah…you’ve been seen cutting your macaroni). I, of course, don’t have a meatball recipe, just an overview of the ingredients and process. Ya kinda gotta figure it out as you go along, including (yes, that’s right) tasting a concoction that includes raw eggs and raw meat (including pork). You can’t be a sissy and make meatballs. Here are the ingredients: equal parts ground chuck, ground veal, and ground pork (if you have a butcher who will grind them together, all the better), two eggs per pound of meat, Italian bread crumbs, fresh imported romano cheese (the whiter and sharper, the better – I like locatelli or pecorino), fresh chopped basil and parsley (don’t overdo the parsley – whatever that means – or it might overwhelm the other ingredients), pressed garlic, salt and pepper (but don’t forget that the cheese is a bit salty). Put all the ingredients in a big bowl and mush it all together thoroughly with your hands…you can’t do this with machines or utensils. The concoction should be “moist” (from the eggs which will bind it), but not too moist (the bread crumbs also act to help keep it together). There’s an old Italian apocryphal story that says you should through the meatball against the wall and if it sticks, it’s the right consistently. Too wet…they fall apart. Too dry…they’re, well, too dry. Here’s another tricky part. As mentioned above, you have to taste the raw meatball mix to ensure that it has the flavor and consistency you want. Don’t be scared. I’ve survived almost 60 years of doing this without so much as a tummy ache. You then roll them into whatever size you like. Some people use an ice cream scooper (weren’t you an old Baskins and Robinson’s ice cream gal?). Then they have to be “cooked.” You have three essential choices, each with their own special characteristics. First, you can sauté them in olive oil over medium/medium high heat in a non-stick pan (remember the cheese will melt and can stick). You don’t have to cook them all the way through because they will finish in the gravy. You need to brown them so there is a little bit of crust on them. Be careful not to burn them. This is probably the best way, but unfortunately the most labor intensive and time consuming. Option 2 is to heat the oven to about 375 degrees. Put the meatballs on a cookie sheet with low sides. “Bake” the meat balls until their done. You’ll have to turn them at least once. You’ll lose more cheese this way from melting and the crust won’t be quite as good, but it’s easy and not at all time consuming. Once done, the meatballs of course go in the gravy. The easiest method, but one I don’t like (for a reason I’ll mention later) is to simply put them raw into the gravy and let them cook in there. This, to my mind, makes them kind of spongy. The reason I like a bit of crust on the outside of the meatballs is that it allows them to cook in the gravy without really “soaking it up.” The crust essentially protects the meatballs from becoming spongy. There you have it. Big Daddy’s belabored tutorial on making one of God’s great all-time treats…the Italian meatball.
Love,
Big Daddy
I make the meatballs, but your mom is the quick gravy expert (it’s gravy, not sauce…what’s your last name REALLY? Oh yeah…you’ve been seen cutting your macaroni). I, of course, don’t have a meatball recipe, just an overview of the ingredients and process. Ya kinda gotta figure it out as you go along, including (yes, that’s right) tasting a concoction that includes raw eggs and raw meat (including pork). You can’t be a sissy and make meatballs. Here are the ingredients: equal parts ground chuck, ground veal, and ground pork (if you have a butcher who will grind them together, all the better), two eggs per pound of meat, Italian bread crumbs, fresh imported romano cheese (the whiter and sharper, the better – I like locatelli or pecorino), fresh chopped basil and parsley (don’t overdo the parsley – whatever that means – or it might overwhelm the other ingredients), pressed garlic, salt and pepper (but don’t forget that the cheese is a bit salty). Put all the ingredients in a big bowl and mush it all together thoroughly with your hands…you can’t do this with machines or utensils. The concoction should be “moist” (from the eggs which will bind it), but not too moist (the bread crumbs also act to help keep it together). There’s an old Italian apocryphal story that says you should through the meatball against the wall and if it sticks, it’s the right consistently. Too wet…they fall apart. Too dry…they’re, well, too dry. Here’s another tricky part. As mentioned above, you have to taste the raw meatball mix to ensure that it has the flavor and consistency you want. Don’t be scared. I’ve survived almost 60 years of doing this without so much as a tummy ache. You then roll them into whatever size you like. Some people use an ice cream scooper (weren’t you an old Baskins and Robinson’s ice cream gal?). Then they have to be “cooked.” You have three essential choices, each with their own special characteristics. First, you can sauté them in olive oil over medium/medium high heat in a non-stick pan (remember the cheese will melt and can stick). You don’t have to cook them all the way through because they will finish in the gravy. You need to brown them so there is a little bit of crust on them. Be careful not to burn them. This is probably the best way, but unfortunately the most labor intensive and time consuming. Option 2 is to heat the oven to about 375 degrees. Put the meatballs on a cookie sheet with low sides. “Bake” the meat balls until their done. You’ll have to turn them at least once. You’ll lose more cheese this way from melting and the crust won’t be quite as good, but it’s easy and not at all time consuming. Once done, the meatballs of course go in the gravy. The easiest method, but one I don’t like (for a reason I’ll mention later) is to simply put them raw into the gravy and let them cook in there. This, to my mind, makes them kind of spongy. The reason I like a bit of crust on the outside of the meatballs is that it allows them to cook in the gravy without really “soaking it up.” The crust essentially protects the meatballs from becoming spongy. There you have it. Big Daddy’s belabored tutorial on making one of God’s great all-time treats…the Italian meatball.
Love,
Big Daddy
