The BeardedHomeCook
The Most Tender Meatballs you have EVER made.
Updated: Dec 8, 2020

3-Meat Meatballs with Creamed Ricotta
Ingredients
1/2 lb ground chuck (80/20 meat to fat ratio)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
2 eggs
1 cup fresh breadcrumb (3-4 slices of bread with crusts removed)
1/2 medium onion (diced)
1/2 cup whole milk (may not use all of this)
1/4 parmesan cheese (grated fine)
1/4 cup of parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 qt sauce (try my Sunday Sauce recipe)
Shredded parmesan to top (can add romano and/or asiago)
Minced parsley to garnish
Creamed Ricotta
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp salt
(Add reserved milk 1 TSP at a time to get desired consistency)
Bring all ingredients out of the refrigerator to allow temp to raise to room temp.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Use food processor to turn bread into bread crumbs. Pulse to make sure they are large grind (larger than panko breadcrumbs).
Move bread to a small bowl and add onion to processor. Mince on low until done. Add eggs and 1/4 cup of parsley to processor and return to low until eggs well scrambled.
Add meats to large mixing bowl and create a well in the middle. Add 1 cup of breadcrumb, garlic powder and mix gently. Add egg/onion mixture to bowl and mix gently. Add 1/4 cup of milk and reserve the rest to adjust wetness. DO NOT OVER WORK THE MEAT MIX. It will get tough and create chewy meatballs.
Meat should form soft but not sloppy meatballs. Add more breadcrumb to firm a wet mixture, add more milk to soften a dry mixture.
Make 12 even meatballs approx. 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter. Keep sizes uniform. Uneven sizes means uneven cooking.
Place balls in non-stick baking dish with room between them for even cooking.
Place in oven and set timer for 20 minutes. Cooking times will vary by oven and meatball size. Add 5 minute intervals as needed to have some browning on the meatballs.
Heat tomato sauce on small saucepan on low (adding cold or room temp sauce will slow the cooking process).
Once meatballs are to temp, remove and place on a plate. Clean out any grease in the pan and return meatballs to pan. Top each with approx. 1 TBSP of sauce. Cover surfaces and leave remaining sauce in saucepan for plating. Bake meatballs for 5-8 minutes.
Add ricotta and salt to small bowl and mix with whisk. Add small amounts of milk to get desired custard-like consistency. If you go to far, either add more ricotta or some grated parmesan to thicken. Keep ricotta mix in refrigerator until ready to plate.
Once meatballs are out of the oven, plate 3 or 4 to a bowl and add enough sauce to coat.
Add ricotta mix to the side of the bowl as a garnish.
Finish garnish with shaved cheese and parsley. SERVE.
Family meals are one of the things we have all missed over the last several months. Whether you are all getting together, or can make these and deliver them as a surprise, nobody will be disappointed. It's super easy and so delicious. Best part is you made it for them. That goes a long way which is why we made them home-made-easy for you.
It's your turn. ARE YOU READY?
Video available below...
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