How do you make your spaghetti with meatball sauce?

[scamhi]

@Dan Kravitz

Spaghetti - I buy some fresh pasta, whether spaghetti or not.
Dan Kravitz

I would never use a fresh pasta for something as hearty as red sauce and meatballs.
I tend to prefer fresh pasta with lighter preparations. ie: pesto, cream and tuna sauce etc.

As for the OP. I open 2- 28oz cans of san marzano tomatoes. remove and basil leaves and food mill them on a course disk.
slice 4-5 cloves of garlic thin and saute 1/3C olive oii. Add milled tomatoes and salt and cook until oil starts separating. 30-40 minutes

in my meatballs. I saute chopped onion and chopped garlic in olive oil until lightly brown and let cool. add to meat.
add fresh finely chopped italian parsley, grated parmesan, some panko and 1 egg per pound of meat.
I either bake at 350 on a sheet pan with parchment or saute in olive oil until crusty and brown all sides.

Add to sauce. cook in sauce 15-20min.

[Victor_Hong]

@johngonzales

My wife is half Sicilian. So I make it by following her orders.
We use 1/3 each of beef, veal, and pork. To me the key is really getting a crust on the fried meat balls. They soften back up with cooking in the sauce. We definitely put browned Italian sausage in too. We toss a couple of the meatballs in the sauce for the full, long cook. They will usually break up, at least partially, which deepens the sauce. Then we’ll put the rest of the meatballs in for less of the total sauce cooking process.

What about the recipe ingredients corresponding to her other half?

[Rob_S1]

1/3 each beef/veal/pork (about 3 lbs in total)
Maybe ½ a cup of Italian seasoned (probably just oregano and a bit of sage & thyme) panko crumbs
A half dozen heavy dashes of Worchester sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

I make golf ball sized meatballs and brown them heavily in a dutch oven. Really get a good crust. I usually add about a tablespoon of olive oil to get things going.

Then add a small diced onion into the fond. Once they are softened and starting to brown add two cloves of garlic (crushed or better, paper thin slices). Once they are aromatic I add a small can of good quality tomato paste and stir constantly until it starts to darken. Add about a cup of white wine and make sure the bottom is fully deglaced. Then add two jars of good quality pureed tomatoes (not sauce, the plain pureed Italian tomatoes). Then I add back the meatballs and juices and put it on super low for the afternoon with the lid on.

[johngonzales]

@Victor Hong

@johngonzales

My wife is half Sicilian. So I make it by following her orders.
We use 1/3 each of beef, veal, and pork. To me the key is really getting a crust on the fried meat balls. They soften back up with cooking in the sauce. We definitely put browned Italian sausage in too. We toss a couple of the meatballs in the sauce for the full, long cook. They will usually break up, at least partially, which deepens the sauce. Then we’ll put the rest of the meatballs in for less of the total sauce cooking process.

What about the recipe ingredients corresponding to her other half?

That would be generic, epicurean-absent Anglo, like my mom too. That side of each of our families is not strong on great dishes. Unless one loves pot roast.
Our meatballs are definitely bigger than a golf ball. But what is the next ball larger? A racquetball? Maybe not quite that large, perhaps 2” diameter.

[alan_weinberg]

@johngonzales

My wife is half Sicilian. So I make it by following her orders.
We use 1/3 each of beef, veal, and pork. To me the key is really getting a crust on the fried meat balls. They soften back up with cooking in the sauce. We definitely put browned Italian sausage in too. We toss a couple of the meatballs in the sauce for the full, long cook. They will usually break up, at least partially, which deepens the sauce. Then we’ll put the rest of the meatballs in for less of the total sauce cooking process.

i will do that. Too many of mine break up. Thanks.

[LoriMcLaughlin]

As taught by my Calabrian father —

Meatballs (polpette)- typically about the size of golf balls maybe a little bigger. Ground beef only (80/20) with an egg, lots of garlic salt, and ripped up stale bread. Maybe some worchestershire sauce. Bread crumbs are too fine. Fry to crispy crust but almost raw inside. It’s hard to save some of these for dinner. Never put in the sauce.

Sauce - presuming I’m not starting from fresh tomatoes-
Brown thin pork chops w bone in EVOO, salted with garlic salt. Remove.
Sauté sweet Vidalia onion, toss in some garlic near end of sauté. Add pork chops back along with chunks of pepperoni, chopped tomatoes, strained tomatoes, and tomato paste. Pour in some red wine. Add some basil, parsley, and oregano and Calabrian pepperonicini if you like some spice. Add small amount of sugar to taste. Bring to simmer and then turn down to low for several hours. Pork chops should fall apart tender. Watch so the bottom doesn’t burn. Add more wine if sauce is too thick.

I never use “spaghetti” usually capellini, lightly sauced, with the meatballs on the side. Hubby likes freshly grated Parmesan on top.

We only put beef in the sauce if making Bolognese. No exact measurements - judge by feel and taste - drives my aunt crazy. I really like the canned San Marzanos from Carmellina.

[Brandon_R]

I’ve tried many, but I always keep going back to Ina Garten’s meatballs. 1 lb. beef, 1/2 lb. each pork and veal, fresh breadcrumbs, dried breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, S&P and a pinch of nutmeg, Parmesan cheese. Brown VERY well in olive oil, discard the oil, sweat some onion and garlic, deglaze fond with wine (she uses red, I actually like white), add crushed tomatoes and simmer. Add balls later, and cook through.

Alan - ketchup in meatballs?!? Say it ain’t so!

[alan_weinberg]

@Brandon R

I’ve tried many, but I always keep going back to Ina Garten’s meatballs. 1 lb. beef, 1/2 lb. each pork and veal, fresh breadcrumbs, dried breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, S&P and a pinch of nutmeg, Parmesan cheese. Brown VERY well in olive oil, discard the oil, sweat some onion and garlic, deglaze fond with wine (she uses red, I actually like white), add crushed tomatoes and simmer. Add balls later, and cook through.

Alan - ketchup in meatballs?!? Say it ain’t so!

a couple Tblsp instead of tomato and sugar. Shhhh.

[Victor_Hong]

Ketchup also adds some acidity, via its vinegar component, to balance the meat fat. People who disdain ketchup are like those who use cream instead of butter, to avoid the fat of the latter.

[Brandon_R]

I don’t put any tomato or sugar in my meatballs, ketchup or otherwise. That was my point; not so much to slam ketchup. I don’t need or want a vinegar component in my meatballs, nor do I necessarily want acidity. I’ll leave that to the sauce where, I’m sorry Victor, I’m not going to use ketchup.

[Peter_Muto]

The way my mom makes it is a bit different. She makes the meatballs (size of a walnut) from a mixture of pork and beef (I’m pretty sure), stale bread, parsley. She puts them raw, into our standard sauce. Our sauce is onions, basil, tomatoes (canned by us in September).
So it ends up being close to Bologense but with solid pieces i.e. meatballs.
I think my Calabrian nonna fried the meatballs first, she was from Calabria unlike my mom (Bari).

[Merrill_Lindquist]

I use several different recipes, depending on what is on hand and my mood.

But has tomato paste become “ok?” Seems like many a serious home (or professional) chef totally avoided this stuff in the past. I never add it to any tomato sauce. Love to hear comments on this part of the subject.

[Victor_Hong]

I use tomato paste to add body to my pasta puttanesca.

But, then, I do not use ketchup on my steak.

[Merrill_Lindquist]

My early Italian cook books are Mother Leone’s, copyright 1967, with a forward by Dwight Eisenhower! Better than that, Jack Denton Scott’s “The Complete Book of Pasta.” Copyright 1968. My favorite. I have just received my third copy - the others have been worn to shreds. I think he would argue that if you use quality ingredients (tomatoes), and cook them properly, no tomato paste would be necessary.

[Victor_Hong]

How would you cook tomatoes into a dipping sauce, to pair with French fried potatoes?

[Ron_Slye]

@tcavallo

I do this once a month on a Sundays, usually about 2lb meat and 2lb sausage with some extra pork ribs for the texture they lend the sauce:

Meatballs are beef and pork mix with garlic, breadcrumbs, grated romano, an egg, salt and pepper. Also parsley when it is growing outside but I skip it rather than buy it in the winter.

Brown the meatballs along with hot and sweet Italian sausages and some pork spare-ribs or neck bones.

Remove all the meat, add olive oil if more fat is needed and a head’s worth of garlic cloves, crushed, then sprinkle in oregano and pepper flakes to taste, add 1 whole onion (if large, 2 if smaller), diced, and a whole carrot, diced, add salt and pepper, cook until onions are translucent.

Now add 1 small can of tomato paste and continue cooking. You’re building layers of flavor here so let everything get some color. Then deglaze the pan with some white wine, whatever is open, or red if that’s all you have. Add all this to a blender with one 28oz can of tomatoes and blend until smooth.

This mixture goes back into the pot with another 2 28oz cans of tomatoes, crushed or blended also, the meat and any drippings that have accumulated, and a bay leaf. Let that cook for the rest of the day, adjust seasoning as needed.

This was adapted and tweaked from my grandmothers recipe over the years, and it’s damn near perfect at this point. One important note is to use the best quality tomatoes you can find, or find a brand that you like and stick to them. We also can our own on the farm, but if I’m out, I really love the “Jersey Fresh” branded crushed tomatoes you can get in the tri-state area and they are usually cheaper than most REAL San Marzano tomatoes, and for me they make the best sauce (and pizza topping) of the grocery store options.

I mostly followed this recipe (I did not add all of the meatballs, noting the recommendation to add those later so they do not overcook). Yesterday was making the sauce. I have to say, I think this will be my go to recipe from now on. Near the end of the day it was heavenly. Later today I make the rest of the meatballs, then add them to the sauce, for I hope what will be a nice dinner tonight. Thanks for posting this. I really appreciate it!

On a related note, I have always used tomato paste. For those of you who seem to have strong opinions against, can you elaborate? The tomato paste I use is just concentrated tomatoes. It adds a richer, almost umami, flavor I find – particularly if it is cooked a bit as the recipe above recommends.

[Victor_Hong]

This sounds like a good reason for a double-blind meatball tasting offline.

[Ron_Slye]

@Victor Hong

This sounds like a good reason for a double-blind meatball tasting offline.

Lol. Sounds like a great plan!

[Victor_Hong]

The losers get magnums of vintage ketchup.

[cjsavino]

@Ron Slye

@Victor Hong

This sounds like a good reason for a double-blind meatball tasting offline.

Lol. Sounds like a great plan!

In