Sunday Sauce and Meatballs

Sunday Sauce and Meatballs

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • ¼ cup bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 10 cracks black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon yeast extract (optional)

Sauce

  • 1 onion, thinly-sliced
  • 5 cloves garlic, thinly-sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • Parmesan rind (optional)
  • cured pork, such as fat back, prosciutto scraps or bone, salame nub, or bacon skin (optional)

    Sunday Sauce and Meatballs Content

    Prepare meatballs. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix by hand until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not overwork. Form meatballs into about the size of a golf ball. Place on a greased sheet pan and roast until slightly browned, about 10 minutes. 

    Prepare sauce. Add oil to a deep saute pan or braiser on medium low heat and sweat onions and garlic until completely soft. Season with several pinches of salt. Turn up the heat to high and add tomato paste, stirring to coat the onions and garlic and cooking for 3–4 minutes. Add wine and stir for 1 minute, scraping up browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add crushed tomatoes and parmesan rind and cured pork, if using. 

    Turn down heat to low. Add in meatballs and simmer uncovered gently for about 2 hours. When sauce is done, remove parmesan rind and cured pork. Serve with spaghetti or solo.