Recipe by our Mother, made & photographed by Rachel
This recipe comes from our one and only Chachi Momma (as we lovingly call her). I have put it into my own words, because she knows this recipe so well she can make it with her eyes closed! Her version still always come out better than mine, but mine is pretty darn good. This recipe makes a lot of sauce, so you will need a very large pot, or you can do what I do and use two different ones.
I made this for our 1st Anniversary dinner and it was fabulous - Ed even said that the meatballs were the best he'd ever tasted...sorry Mom, I took all the credit that night!
I served this with regular old spaghetti since the sauce is pretty much a one-man-show, and this great semolina bread recipe that Miranda sent me a while back, that I broiled for a couple minutes with olive oil and fresh grated Parmesan. And of course, we had to have dessert, so we followed this dinner with insane three layer brownies....
I made this for our 1st Anniversary dinner and it was fabulous - Ed even said that the meatballs were the best he'd ever tasted...sorry Mom, I took all the credit that night!
I served this with regular old spaghetti since the sauce is pretty much a one-man-show, and this great semolina bread recipe that Miranda sent me a while back, that I broiled for a couple minutes with olive oil and fresh grated Parmesan. And of course, we had to have dessert, so we followed this dinner with insane three layer brownies....
Shopping List:
Fat Back or Salt Pork: about four 1/8 inch thick slices. If your butcher or grocery store does not carry this you can substitute olive oil for it.
Two cloves of garlic; cut up the garlic in thin slices, pour a teaspoon of salt on it and smash it up with a fork and set aside.
Two pounds of ground beef: You can use less meat if you want fewer meatballs, the thing to remember is for each pound of beef you need 1 egg to make the meatballs
Italin flavored bread crumbs: you will only need enough to soak up the egg, if you are using 1 pound of meat it's about 1/2-3/4 cups and if you use 2 pounds of meat you will need about a cup of bread crumbs.
Eggs; 1 egg per pound of meat that you are using for the meatballs
1 16 oz can of tomato sauce
Two 46oz cans of tomato juice
One 46oz can of whole or crushed tomatoes
One cup of water
Italian seasoning; my mother uses about 3 teaspoons, I use about 5 teaspoons
Parmesan cheese; anywhere from a 1/2-2 cups, depending on your taste, I use about a cup
One carrot, peeled and uncut
Two big onions, chopped/diced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Fat Back or Salt Pork: about four 1/8 inch thick slices. If your butcher or grocery store does not carry this you can substitute olive oil for it.
Two cloves of garlic; cut up the garlic in thin slices, pour a teaspoon of salt on it and smash it up with a fork and set aside.
Two pounds of ground beef: You can use less meat if you want fewer meatballs, the thing to remember is for each pound of beef you need 1 egg to make the meatballs
Italin flavored bread crumbs: you will only need enough to soak up the egg, if you are using 1 pound of meat it's about 1/2-3/4 cups and if you use 2 pounds of meat you will need about a cup of bread crumbs.
Eggs; 1 egg per pound of meat that you are using for the meatballs
1 16 oz can of tomato sauce
Two 46oz cans of tomato juice
One 46oz can of whole or crushed tomatoes
One cup of water
Italian seasoning; my mother uses about 3 teaspoons, I use about 5 teaspoons
Parmesan cheese; anywhere from a 1/2-2 cups, depending on your taste, I use about a cup
One carrot, peeled and uncut
Two big onions, chopped/diced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions:
Heat the fat back in a deep fry pan until the fat begin turning to liquid. Remember, if you couldn't find fat back/salt pork or you don't want to use it, you can use about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
In a large bowl, mix the smashed garlic clove/salt mixture with the egg (s) and just enough breadcrumbs to create a wet looking, mushy consistency. Add the ground beef to the egg/breadcrumb mixture and mix together well (I use my hands to mash it all up - it's gross but it works the best!). Form small, golf ball sized balls, with your hands, being careful to not pack them too densely, otherwise the sauce will not be able to cook through them.
Add the meatballs to the pan of fat back/salt pork or olive oil, whichever you are using, and brown them on all sides. Once they are browned on all sides, take them out of the pan and set aside.
After all of your meatballs are browned, scrape the pan to loosen up the brown bits left from the meatballs. Add the chopped onions to the meatball pan and cook until onions are tender, stirring often.
While the onions are cooking, fill a large, deep pot with the tomato sauce, tomato juice, whole/crushed tomatoes, water, Italian seasoning, parsley, and carrot. Bring this mixture to a boil.
While the onions are cooking, fill a large, deep pot with the tomato sauce, tomato juice, whole/crushed tomatoes, water, Italian seasoning, parsley, and carrot. Bring this mixture to a boil.
*I had to split mine up in 2 pots since my largest pot wouldn't fit everything...it spits and spatters a lot, so try to resist cleaning until it's done cooking!
Once the onions are cooked and the sauce mixture is boiling, add the onions and meatballs to the boiling sauce. Simmer for about three hours, uncovered. The sauce will cook down/thicken over time. Stir every once in a while to ensure the sauce it not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Towards the end of the three hours, add the Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the carrot and serve.
Notes:
The carrot is added to cut down on acidity, remove it when you are finished cooking the sauce. When my mother learned how to make this sauce, the Italian woman named Stella who taught her would brown a few pork chops along with the meatballs, and cook them in the sauce as well, which also adds a lot of good flavor. Another meat my mother has often added it sweet and hot Italian sausages. If you want to use sausage, simply brown them as you would the meatballs, and add to the sauce when the instructions have you add the meatballs.
The real Italian way to serve this is to take out all the lumps before serving, by either pureeing or pouring the sauce through a mesh strainer after cooking. Our family usually keeps the lumps and pieces in the sauce for a thicker, heartier sauce.
Have fun and make it your own, after, of course you try it our mother's way!
Notes:
The carrot is added to cut down on acidity, remove it when you are finished cooking the sauce. When my mother learned how to make this sauce, the Italian woman named Stella who taught her would brown a few pork chops along with the meatballs, and cook them in the sauce as well, which also adds a lot of good flavor. Another meat my mother has often added it sweet and hot Italian sausages. If you want to use sausage, simply brown them as you would the meatballs, and add to the sauce when the instructions have you add the meatballs.
The real Italian way to serve this is to take out all the lumps before serving, by either pureeing or pouring the sauce through a mesh strainer after cooking. Our family usually keeps the lumps and pieces in the sauce for a thicker, heartier sauce.
Have fun and make it your own, after, of course you try it our mother's way!
