Chef John's Italian Meatballs

Homemade meatballs are a very easy to make, and since we skip the very messy step of pan-frying these before they hit the sauce, it becomes downright simple. Here I use a standard half-beef/half-pork mixture. You can substitute water or beef broth for the milk, if preferred.

Ingredients

• 0.3333333333333333 cup plain bread crumbs
• 0.5 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs
• 0.25 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 0.5 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Steps

1. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; stir in onion. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking and stirring until onion is very tender, about 15 minutes more.
4. Gently stir beef and pork together in a large bowl (do not overmix). Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
5. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
6. Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.