Italian Meatballs with Beef and Pork

Preheat oven to 475ºF.

Combine all of the ingredients (except sauce) in a large mixing bowl and mix with your hands until ingredients are just evenly combined. Take care not to over-mix.

Roll the meat into individual meatballs. I typically use about 1/8 cup of the meatball mix for each meatball, but feel free to adjust meatball size to your preference.

Bake in a 475ºF oven for about 10 minutes on each side, which will brown the meat. You will need less time if your meatballs are smaller than 1/8 cup or more time if your meatballs are larger. I prefer to use a cast iron pan for this step, but if you don’t have one, a baking sheet also works well.

Transfer meatballs to the stovetop. If you used a cast iron pan you can continue to cook in the same pan. Transfer meatballs to a pot if you used a cookie sheet. Gently simmer in your favorite fresh or store bought tomato sauce for at least 20 minutes, but for as long as 2 hours for a more tender meatball.

Note: To freeze and cook in a crockpot, after baking the meatballs in the oven, completely cool and then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag (note that they are not completely cooked in the center, so no snacking). On the morning you plan to eat the meatballs, place them (while still frozen) in a crockpot with tomato sauce and cook all day on the low setting.