As part of a series I’ve created for my ground beef partner Schweid & Sons I present to you NOT BURGERS! On this show I’ll give you great ideas for what to do with ground beef other than make burgers. Scroll to the bottom to see the video and follow along with this recipe…
Spaghetti and Meatballs are one of my favorite comfort foods of ALL TIME. For years I’ve tried to master the meat ball and never made balls I would brag about. That all changed after a visit to my mom one day. She too had been struggling with a recipe she liked. I happened to walk in to find big balls submerged in sauce. Her new recipe was perfect, but I embellished a bit with a slight Swedish tweak. It’s essentially a cross between Italian and Swedish meatballs BUT the only spice is salt, and the only meat is BEEF. The real magic happens when you submerge the finished balls into a red sauce and let it simmer for hours…
1 - large onion diced fine
4 - tbsp butter
1 - cup fine breadcrumbs
1/3 cup half+half
salt to taste
2lbs ground chuck
2 - large eggs
1 - cup grated parmesan
GEORGE’S BASIC RED SAUCE
1/4 cup olive oil
6 - cloves garlic pressed
2 - 28oz cans quality canned, diced tomatoes
salt to taste
heat oven to 400F
Sauté onion in butter, let cool. Mix breadcrumbs and half+half in bowl until it’s a paste. Add onion/butter mixture and a pinch of salt. Taste here. If it tastes awesome, you’re ready for the next step.
Add beef, eggs and parmesan and mix by HAND until uniform (no spoons here). Stick in fridge for at least 20 mins to cool.
Form the chilled beef mixture into balls, space in a large cast iron pan or baking dish, into the oven for 20 mins.
Make sauce while the balls are cooking. Open cans of tomatoes BEFORE starting. Olive oil in large pot (need extra room for your balls), medium heat and sauté garlic for 1 min until fragrant. DO NOT BURN GARLIC. Add tomatoes, stir and cook covered for 10 mins. remove from heat, pulse in blender for 3-5 seconds (or use immersion blender in pot). simmer covered.
Add finished balls to the sauce. This can sit on stovetop for hours, simmering….enjoy!