Well I finally hit on my mother’s meatballs, that is getting close to making them as she did, and tasting pretty dam close too!!!

I think the trick was in the frying of the meatballs, rather than in the ingredients.  Now there are a lot discussions about how exactly to fry the meatballs.  My mother fried hers until they were brown, and to me that was the best, so good we started eating them like that until we had to leave some for the sauce.  Other mamas  fried them lightly and put them in the sauce right away, and still others threw them in the sauce uncooked!  So it’s all about what you are used to, what skills you have, what your tastes are and simply what you are in the mood for.  But if you have been to my house while my mom was alive and you had her meatballs and that’s what you want to know about, then you have to fry them – brown!

DRY ingredients:

4-5 cloves of chopped fresh garlic, or however more you can endure,  (ok so if you use powdered garlic that’s your problem, but it won’t be like my Mama’s!)
5-6 tablespoons of chopped Italian parsley, (so you wanna pick the leaves off one by one, fine, I do that too, but next time I’m just chopping it all up starting from the top of the bunch, leaves and stems because it all has that strong parsley flavor, feel free to use more parsley!
1 cup of plain Italian breadcrumbs (don’t be cheeky and go for the seasoned,  WE ARE seasoning with FRESH ingredients!)
1 cup of grated Pecorino Romano cheese  (or until you can smell the cheese after mixing up the dry ingredients, stick your face close into that bowl like a good Sicilian and smell!!!)
Salt and pepper to your taste  (Check out the salt in your cheese, and use your testa to know how much, try to use the best pepper too, that tellicherry is my favorite)

WET ingredients:

3 eggs,

3 pounds of chopped meat, room temperature, in the following ratio of: 1/3 beef, 1/3 pork, 1/3 veal,  (so 1 pound each for this total amount) that should do it or make up your own combination.
Milk?  To tell the truth I do NOT remember my mom putting milk in the meatball mixture, however there are some who say it helps keep moisture, like adding wet slices of bread, which Mama Lina never did either.  So don’t do it,  then the next time you can try it and compare.  what does everybody here think?  Thank you.

Olive oil (or canola, corn, etc) to cover the bottom of the frying pan but enough to cook the meatballs in, a little up the side of the meatball please!

• In a medium stainless steel bowl add all the dry ingredients plus the eggs.  Mix and blend well.
• Next add the chopped meat which has been brought to room temperature.  Combine all, gently folding and mixing.  There is a belief that if you over-mix the chop meat your meatballs will be harder, or denser, drier, less moist, etc.
• Start making your meatballs (about the size of an ice cream scoop), and set them where you will have them ready to place in the heated fry pan.
•  Get your medium to big fry pan ready by adding a good amount of oil, I use regular oil and some olive oil.  Over a medium flame burner suitable to the size of your fry pan heat up the oil,  you will be able to smell the olive oil as it warms up….that’s heaven.
• Now your meatballs are all formed sitting on a plate and your pan is hot with oil!
• Place your meatballs in the pan starting in the center and going around in circular pattern being sure NOT to crowd them in, until the pan is filled.
• Is the oil crackling and spattering?  Good, get your splatter screen over them before you burn yourself in the eye.
• DO NOT MOVE the meatballs until you see them browning!!!  Then you can turn them over to brown the other side, but don’t move them once you turn them over.
• When your meatballs are browned, place them on paper towels on a paper plate to absorb excess oil, layering them with the paper towels.
• Now you can add them to your sauce or just pop them right into your mouth, like I used to every Sunday morning while watching Julia Child on Channel 13….. the original Food Channel!  Thank you very much!