Two Types of Meatballs from a Brooklyn Cookbook

Name: Meatballs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 pound ground meat (beef, pork, veal, or a combination); 2 large eggs; 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped, optional; 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional); 1/2 cup freshly grated cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, or Pecorino Romano); 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; Extra virgin olive oil, for dipping; 2 cups pure olive oil, for frying (if frying)

The author of an Italian cookbook with Brooklyn Roots shares her recipe for meatballs that has various uses and preparations.

By Cathy Coluccio Fazzolari

9:00 AM EST on February 25, 2025

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Meatballs frying in the kitchen of Cathy Caluccio Fazzolari. Photo by Daniel Paterna.

In our house, Sunday would not be a Sunday without meatballs. My mother usually made two types—fried and simmered in sauce. We always added the uncooked meatballs directly into the cooking sauce.

She always made meatballs in batches of 13, in honor of St. Anthony’s Feast Day.

The mini version of these meatballs is used in my recipe for Chicken Soup with Little Meatballs and available in my cookbook, The Italian Daughter's Cookbook.

Meatballs

Recipe by Cathy Caluccio Fazzolari

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

1 pound 1 ground meat (beef, pork, veal, or a combination)
2 large 2 eggs
1/2 cup 1/2 breadcrumbs
1/4 cup 1/4 fresh parsley, finely chopped, optional
2 2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
1/2 cup 1/2 freshly grated cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, or Pecorino Romano)
1/8 teaspoon 1/8 freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, for dipping
2 cups 2 pure olive oil, for frying (if frying)

Directions

In a large bowl, add the ground meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley and garlic (if using), grated cheese, and pepper.
Thoroughly mix all the ingredients with your hands.
Place a small amount of oil in a small bowl.
Dip your fingers in the oil and then spread the oil in the palm of your other hand.
Take a piece of the meat mixture and roll it in the palm of your hands until it is uniformly round (the medium meatballs should each be about the size of a golf ball; the mini meatballs should each be about the size of a shelled hazelnut).
When all the meatballs are formed, they can be added directly to your sauce or fried according to the instructions below.
To fry meatballs**
In a 10-inch frying pan, add oil (about ½-inch in depth) and heat for 3 to 4 minutes on medium-high heat (to test the oil, place a pinch of the meatball mixture in the oil; if it begins to sizzle, the oil is ready).
Add the meatballs in batches and continue to fry on medium heat until brown on all sides.
Remove from the pan and place on a paper-towel lined dish to absorb excess oil.
Serve warm or at room temperature.