Secret Ingredient Italian Meatballs

Preheat oven to 400F.

Prepare baking pan: First, prepare a large pan for baking the meatballs. Brush it with some oil and set it aside for later.

Chop aromatics: use a fine grater or zester to mince the garlic cloves. For the onion, use a cheese grater to grate it into smaller pieces, or use a food processor to chop. However you cut them, you want them to be cut very small so they are evenly distributed throughout the meatballs.

Mix the ingredients: in a very large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, pork, breadcrumbs, parmesan, ricotta, chopped onion and garlic, eggs, parsley and basil, salt & black pepper. Use your hands to mix the ingredients completely together.

Form the balls: Then use your hands to divide the meatballs and roll them into about 2-inch balls. Repeat until all the meat is used, and place the meatballs on your prepared baking dish as you go.

Bake: then bake the meatballs for 18-20 minutes. Or Pan fry: If you prefer to do the traditional method of browning the meatballs, you can brown them in 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil for 2-3 minutes on each side. Then add them to your sauce and let simmer for 45-60 minutes to finish cooking.Note: my relatives always browned the meatballs, but I personally love baking them. You can go with either method!

Warm up the marinara: while the meatballs are baking, add your marinara to a saucepan or large pot and place on a gentle simmer.

Simmer in the sauce: once the meatballs are done in the oven, add them to the pot of marinara and let them simmer in the sauce for 30 minutes before serving!