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Rosemary Meatballs

Meatballs are one of those very versatile recipes that everyone should have in their repertoire. Once you learn the basic recipe you can change up the ingredients to make Italian, Asian, spicy, turkey, chicken…. the combinations are endless. These are my Rosemary Meatballs that are super easy. They are baked in the oven and can be frozen raw or cooked.  They go great with mashed potatoes, in tomato sauce, in a hoagie roll, or on a platter with toothpicks… They make a great weeknight dinner or dinner party appetizer.

These meatballs are a combination of pork and beef which is pretty traditional for Italian meatballs, but the addition of rosemary takes it in a different direction. You can still serve these with pasta and tomato sauce and it will be AMAZING, but they are amazing on their own as well. Another benefit of making this recipe is it calls for a lot of garlic so your house will smell amazing while it is cooking. There are a few things that make people come running to the kitchen, sizzling bacon, sautéing onions and garlic.

I serve these with mashed potatoes, but if you don’t have time to make homemade potatoes then just buy the pre-made ones in the deli or frozen section of your grocery store.

A few tricks to making the perfect meatball:

1-Season with salt! You need about 1 teaspoons per pound of meat.  If you add in Parmesan you can cut back on the salt-you don’t want them too salty.

2-Binders-you need binders to keep the balls together but you don’t want them dense. Eggs and breadcrumbs are the two binders.  Rule of thumb is 1 egg per 2 pounds of meat and 1/4-1/2 cup of breadcrumbs.

3-Mixing-you want to mix the meat well, but you do not want to over mix.  Do not use a spoon, use your hand.  And it is best if you use your least dominate hand to mix. The more you mix, squish, stir the meat the denser your meatballs will become.

4-Portion-you want your meatballs all the same size and the best way to do that is to use an ice cream scoop. I use the 2oz scoop (yellow handle), but use whatever you have. And if you don’t have an ice cream scoop then use your hands and try to get them all about the same size so they cook evenly.

Enjoy and as always send me your questions or thoughts!

Rosemary Meatballs
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Rosemary Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes

Oven baked Rosemary Meatballs come out juicy and tender every time! A must have staple in every kitchen.

Servings 4

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1 lb 80%/20% ground beef
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 Tablespoon oil (olive or canola)
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic (divided)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Mashed Potatoes

  • 6 medium sized Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 2/3 cup milk or heavy cream or half and half
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Meatballs

  1. Preheat oven 400 degrees

  2. In a small skillet heat oil over medium high heat.

  3. Saute onion in oil until soft, about 3 minutes. Add 3 cloves minced garlic to onions, cook for about 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. 

  4. In a large mixing bowl, combine beef, pork, egg, bread crumbs, rosemary, parsley, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and onion mixture. 

  5. Mix well but do not over mix. 

  6. Using an ice cream scoop portion out about 15 meatballs. Roll in the palm of your hands to form round balls. 

  7. Place meatballs in greased 3qt. baking dish. 

  8. Slice remaining garlic clove and place slices in between meatballs. Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. 

  9. Serve with mashed potatoes. 

Mashed Potatoes

  1. In a medium sized stock pot add cubed potatoes to COLD water. Place on stove and turn heat to high. Once the water starts to boil add about 1 Tablespoon salt to water.

    Boil for about 8-10 minutes or until the potatoes are able to be mashed with a fork. Drain and pour into a mixing bowl.

    Add rest of ingredients to potatoes. Using an electric hand blender, blend until all lumps are gone.

    Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.

    If you are making this in advance, when you reheat just add a bit more milk before microwaving.  

Recipe Notes

If you don't have time to make homemade mashed potatoes then buy the pre-made at the grocery store.  Either in the deli section or frozen section. 

Needed Items