There are a couple of dishes my wife makes, and one of them is spaghetti and meatballs. Don’t get me wrong, but if you know me, when I eat something, I often think of two things; how can I make it better, and how can I make it cheaper. Also don’t get the wrong message here that I don’t like my wife’s cooking, because I do, and I do love it when she decides to cook for me. I will admit though that my wife uses sauce out of a jar, and a standard ground beef meatball. It was time to change this, and make an even more delicious meatball, along with a killer rustic sauce.
Keep in mind that I cook my sauce for at least 12 hours. There is just something about it. I have tried a 2, 4, and 6 hour sauce, and as they ok, there is something magical happens to the 12 hour sauce. The color, the texture, the smell. Oh my, lets get started.
Sauce:
- 2 cans of your favorite canned tomatoes; if whole, crush them with your hands
- 7 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup good red wine (something you would drink)
- 1 cup of beef stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 links, Ground Italian sausage, casing removed (optional)
Begin by warming the olive oil. Toss in your garlic, carrot, and onion. Cook down for nearly 6 minutes before adding in the tomatoes. Add in your basil, oregano, sugar, and wine. Salt and pepper (you will do this later as well to taste), then add your beef stock. If you are using sausage, add it now. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and walk away.
Here is the hard part on the sauce. You will simply want to go over to the pot and taste it. You will, and that is ok. It is good to taste often because you might want to flavor it a bit more with some salt, pepper, heck, maybe even some chili flakes, or a pinch of cinnamon. But, if you can, let it cook. The red turns into this killer brownish red color, it is amazing.
Ok, so lets say you can’t take it much longer, and you waited long enough, and the sauce has cooked for nearly 12 hours, and you are just ready to get into this thing. That is the time to make the meatballs, or as I say ‘Make a da meatball’.
Meatball Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 cups grated parmesan cheese
- 2 egg yolks; 1 egg white, 2 yolks
- 1/4 homemade breadcrumbs, or store bought
- 1 tbsp basil
- salt
- pepper
Take off your rings. Add everything to a large bowl, and get your hands mixing. Once you have thoroughly mixed everything, begin making your balls. This is the cool thing because you can size them as you want. I actually make them a bit larger than a golf ball. Once you have everything ready, heat about 4 tbsp of oil to a large skillet. Once the oil is heated, add in your meat balls, and begin to brown, and brown all sides if possible. Once browned, use a slotted spoon and migrate them over to the sauce. Let them cook in the sauce for about an hour. Trust me, just trust me, it is so good.
You know what to do now. Have a glass of wine and celebrate. You should, because you just created a really killer sauce, and some really amazing meatballs. The easy part is cooking your pasta to al dente. Once your pasta is done, plate it, ladle in your sauce and add a meatball or two and top with grated parmesan cheese. Repeat. Just kidding. But you will want to come back for more.
This makes for great leftovers as well. If you decide to not go the pasta route, get yourself a nice bun, add the meatballs and sauce, and top with some mozzarella or parmesan cheese.
Whatever the case, enjoy.