Giuseppe's Famous Meatballs Recipe

There's nothing like the aroma of these meatballs cooking on the stovetop as a wonderful Italian meal is being created. These days I use ground turkey for the base, but you can use ground beef, a pork/beef mixture, or whatever you prefer.

DIRECTIONS

1. Place one package of ground turkey in large mixing bowl. If you are using turkey, make sure it's around 94% lean -- don't get the 99% variety as it will be too dry.
2. Finely chop half of a yellow onion, about 1/2 cup. Add to mixing bowl.
3. Press 2 cloves of garlic into the bowl. Add 2 eggs, about 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, and generously season with dried oregano, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. With your hands (Yes, this will be messy) mix the ingredients together. Don't overdo it, just mix enough to combine everything evenly. If the mixture seems a little too wet, you can add more breadcrumbs.
5. In a large skillet or saute pan, heat a couple turns of olive oil over medium heat. For convenience, you may want to have this slowly heating while you are hand mixing.
6. Form meatballs (roughly the size of a golf ball) and place into saute pan. Now, go wash your hands!
7. Cook the meatballs over medium heat for about 15 minutes turning frequently to brown all sides. Don't overcook, they will firm up as they cook, but should still have some give to them when you do a press test. Some people like to do meatballs in the oven, but I prefer to have the slight crunchy texture you get by doing them in a pan.
8. These meatballs freeze very well. I'll typically package the leftovers in groups of 2 for a quick addition to sauce any time.

INGREDIENTS

Ground turkey, 94% lean

2 cloves garlic, pressed (or 1/2 teaspoon Luff Farms Garlic Powder)

2 eggs

Yellow onion, finely chopped

Dried oregano

Parmesan cheese

Breadcrumbs

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil