Baked or Fried Meatballs

For spaghetti, add to simmering sauce. Also great for meatball sandwiches or meatball pizza. For appetizers, stick a toothpick in them to serve on an appetizer plate or serve as appetizers in tomato or barbeque sauce. These freeze well–store extras in freezer baggies for later use.

Attribution Link

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: approximately 50 meatballs

Prep Time: 45 minutes   Cook Time: 5 minutes if frying, 30 minutes if baking  

Ingredients

sliced bread (8 slices if using regular storebought sandwich bread–or if using homemade slices that may be slightly larger, use 6)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons salt (or to taste)
1/2 cup dried or 1 cup fresh parsley
2 teaspoons pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3 pounds ground beef

Directions

Soak slices of bread one at a time in a bowl of water, dipping each side of the slices then tearing in pieces and placing in another bowl. Add remaining ingredients to bowl with bread. I like to get all the other ingredients together then add the meat. Mix ingredients together well with your hands then shape into balls.

To bake:
Place meatballs in greased pans and bake at 350-degrees for 30 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs. Test for doneness.

To fry:
Roll meatballs lightly in flour and fry in hot olive oil–approximately 5 minutes uncovered then another 3-5 minutes covered (depending on size of meatballs), turning frequently to brown on all sides. Test for doneness.

Makes approximately 50 meatballs.

Categories: Appetizers & Snacks, Beef, Kid-Friendly, Main Dish, Pasta

Submitted by: suzanne-mcminn on April 5, 2011