Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

I love a great meatball, but they can be hard to find. I am almost always disappointed when I order them at restaurants. They are all too frequently tough or bland, and even worse, both. I have been making my own meatballs for a few years now, and I think I have finally perfected the recipe. These are great with or without the mozzarella inside. I hope you try them and love them as much as I do!

Ingredient List

1 1/2 Lbs Ground Beef

1/2 Lbs Ground Pork

2 Large Eggs

2 Dollops of Ricotta

1/2 Cup of Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Bunch of Parsley, chopped (Curly or Italian)

1/4 Cup Dry Oregano

4-5 Cloves of Garlic, minced

1/2 Medium Onion, finely chopped

2 Teaspoons of salt

2 Teaspoons of Pepper

1/2 Loaf of French Bread

1 Pint Buttermilk

1 8oz Container Fresh Mozzarella, cherry size

Supply List

1 Large Mixing Bowl, chilled

2 Baking Sheets

1 Mixing Spoon

1 Knife

1 Cutting Board

Measuring Utensils

1 Medium Bowl or Deep Plate

Ice Cream Scoop

• You will want to start by placing your large mixing bowl in the refrigerator to chill.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Peel the cloves of garlic. I remove the ends, press on the clove with the palm of my hand or the flat blade of my knife, and the papery peel should come off with ease. Finely chop or mince the garlic and scoot aside. You can use canned minced garlic if you do not have any fresh cloves.
• Wash 1/2 of your bunch of parsley. I usually use Italian parsley due to the flatter leaf. Holding the bottom of the stem with one hand, use your other hand to slide up the stem removing the leaves. It is perfectly okay for some stem to remain with the leaves. After the bulk of the stems have been removed, chop the parsley and move aside.
• Wash and finely chop approximately half of a medium onion. It is important to finely chop or your meatballs may fall a part. I made that mistake only once.

• Take half a loaf of french bread and rip it apart. The pieces of bread can vary in size but should fall within a range of a fifty cent piece to a dime in size. Place the pieces of bread in a bowl or deep plate. Shake the buttermilk before opening. Pour the buttermilk over the bread covering all the pieces. You want all the bread chunks to get enough buttermilk that they become soggy.

Remove your large mixing bowl from the refrigerator. Place in the bowl the following ingredients:

• Ground Beef
• Ground Pork
• Eggs, cracked
• Ricotta
• Parmesan
• Dry Oregano
• Garlic
• Parsley
• Onion
• Salt
• Pepper

Add the soggy bread bits to the bowl. If there is lots of excessive buttermilk, remove with a light squeeze of your hands, before adding to the mixing bowl.

Mix until combined, but be cautious not to over mix.

I suggest halving the mozzarella balls. I found that when I used the whole ball it would almost always ooze out of the meatball during the baking phase. Cutting the mozzarella in half fixed the problem and still gives you a tasty treat on the inside.

I like to portion my meatballs with an ice cream scoop, but you could also use a spoon and eyeball it. With your scoop or spoon, take your first portion of meatball. Place a halve of mozzarella in the center of the meatball mixture. Wrap the meatball mix around the mozzarella enclosing it in the center. Roll the ball in your hands making a nice smooth and even ball. Place on a baking sheet and repeat. Once your baking sheet if full move on to the next step.

Once your oven is preheated to 425 degrees, place your baking sheet in the center of your oven. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip the meatballs over. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 minutes or until lightly golden brown. At this point, the meatball should be cooked all the way through. I add mine to my marinara sauce and cook on low until ready to serve.

This recipe will yield approximately 32 meatballs. They can be added to your favorite marinara sauce and topped on spaghetti. They also make a delicious meatball sandwich. They can be frozen and enjoyed at a later date? If you don't eat them all!