Eggs, hot peppers, and sea salt in meatballs and spaghetti*

I was away for the day, and Kevin made meatballs — don’t you hate it when that happens?  He makes a mean meatball, not to mention the marinara sauce that goes with it.

Kevin’s Meatballs
(enough for a huge pot of marinara sauce)

4 t. vegetable oil, used 2 t. at a time
1 small onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
3 pounds assorted ground meat (see NOTE, below)
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs (we used the Italian-seasoned kind)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning or dried oregano
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 t. salt

In a small skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onions are very limp and beginning to brown, about 8-10 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the cooked onions and garlic, and mix everything thoroughly. Form the meat into balls that are slightly larger than a golf ball. Don’t pack them densely.

In a large skillet, heat the other 2 teaspoons of oil over high heat. Add as many meatballs as will fit, and brown them on all sides. Continue in batches until all the meatballs are browned.

At this stage, they are ready to be cooked in marinara sauce. Use whatever recipe you like (everyone has one), and simmer the meatballs in the sauce for at least an hour.

NOTE on meat: Kevin has made these meatballs with almost every combination of beef, lamb, pork, bison, and turkey. They key is to make sure to use a combination of fatty and lean meats. These were bison, lamb, and turkey, and they had a wonderful consistency.

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