Mama Iuliucci's Famous Meat-A-Balls (Italian Meatballs)

"Here it is, my mom's FAMOUS Meatball recipe! This is THEE most requested of her for anything, anywhere! Whenever there is a shower, birthday, christening, etc., someone is asking for 150 to 200 of her famous meatballs. :) Of course, she always says yes! She is not one for "exact" measurements (a little of this, a dash of that), so I tried the best I could to adapt her recipe. Of course, these are best served with My Mama Iuliucci's "Don't Skip a Step" Spaghetti Sauce recipe #26947, but I have used jazzed-up jarred sauce and they are still great. However, meat-a-balls like these deserve a homemade sauce, in my humble opinion!"
 
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photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Anonymous photo by Anonymous
photo by run for your life photo by run for your life
photo by The 500 Chef photo by The 500 Chef
Ready In:
30mins
Ingredients:
10
Yields:
36 meatballs
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ingredients

  • 2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 8 -10 slices white bread, broken into small 1/2 inch pieces (or you can use rolls or any stale bread you have and want to use up)
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 12 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon italian seasoning (or to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons parsley flakes (or to taste)
  • 14 - 12 cup grated parmesan cheese (or Locatelli)
  • 1 -2 teaspoon salt
  • 14 - 12 teaspoon black pepper
  • olive oil (for frying) or vegetable oil (for frying)
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directions

  • Mix all ingredients gently in a large bowl until well combined.
  • Roll meatballs 1 1/2- 1 3/4" in diameter.
  • Heat about 1/4" of oil over medium heat in a large frying pan.
  • Fry meatballs in oil, rolling frequently, until evenly browned and juices run clear.
  • Drop meatballs in your favorite sauce (I highly recommend My Mama Iuliucci's"Don't Skip a Step" Spaghetti Sauce recipe#26947) and let simmer for awhile to flavor sauce or just serve with your favorite pasta and sauce.
  • Tip: You can also bake or broil these if the frying part is too much of a hassle-- I use my broiler pan if I bake them, so the fat drips down and away from the meatballs.

Questions & Replies

  1. I would love to try the meatball recipe but as I have celiac disease I can’t use bread. Could you let me know the amount of gluten free breadcrumbs that I could use instead? Thank you for your time.
     
  2. when you say Italian seasoning what does that consist of.?
     
  3. Hello all, I have a quick question. I am a relative novice cook and intend to make these meatballs tonight. That said i need to bake them but am curious how long and at what temp i should do this? I appriciate any input and wish you all a great day.
     
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Reviews

  1. Excellent meatballs! I did make my own spaghetti sauce, by the way...wouldn't have it any other way! They were very easy to make too. One change I did make was baking the meatballs instead of frying. It is so much easier that way! (I have 3 kids running around here, so easy is key in my cooking!) Other than that, didn't change a thing. Thanks for a great recipe, Karen!
     
  2. They were easy and delicious. They made my "same ol' spaghetti" into SPAGHETTI AND MEAT-A-BALLS!! Great the next day after sitting in the sauce all night. Thanks.
     
  3. These were the closet to how my Mom made meatballs that I have come across. No more store bought meatballs for me!
     
  4. I baked I didn't fry; and I used breadcrumbs I keep in the freezer, chunky ones. LOVE these. I had a slice of meatball pizza in new york recently and have been craving meatballs ever since. Made my own embellish-the-jar-type sauce. Not sure I've ever even made meatballs before...other than appetizers. I do need to work on my technique though...the meatballs on the pizza I had were so light and lovely. This is a great flavor ball!
     
  5. Great meatballs, Karen! I had pasta and sauce on hand, but wanted something extra. I had one pound of ground beef, so I halved the recipe. Seared them on the outside, then threw them in the oven for a quick finish. Very moist and tasty!! Family loved them, and I'll make these again! Thanks!
     
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Tweaks

  1. Great recipe, delicious meat-a-balls! Instead of Italian seasoning, I used 1/4 tsp each of thyme, oregano and basil. I served it over angel hair pasta with Recipe #47491. Thanks! It was a hit with kids and adults!
     
  2. After a huge fail using another meatball recipe, I made some using this one. The only change was using sweet bread rolls instead of regular bread, which made the meatballs just a tad bit sweeter. The process was very easy to follow and these meatballs were very easy to cook. My daughter took one bite and proclaimed her dislike of meatballs changed! Along with a great meat sauce recipe found online, these paired up very nicely! Thanks for the great recipe!
     
  3. These were great! I halved the recipe since there is only two of us and we still had plenty of leftovers. The only change I made was to use 1/4 c. italian breadcrumbs instead of the bread since I didn't have any stale bread around. I baked at 375 for about 20 min.
     
  4. Very delicious. I used cilantro instead of parsley. Used also bread crumbs instead of bread. The meat balls were very delicious. By the way i fried them and used spaghetti sacuse and ate them with spaghetti. I don't think i have ever had such delicious meatballd before. Thanks for posting such a good recipe. I'm sure it will become a favorite in the family.
     
  5. Now the sauce was fantastic (5 Stars), however, I felt that the actual meatballs were a little bland and could have used more spices or flavoring. I tried making this dish a second time using a different meatball mixture from another recipe and keeping the rest of the sauce and meatball recipes the same, and it came out much better the second time. Instead of using sliced bread, I substitued about 1/2 cup of Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, and I increased the amount of parsley flakes from 2 tsp to 1/4 cup, and the garlic powder from 1/2 tsp to 1 full tsp. The meatballs were a lot more flavorable the second time around. Also, I used Kosher salt instead of regular table salt - 2 tsp of Kosher. As a side note, I read in several other recipes that call for sliced bread instead of bread crumbs, to soak the bread first in a little milk or cream until softened before adding to the meatball mixture. I bet that if you did that and also added the Italian seasons, and maybe 1 tbs instead of only 1 tsp, and let them soak together and meld, that would help out a lot. Lastly, I've read that for your meat, you can also use a mixture of beef and ground Italian sausage and/or veal to change it up too.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I live in Pa (outside of Philadelphia) and cooking, baking, cross-stitching and reading are my hobbies. <br /> <br />I collect cookbooks and cookie stamps/cutters and have a pretty big collection of both. I am also a fan of all things Amish, so I have quite a collection of things picked up in Reading, Lancaster and surrounding areas here in Pennsylvania. <br /> <br />I have 4 kids, who are the loves of my life and cooking for them and my husband keeps me on my toes! ;) <br /> <br />We bought an ice cream parlor in March 04 and it's been quite an experience! <br /> <br />Note: I love getting feedback on my recipes; all I ask is that you actually *make* them before reviewing them. <br /> <br />Also, if you make changes or substitutions, I'd love to see your suggestions and/or comments, but I'd appreciate no rating at all if it's not made as posted. Too many recipe reviews state margarine subbed for butter (if I list butter, it's REAL butter), different spices, low-fat ingredients, whole wheat flour instead of white, etc. The recipes will not work/taste as intended, so it's really not fair to rate them as such. <br /> <br />I'd also really appreciate it if you refrain from rating a recipe if you overcook or overbake it or it you don't refrigerate or store as listed. <br /> <br />I, of course, will adhere to the above when rating recipes, too! <br /> <br />Thanks and have a great day! <br /> <br />My Rating System: <br /> <br />***** A delicious recipe that was thoroughly enjoyed. It has excellent, detailed directions and is perfect as is. If a dish is especially easy, and I'm on the fence, I will give it 5* for ease even if it's very good instead of great. Something I will definitely make again. <br /> <br />**** Excellent recipe but confusing directions that I will make again in my own less confusing way OR Very good recipe that I'll probably make again if I find the time! <br /> <br />*** Good/OK recipe but probably not something I would make again OR Very Good recipe that doesn't have clear, detailed directions. <br /> <br />** Recipe was edible but not really enjoyed and will not be made again. Work involved not a good trade-off for the end result. <br /> <br />* Not edible and probably an error in the recipe. I feel that I pick recipes with ingredients our family likes, so in my opinion, there's an error somewhere. If there's a chance I made the error, I won't rate the recipe. ;) <br /> <br /><img src=http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/lauralie41/swapbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /> <br /><a href=http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/?action=view&amp;current=cookieswapparticip.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/cookieswapparticip.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> <br /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/honey-pot-print-c10069558.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /> <br /><a href=http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/?action=view&amp;current=09holidayparticipationbanner.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd235/MidwestMaven/09holidayparticipationbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a></p>
 
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