The Meatball Shop's Spicy Pork Meatballs

From the book, THE MEATBALL SHOP COOKBOOK by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow. To pickle your own cherry peppers see Pickled Cherry Peppers - Canning. Serve with your favorite sauce.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 2  lbs  pork shoulder, ground (I have the butcher gind it twice)
• 1  tablespoon  salt plus 1 teaspoon salt
• 4  jarred hot  cherry peppers, minced
• 1⁄4 cup  hot cherry pepper pickling  liquid
• 4  slices  fresh  white bread, minced
• 3  large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F Drizzle the olive oil into a 9×13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside.
2. Combine the ground pork, salt, cherry peppers, pickling liquid, bread and eggs in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand just until incorporated. Don't over do it or the meatballs will become tough.
3. Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches).
4. Place the meatballs in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
5. Roast for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. A meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.
6. Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.