1 lb Hot, Medium, or Mild Italian Sausage, your preference
2 lbs 8/20 Ground Beef
1 lb Ground Pork
1 Bunch Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Very Finely Minced
2 Tbsp Dried Basil or Very Finely Minced Fresh
2 Tsp Dried Oregano
5 LG Cloves Garlic Very Finely Minced (about 3-4 tablespoons)
1/3 Onion, Very Finely Minced
2-3 Tablespoons Fennel Seeds
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
10 turns of Fresh Cracked Pepper
3/4 Cup Fine and Snowy Parmigiano Reggiano
1/2 Cup Corn Flake Crumbs
3 Eggs, beaten
Optional items
1/2 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes (Depending on your choice of sausage); I use hot sausage and red pepper flakes. Spicy!
In a large mixing bowl, break up ground beef and sausage with fingers very gently; add ground pork, parsley, garlic, onion, fennel, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, Parmigiano Reggiano, and cornflakes. Using a large salad fork *rake and toss (hold the fork upright, not flat/ do not mash mixture) ingredients together, being careful not to mash. After the ingredients are well incorporated, add eggs and repeat the gentle raking and tossing until all of the egg is absorbed.Gently roll into balls using a large melon scoop to measure for uniform size; for giant meatballs, use a small ice cream scoop. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes for smaller meatballs and 350 for 20-25 for extra large meatballs. Cool and freeze or add to sauce or dishes.
*Rake and Toss the ground meat instead of aggressively mashing with your hands; this keeps the meatballs tender. If you mash ground meats, you make them tough and unpleasant. There is both technique and ingredients to a good meatball.
