Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Italian-American)

The best Italian-American meatball recipe around. What is the perfect meatball? For me, it's a plump, juicy ball of highly seasoned meat that's so tender a spoon can pass right through it with almost no resistance. Here's how I make that a reality.

1 pkg unflavoured gelatin (optional)
½ cup chicken stock or broth (120 mL)
3 oz fresh white bread, crustless, cut into ½" cubes (about 2 unpacked cups) (85 g)
1/3 cup buttermilk (80 mL)
1 medium (8 oz) yellow onion, minced (225 g)
8 medium cloves garlic (about 1¾ oz), finely minced (50 g)
2 oz Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (55 g)
½ cup fresh parsley leaves, loosely packed, minced (30 g)
1 Tbsp. Diamond crystal kosher salt (12 g)
black pepper, freshly ground
3 oz fatty pancetta, finely minced (85 g)
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground fennel seed
1 lb ground beef, at least 25% fat (455 g)
1 lb ground pork, at least 25% fat (455 g)
5 cups Italian-American Red Sauce (1.2 L)

Garnish:
Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

In a heatproof measuring cup, sprinkle gelatin all over surface of stock and let stand for 5 minutes (if not using stock and gelatin, proceed to trhe next step). Heat stock, stirring once or twice, until gelatin completely dissolves, about 2 minutes. Pour stock into a wide heatproof bowl and refrigerate until fully set, about 30 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine bread with buttermilk, tossing to coat. Let stand, tossing occasionally, until bread is completely moist, about 10 minutes. Squeeze bread between your fingers or mash with a spoon to make sure there are no dry spots; if there are dry spots that refuse to moisten, add more buttermilk 1 Tbsp. at a time until bread is moist throughout.

Add onion, garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, salt, pepper, pancetta, egg yolks, oregano, and fennel to bread/buttermilk mixture. Finely mince gelled stock, if using, and add.

Set mixer bowl in stand mixer and attach paddle. Starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, beat bread mixture until thoroughly blended, stopping to scrape down sides as necessary. Add 1/3 each of the beef and pork and beat at medium-high speed until thoroughly blended with bread mixture.

Remove bowl from stand mixer and add remaining beef and pork. Using a clean hand, gently mix meatball mixture, teasing apart ground meat with your fingers, just until ground beef and pork are thoroughly mixed in and no pockets of unincorporated meat remain; avoid mixing any more than is necessary for even distribution.

Preheat broiler and set oven rack in upper position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Form meatball mixture into handball-sized balls and arrange on prepared baking sheet; you should be able to make about 10.

Broil meatballs until browned on top, about 7 minutes (browning times can vary dramatically, depending on oven broiler strength).

Heat tomato sauce in a medium pot until simmering and add meatballs. Simmer until meatballs are just cooked through and register about 145°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 10 minutes.

Serve meatballs, spooning sauce all over and grating more cheese on top.

Makes 4-6 servings.