Bucatini e Polpette (Bucatini and Meatballs)

Course Dinner, Dinner for Guests, Sunday Dinner, Weekend Lunch

Cuisine Italian, Italian/American fusion

Keyword Artisan Bronze Cut Pasta, Bucatini Pasta

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 15

Total Time 55

Servings people

Author David of Sunset & Sewanee

1 lb beef, ground
1 lb pork, ground
3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly
½ whole onion, grated or finely minced
3 tbsp parsley, Italian chopped fine
1 tsp pepper, red flakes
1 tsp fennel seed, ground
½ cup bread crumbs (white or wheat/plain or Italian style) You can substitute Japanese (Panko) bread crumbs
2 tbsp milk, whole
¾ cup cheese, Parmesean grated/shredded (Pecorino Romano is also a good choice.)
1 tsp salt, kosher, or sea
1 tsp pepper, black, roughly ground
4-5 cups Your Favorite Marinara, Tomato Basil or Vecchia Scuola Italiana Salsa Rossa (Old School Italian Red Sauce)
24 oz Bucatini Pasta or your favorite kind

Mince the onions and thinly slice the garlic. Prep the minced parsley and measure out the rest of the ingredients, and reserve.

To a saute pan, add extra virgin olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the minced onion and thinly sliced garlic.
Heat a large sauté pan with a good quality olive oil. Bring the olive oil up to the point it shimmers but not smoking. Add the onion and garlic and sweat until the mixture is very soft but not colored/caramelized. Remove from the heat and reserve.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the two ground types of meat. Wet both hands with water and mix until thoroughly combined. Once the seasoned meat/pork is thoroughly mixed, add the seasonings (ground fennel, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper).
Finely chop Italian parsley and add to the seasoned meat mixture.
In a small bowl, add the breadcrumbs and the milk. With a fork, stir the milk into the bread crumbs. You want the bread crumbs just wet but not soaking in milk. Add this to the seasoned meat mixture. If you add too much milk, squeeze out the excess with your hand before adding to the meat mixture.
Next, add the reserved onion/garlic mixture to the seasoned meat/parsley/bread crumb mixture.
Follow this by adding a good quality cheese to the mixture and with your hands. Then (Again, wet your hands with clean water to keep them from sticking.) mix all ingredients until well incorporated.

Preheat a large skillet or sauté pan with 3 tbsp of olive oil. Prepare a large sheet pan with a bit of olive oil spreading around with a paper towel, so the meatballs don't stick when cooked.
Using a 3 oz scoop or, as in my case, a handy ⅓ cup scoop, measure the mixture, then start making the meatballs by rolling them in your hands. Repeat till done.
Roll each meatball in all-purpose flour and coat evenly, gently shaking off any excess. In batches, add the meatballs to the preheated pan with olive oil and cook until well browned, all the way around. Place the meatballs on a sheet pan and bake in the oven at (350°F or 175°C) for 20 minutes. Cook the meatballs until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees with an instant-read thermometer. Reserve

Start by cooking the meatballs to the marinara (or your favorite) sauce and heat up briefly in the sauce. Next, prepare a portion of 2-3 meatballs with about ½ cup of pasta sauce in a skillet heated enough to keep warm.
Cook the pasta to the directions on the package. When the pasta is al dente add it straight into the sauce. Do not rinse. (Save the pasta water to thicken the sauce.)
Set a portion of the pasta in the center of a serving dish with a set of tongs. Top with meatballs and any extra sauce. Drizzle with a good quality extra virgin olive oil and dust with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, fresh parsley, or basil (optional).