Dry Aged Meatballs

Meatballs are often a catalyst for hot debate. (“Yes, I’m sure your grandma’s recipe is better than anything…”) Should you use a blend of beef, veal and pork? Better baked or fried? We’ve taken the guess work out of all of the above and crafted a 100% all beef—dry aged beef, mind you—meatball recipe to throw down the gauntlet.

DRY AGED MEATBALLS

SERVES 6 TO 8 – Makes 18-25 meatballs

Recipe

• 2 lbs Flannery Adventurous Burger Blend
• 2 eggs
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan and/or pecorino Romano (even better to do a 50/50 blend)
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 loaf of French or Italian country bread, best if stale (1-2 days old) OR 1 cup panko bread crumbs + 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil for frying

Directions

Prepare the bread mixture:

If using the loaf of bread, slice into chunks and dip a piece one by one into a bowl of water or milk to rehydrate each piece, taking care to fully soak any hardened crust areas, squeezing and discarding the excess liquid. Set soaked pieces into a separate bowl for mixing later.

If using panko, add them to a bowl with the milk, using a spoon or your hands to help the liquid rehydrate the crumbs. Mixture should be thick and softened. Add more milk if it needs more moisture.

Mix the meat:

In a large bowl, add the ground dry aged beef, bread mixture, and remaining ingredients. Using your hands, mix it all together until very well incorporated. There should be no chunks of beef left unseasoned. A tip: Try rolling out one meatball in your hands. Mixture should form into a ball without crumbling or sticking. Refrigerate meatball mixture until you’re ready to roll and fry.

Roll meat into balls, approximately 2 inches. Forming them into an egg shape helps to fry evenly all around. (Don’t worry, they’ll plump up later.)

In an oven-safe heavy bottomed frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, place meatballs a handful at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. After 2-3 minutes, carefully turn the meatballs over and continue browning on all sides. Once golden, brown and delicious all around, remove from the pan and place onto a paper towel lined surface to drain.

Continue until all meatballs are fried. Don’t discard the oil just yet—nothing is better than dry aged beef fat, but if you want it out, at least save it in a jar and refrigerate.

Cook with tomato sauce:

For serving, heat oven to 400 degrees. Return meatballs to their frying pan or another baking dish, using as much of the remaining frying oil still as your heart can handle to coat the bottom.

Add in 4 cups of your favorite marinara sauce (Rao’s has never steered us wrong) and bake until bubbly, 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!