Anne Burrell's Excellent Meatballs

Sauté onions

Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil, add the onions and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. The onions should be very soft and aromatic but have no color.

Add garlic and pepper

Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

Combine meat and dry ingredients

In a large bowl combine the meats, egg, Parmigiano, parsley and bread crumbs. It works well to squish the mixture with your hands.

Add onion mixture

Add the onion mixture and season generously with salt and squish some more.

Add water

Add the water and do one final really good squish. The mixture should be quite wet.

Preheat oven

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Shape meatballs

Shape the meat into desired size. I prefer meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball.

Brown meatballs

Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides.

Bake meatballs

Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through.

Add to sauce

If using right away, add them to your big pot of marinara sauce. Serve with pasta and sauce or just eat them straight out of the pot!