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The Best Pork, Veal, and Beef Pesto Meatballs

The Best Pork, Veal, and Beef Pesto Meatballs

Eleanor Craig
In this recipe, I decided to use a combination of meats to make pork, veal, and beef pesto meatballs. The end result – heavenly!
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 15 meatballs
Calories 172 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • Raw meat mince½ pound ground beef (minced beef) - lean
  • pork mince½ pound ground pork (minced pork) - lean
  • veal mince½ pound ground veal (minced veal) - lean
  • chicken egg1 large egg
  • egg white1 large egg white
  • Fine breadcrumbs, also breading or crispies in wooden bowl⅓ cup breadcrumbs - plain Italian breadcrumbs
  • Ripe yellow onion on a white background¼ cup yellow onion
  • Mozzarella cheese isolated on white background¼ cup Mozzarella cheese
  • green pesto1½ tablespoon pesto
  • Coarse sea salt top view1 ¼ teaspoon Sea salt - to season
  • Heap of black peppercorns1 ½ teaspoon black peppercorns - coarse, to season
  • Green basil1 tablespoon basil - to season
  • parsley on white background1 tablespoon parsley - to season
  • Glass bowl of olive oil isolated on white background4 tablespoons olive oil - extra virgin, to fry, add more if you prefer
  • pasta sauce or marinara sauce48 ounce Neapolitan Sauce or Pasta sauce Southern Hemisphere (Tomato Sauce in North America) - for serving

Instructions
 

  • In a food processor or blender, mince yellow onion until puréed. With a cheese grater, grate fresh Mozzarella into fine shreds. Set both aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine meats, egg, egg white, breadcrumbs, onion, cheese, pesto and seasonings. With wet hands, weave together ingredients until well mixed. Keeping hands damp, roll the mixture into 15 meatballs (about the size of two golf balls).
  • In a large skillet, heat several tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over a medium-high flame. Making four at a time, cook meatballs until well browned on all sides, almost to the point of crisp (you will need 10 minutes per batch). When finished, rest on a paper-towel-lined plate to cool.
  • When all meatballs are cooked in a large pot, heat tomato sauce to a low boil. Add meatballs to the sauce and lower flame, allowing the combination to simmer for 1 – 6 hours. When ready, plate and serve over pasta or with a side of bread.

Notes

If possible, have a splatter screen handy when frying. To know meatballs are finished, always remove one ball from each batch and cut through the middle. When the inside has no pink coloring, they are fully cooked. Wash off skillet in between batches to discard any burnt bits left behind, then re-coat with extra virgin olive oil before frying again.

Nutrition

Calories: 172kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 11gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 707mgPotassium: 435mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 487IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 2mg
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