Braised Beef & Tomato Meatballs

I was intrigued by some recipes for meatballs that do not include breadcrumbs or eggs. Initially, I was worried that the lack of eggs was going to make it difficult for the meatballs to stay together when they are cooking.
I found that by kneading the meatballs together for an extended period of time, the meatballs stayed together with no problem.

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Braised Beef & Tomato Meatballs

I was intrigued by some recipes for meatballs that do not include breadcrumbs or eggs. Initially, I was worried that the lack of eggs was going to make it difficult for the meatballs to stay together when they are cooking.

I found that by kneading the meatballs together for an extended period of time, the meatballs stayed together with no problem.

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

• 2 Roma tomatoes (pulp discarded and flesh cut into small dice pieces)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 16 oz ground beef
• 1 shallot (finely minced)
• 1 scallion (finely minced)
• 1/8 cup fresh mint (finely minced)
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro (finely minced)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

For the Tomato Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp salted butter
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 white onion (small dice)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely sliced)
• 20 oz tomato puree
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions 

For the Meatballs:

• Combine the small dice tomatoes with 1 tsp kosher salt and allow the mixture to sit in a bowl for 20 minutes while the water drains off of them.
• After 20 minutes, drain tomatoes and discard water.
• Very finely mince the salted tomatoes with a knife, or try to blend them using an immersion blender.
• Mix minced tomatoes with the ground beef, minced shallot, scallion, mint, cilantro, olive oil, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and a sprinkle of kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper.
• Cook a tiny sample scoop of the filling in a small pan, and taste when the meat is cooked through to check the seasoning levels.
• Adjust mixture for kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper based on how the sample tasted after it was cooked.
• Knead the meatball mixture for roughly 5 minutes, or until it is homogenous.
• Form the mixture into evenly-sized balls, smaller than a golf ball, and set the small meatballs aside in the fridge on parchment paper on a sheet tray.

For the Tomato Sauce:

• Heat 3 Tbsp salted butter and 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a medium-to-large sized saute pan.
• Add the diced white onion to the pan.
• Cook onion over medium heat for roughly 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion is cooked and translucent but not brown.
• Once the onion is soft and has cooked, lower the heat and add the sliced garlic cloves.
• Cook for an additional 30 seconds.
• Add the tomato puree, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes, and bring to a simmer.
• Cook the tomato sauce mixture for an additional 30 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring frequently.
• Taste and season with kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
• When you are satisfied with your sauce, add the meatballs to the sauce mixture and cook the meatballs for roughly 20-30 minutes on low heat.
• As they cook, move them around gently in the sauce to ensure they don’t dry out.
• When the meatballs are cooked, serve them up hot, in bowls with the tomato sauce.

Notes

These meatballs can easily be frozen and thawed when ready to cook and use. Make a double-batch and save yourself some work down the road!