Grandma’s Sunday Meatballs and Sauce is the ultimate Sunday dinner recipe! These slow cooked meatballs in sauce will take you right back to your childhood!
Scale
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 pounds pork neck bones (you can substitute pork spare ribs)
- 1 pound Italian sausage (sweet or spicy or a mixture of both) each link cut into thirds
- 2 cups diced onions
- 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped (about 4 cloves)
- 3/4 cup red wine
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 (28 ounce) cans tomato puree
- 1 can water
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the Meatballs
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 cups finely diced onions
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 4 pounds meatloaf mix (a mixture of beef, pork and veal)
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs soaked with 1/2 cup milk for 15 minutes (squeeze out the excess milk before adding to the meatballs)
- 1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Start making the meatballs first by adding the olive oil to a large skillet over medium low heat.
- Add the onions and cook for 15 minutes until very soft, stirring often.
- Next add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Turn the heat off and let cool.
- Add the meatloaf mix, eggs, the soaked bread crumbs (squeezed out), parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and basil and cooled onions and garlic to a large bowl.
- Mix well until all the ingredients are combined then make a small meatball with the mixture and fry it up in the same skillet you used to cook the onions to test for seasonings.
- Adjust seasonings if needed then start to form the meatballs. (I like to make the meatballs an extra large golf ball size, about 2 inches in diameter but you can make them as big as you like)
- Place the meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. The meatballs don’t have to be cooked all the way through as they’ll finish cooking in the sauce.
- While the meatballs are in the oven you can start the sauce by adding the oil to a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add the pork bones and cook for 15 minutes, turning so the bones brown on both sides then remove from the pot.
- Next add the sausage and brown on all sides, about 7-8 minutes, then remove from the pot. Add the onions to the pot and cook for 15 minutes, stirring, until softened. Next add the garlic and salt, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
- Now pour in the red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom with a spoon as the wine cooks down, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste to the pot, breaking up and stirring into the onions. Then pour in the crushed tomatoes, the tomato puree and a can of water from one of the empty tomato cans. Add the oregano, basil, salt and pepper to the sauce and stir.
- Add the cooked meatballs, sausage and pork bones to the sauce and bring to a simmer.
- Partially cover the pot with a lid, stirring occasionally for 3-4 hours or even longer if you have time.
- To serve, remove the meatballs and sausage from the sauce and place in a serving bowl. Remove the pork bones and either shred the meat and add back to the sauce or serve the pork bones in a serving bowl on the side.
- Cuisine: Italian
