Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

fireman bob's meatballs pure and simple

(6 ratings)
Recipe by
Bob Cooney
Cottonwood Heights, UT

For the longest time, I have wanted to create a " Meatball " that stands all by it's self! I believe I have " conquered " that " Quest " with this recipe... I LOVE a good meatball and I believe this will be a favorite of yours' as well! I humbly asked permission to add Pat DiMercurios' recipe for " Crusty Bread"... Thank you so much Pat... :) I am adding Enro gay's " Gravy Recipe for these Meat Balls... it will give You an option... Thank You Enro for allowing me to add your " Version " to my recipe... :)

(6 ratings)
yield 24 serving(s)
prep time 20 Min
cook time 2 Hr
method Convection Oven

Ingredients For fireman bob's meatballs pure and simple

  • 3 lb
    lean ground angus beef
  • 1 1/2 lb
    ground veal
  • 1 1/2 lb
    ground pork - mild, medium or hot your choice
  • 6 clove
    fresh garlic - minced
  • 6 lg
    eggs
  • 3 c
    freshly grated romano cheese
  • 1 tsp
    cinnamon yes cinnamon !!!
  • 1/2 c
    fennel seeds
  • 4 1/2 c
    italian flat leaf parsley - chopped fine
  • 1 Tbsp
    red pepper flakes
  • 1 jar
    roasted red peppers - drained and chopped
  • * * *
    salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 6 c
    day old italian bread, crumbled
  • 4 1/2 c
    lukewarm water - *** use only enough to make mixture moist
  • 1/4 c
    extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 can
    tomato juice - enough to fill pan half way
  • 2 can
    (small) tomato paste

How To Make fireman bob's meatballs pure and simple

  • 1
    Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add garlic, eggs, cheese, cinnamon, fennel seeds, parsley, red pepper flakes, roasted red peppers, and salt and pepper. Mix all together very tenderly ( don't over mix , just bring together )
  • 2
    Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add the water 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should be very moist but still hold its shape when rolled into meatballs. NOTE: *** Only use enough water to get moist consistency ***
  • 3
    Shape into 24 meatballs.
  • 4
    Place the extra virgin olive oil, tomato juice, tomato paste in a large 9 x 13 oven pan. Stir to make a sauce.
  • 5
    Place meatballs in pan and cover. NOTE: *** You will want to use 2 pans so meatballs have room and not touching each other *** Cook 2 hour at 250 degrees or until done. Serve with warmed crusty bread and sauce and napkins https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/bread/other-bread/the-best-crusty-bread-dutch-oven.html?p=7 *** They Freeze Well Too *** Enjoy !
  • 6
    Enro Gay's Version for a Family Gathering with her Gravy...
  • 7
    Enro Gay... " Hello, Bob... the meatballs were a huge success. I reduced the recipe by using 4 pounds meat (2 ground beef, 1 veal and 1 pork sausage) and used dry Italian bread crumbs in place of day-old bread (and adjusting other ingredient amounts to match). Since these were made for homemade meatball subs, I made them much smaller and cooked them a short time in the oven before transferring to my slow cooker. "
  • 8
    " I did not use your "gravy" as outlined above, but used this instead: "
  • 9
    Small onion, fine chopped Small green pepper, fine chopped 2 cloves garlic, fine chopped 3 Tbsp EVOO 6 ounce tomato paste 1/4 cup dry red wine 3/4 cup chicken broth 2-15 ounce cans tomato sauce 1 tsp dried oregano 3/4 tsp dried basil 1 tsp sugar Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 10
    Saute onion and green pepper in EVOO for a couple minutes, add the garlic and cook another minute. Then add the tomato paste and wine, stirring for another minute or so. Then add the chicken broth, tomato sauce and spices, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for about 3 hours... YUMMY!
  • 11
    " I made it the night before, then warmed in up, transferred sauce to the slow cooker and added the meatballs to simmer on low until we got ready to eat. I will make the dinner size meatballs next time and serve to my hubby with spaghetti, a favorite of his. Thanks for a wonderful meatball recipe! "
  • 12
    " Absolutely... feel free! Even though the sauce and meatballs were sealed up in my locking-lid slow cooker, my mother and I could smell this during our 1.5 hour trip to see my son... just about drove us crazy! :-) "
  • 13
    " Ummm.. Thank You again... it DOES have that quality!!! Lol!!! " HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY!!!!!!!
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