Italian Sausage Meatballs

I’m a foodie, the kitchen is my playground, flavors and textures are my toys. So I’m always looking for the opportunity to change things up a bit. One evening I had spicy chicken Italian sausage in the fridge, and, wanted to come up with a different way to serve it. Well, why not make meatballs. I have a recipe for garlic turkey Swedish meatballs, they’re really good. I’ve used bulk sausage meat in a few recipes, so I can remove the casing and make little meatballs. And, that’s how Italian sausage meatballs made their way onto my plate. And, luckily, unlike the meatball in the kids song, it did not roll onto the floor. Read on, they’re delicious.

Italian sausage has a very distinctive flavor, mild or hot, and no matter the meat. It’s a substitute meat for my chili and for my sloppy joes, comes out extremely well, you should try it. This means that no extra spices really need to be added, they’re already there. That doesn’t mean extra flavors can’t be added, and something to increase consistency. Especially if you’re using turkey or chicken sausage meat, pork seems to hold itself together better. This is partly due to the fat content which is not found in the chicken and turkey. Which is the reason we’re eating the chicken and the turkey in the first place.

The extra flavoring will be grated parmesan. Cheese makes everything better, and, if it’s Italian based food, then it has to be parmesan. I add 1/2 cup of grated parmesan to 1 cup sausage meat (approximately two Italian sausages). In case you’re wondering how I came up with this ratio, well, its’s simple. I cook two Italian sausages at a time, and I found 1/2 cup of grated cheese gives me the flavor I’m looking for. Just adjust for how much you’re cooking. The next thing is consistency. This recipe is for chicken or turkey Italian sausage, these meats do not hold together very well when their casings are removed. Adding breadcrumbs helps with this. It acts as a binding agent. Also, as an added advantage, the breadcrumbs absorb some of the liquid generated during cooking, thereby keeping the flavor in the meatball. 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs works well.

Now mix the sausage meat, cheese and breadcrumbs. Using 1 cup of sausage meat will create 6 golf ball sized meatballs. Divide up the meat and roll into balls. Make sure to clean up well after handling raw meat, please read my post on safe food prep. Preheat a pan over medium heat, add olive oil, when hot add the meatballs, turning to brown evenly. They will need to cook about 15 minutes, cover when not stirring. And there you have Italian sausage meatballs.

There are many options when serving. Over pasta with some tomato sauce, or, plain, over dressed pasta. Dressed pasta is cooked pasta with a little olive oil, garlic powder and pepper sprinkled over. I do not add salt to my dressed pasta because salt is added to the cooking water, and that’s enough sodium. You can even stick a toothpick in them and serve as an appetizer. The options are endless. Thank you for reading and, enjoy the food.