You can’t go wrong having cooked meatballs on hand. Try them straight into the pot with this marinara sauce for your first dinner, then cool and freeze the rest to try with our sauce variations on the next page.
We used equal parts of three meats from our local Montana producers: North Bridger bison, Amaltheia pork, and Wickens Ranch beef, and I encourage you to buy meat from ranchers in your area. If you don’t have access to bison, substitute additional beef (or elk if you’re lucky)—the key to proportions is 2 parts leaner meat to 1 part fattier.
MAKES APPROXIMATELY 70 MEATBALLS
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion or 2 small, diced
1 garlic clove, minced and mashed with
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound ground bison
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1½ cups fresh breadcrumbs, the fi ner the bett er
½ cup half and half
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft ened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook a couple minutes longer.
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, gently mix the ground meats, cooked onions and garlic, breadcrumbs, half and half, eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until just combined. Portion meatballs into tablespoon-sized balls using a scoop or damp hands.
Space out 20 meatballs on a sheet pan (load up 2 pans if you have them) and bake for 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining meatballs. If you are freezing some, let them cool before packaging.
- Adapted from Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton’s “Classic Meatballs” in Cook Something: Recipes to Rely On.
