[0 - 0] - I'm Frank Proto,
[0 - 2] professional chef and culinary instructor,
[2 - 4] and today I'm gonna show you the best way
[4 - 8] to make spaghetti and meatballs Frank style.
[8 - 11] We're talking tender and flavorful meatballs,
[11 - 13] a deep, rich tomato sauce,
[13 - 15] perfectly cooked pasta
[15 - 17] that will put a smile on anyone's face.
[17 - 20] This is Spaghetti & Meatballs 101.
[20 - 24] I prefer my meatballs fairly small, like golf ball size.
[24 - 26] The outside is browned off first.
[26 - 28] The inside is super juicy and tender.
[28 - 32] This is a close approximation of my grandmother's recipe.
[32 - 38] I think it makes a nice, consistent, delicious meatball. [upbeat music]
[38 - 40] If you go to Italy and ask for spaghetti and meatballs,
[40 - 42] they'll look at you like you have three heads.
[42 - 43] It's not really served together.
[43 - 46] This is actually a classic Italian American dish.
[46 - 50] I have some ground beef. I have my ground pork.
[50 - 52] I know that my grandmother would put ground veal in this.
[52 - 54] I'm just trying to simplify a little.
[54 - 56] Make sure your ground beef is at least 80/20.
[56 - 58] That means 80% meat, 20% fat.
[58 - 59] If they're too lean,
[59 - 61] they tend to be a little on the dry side.
[61 - 63] I'm hitting this with some fresh garlic.
[63 - 67] I have pecorino romano cheese. Pecorino is sharp.
[67 - 70] It has a lot of flavor to it in a small amount of cheese.
[70 - 71] You can use Parmesan if you want.
[71 - 74] I'm using plain breadcrumbs, not seasoned.
[74 - 75] I want to control the seasoning.
[75 - 77] For this recipe it's about a cup and a half.
[77 - 80] The breadcrumbs make your meatballs more tender.
[80 - 82] Sometimes people will add milk to this, right?
[82 - 85] And that's kind of a classic Italian American thing as well.
[85 - 87] I don't think that it needs the milk.
[87 - 90] I like to use just eggs, and I use a fair amount of eggs.
[90 - 92] I have four here for this amount of meat.
[92 - 94] Back when my grandmother was a kid,
[94 - 96] meat was a little harder to come by.
[96 - 99] Meatballs were a way of them taking that little bit of meat
[99 - 100] and extending that.
[100 - 102] You add breadcrumbs that are cheaper, you add cheese,
[102 - 104] you add eggs that are cheaper than the meat,
[104 - 106] and you're making this really nice thing
[106 - 108] that instead of just feeding one or two people
[108 - 109] that you can feed five or six.
[109 - 111] Don't forget the seasoning.
[111 - 113] Lots of fresh cracked black pepper
[113 - 114] and then a fair amount of salt.
[114 - 117] The breadcrumbs, the eggs, and the cheese here
[117 - 118] make your meatballs more tender.
[118 - 120] They actually grab onto a lot of those juices.
[120 - 123] If you just use a little bit of breadcrumbs
[123 - 124] and not a lot of eggs or cheese,
[124 - 126] you're gonna get a really meaty meatball
[126 - 130] that actually tends to be a lot drier, a lot more crumbly.
[130 - 133] And what I like to do is just break up my yolks
[133 - 135] and start to mix
[135 - 137] some of the dry ingredients together on top.
[137 - 138] And then I bring my meat in
[138 - 140] and I'm gonna start to work this.
[140 - 142] A lot of people say, "Oh, don't work the meat.
[142 - 143] It's gonna be tough."
[143 - 144] No, no, no, no.
[144 - 147] We wanna work this so it's really mixed well.
[147 - 149] People tend to think you can overwork meatballs.
[149 - 151] We're not gonna harm this from working it.
[151 - 154] This feels like it's a little wet to me. So what do I do?
[154 - 157] I get my breadcrumbs and I just add a little more.
[157 - 160] If you look at the side of the bowl, it's kind of wet.
[160 - 163] I want side of the bowl for the meat to pull away from it
[163 - 164] and not to be sticky.
[164 - 167] If I pick a piece up now, it's super sticky.
[167 - 169] So I want this to firm up a little more.
[169 - 171] So let's mix those other breadcrumbs in.
[171 - 173] It's starting to look a little drier.
[173 - 175] It's forming one big nice mass,
[175 - 177] almost like kneading it like a bread.
[177 - 178] This is the texture I'm looking for.
[178 - 180] It's slightly sticky,
[180 - 183] but when I roll my meatball, it holds its form.
[183 - 185] That is a nice mixture.
[185 - 186] So I'm gonna cook a little taster
[186 - 189] before I actually ball up my meatballs.
[189 - 190] And this is just to ensure
[190 - 192] that I have the seasoning and the texture right.
[192 - 193] This is one of those steps
[193 - 195] that a lot of home cooks will skip
[195 - 196] that I find is super important.
[196 - 199] Just put a little olive oil in your pot.
[199 - 202] We're gonna get a little piece of meat, flatten it out.
[202 - 203] It goes right in the pan.
[203 - 205] This is what makes restaurant chefs
[205 - 207] different from home cooks,
[207 - 208] is we're constantly tasting,
[208 - 210] we're seasoning, we're adjusting.
[210 - 212] And that's what you do here with meatballs.
[212 - 213] Alright, let's taste this
[213 - 215] to make sure the seasoning is good.
[218 - 221] But I think I need a little more salt. Don't go too crazy.
[221 - 222] A little more pepper.
[222 - 223] Don't be afraid to take the two minutes
[223 - 225] and make a tester, okay?
[225 - 230] Get in there, remix and we'll be good to go. [upbeat music]
[230 - 232] One of the other things I do as a chef
[232 - 235] that makes my meatballs super consistent and the right size
[235 - 237] is I use an ice cream scoop.
[237 - 238] This ice cream scoop is definitely smaller
[238 - 240] than your average ice cream scoop.
[240 - 242] This is actually called a disher.
[242 - 245] It's a portion scoop that they use in restaurants.
[245 - 246] This is a good trick to make sure
[246 - 247] that your meatballs are uniform.
[247 - 250] I just line up my meatballs like soldiers here.
[250 - 254] I take the scoop, I get the meat in there,
[254 - 256] I push it against the side and then scrape it,
[256 - 258] basically packing it into the scoop.
[258 - 260] And all my meatballs are uniform.
[260 - 262] I think meatballs that are really huge
[262 - 263] are a little offensive.
[264 - 265] I like a two-bite meatball.
[265 - 267] If you want them bigger, go for it.
[267 - 270] If you don't want to use a scoop and don't have a scoop,
[270 - 271] usually what I'll do is this.
[271 - 273] So I'll take a meatball
[273 - 276] and I'll kind of just put it into the cup of my hand
[276 - 278] and then you pretty much use your hand as the guide.
[278 - 280] The meatballs are kind of rough,
[280 - 284] so just take a few seconds, roll in between your hands.
[284 - 285] So this is just for looks.
[285 - 288] You can easily just drop them into your saute pan,
[288 - 290] a little bit better for presentation.
[290 - 295] Meatballs are rolled out. Let's brown them. [upbeat music]
[295 - 297] Browning your meatballs is a key step.
[297 - 299] We're sealing the outside of the meatballs,
[299 - 301] sealing that moisture and juiciness in.
[301 - 303] We're also getting some browning in the bottom of the pan
[303 - 305] and some fat from the meatballs.
[305 - 306] So I feel it's really important
[306 - 308] just to give you a full-flavored sauce
[308 - 311] as well as a really nicely cooked meatball.
[311 - 313] Some people will take the meatballs raw
[313 - 314] and just throw it into tomato sauce.
[314 - 316] I think that they fall apart
[316 - 318] and you'll have more of a meat sauce than a meatball sauce.
[318 - 319] This is the way my grandmother did it
[319 - 322] and I think it makes a better-flavored sauce.
[322 - 324] So I have some olive oil.
[324 - 325] We're not frying the meatballs,
[325 - 327] but I want some fat in the pan.
[327 - 329] It's starting to get a little bit glistening.
[329 - 331] We're starting to see ripples and a little bit of smoke.
[331 - 334] So I'm at a medium high heat, and all we really have to do
[334 - 335] is start putting our meatballs in
[335 - 337] and I'm only gonna put them in on one layer.
[337 - 340] This point is really just concerned with browning,
[340 - 344] getting a nice crust on the outside of these meatballs,
[344 - 346] creating layers of flavor.
[346 - 348] I'm using a pot that's actually called a braiser.
[348 - 350] It's a shallow sauce pot that's wide.
[350 - 353] I love this pot. We can put a lot of meatballs in.
[353 - 357] It's heavy cast iron with enamel on it. It holds the heat.
[357 - 358] And I'm not too worried
[358 - 360] about cooking all the way through right now.
[360 - 363] If things are a little raw here, it's not a big deal
[363 - 365] because these are going back in the sauce
[365 - 366] and they're gonna cook
[366 - 368] for a good 30 to 40 minutes in the sauce.
[368 - 370] It's actually better if they're a little raw in the middle
[370 - 372] because if you cook them too long in the fat,
[372 - 374] you're actually gonna dry them out
[374 - 377] and get a crust on the outside that gets way too firm.
[377 - 379] So don't go too crazy with browning them.
[379 - 380] Just roll them around,
[380 - 382] and they stay nice and juicy and tender.
[382 - 385] Notice how I'm using tongs. I'm not squeezing them too hard.
[385 - 387] I'm just kind of delicately moving them around.
[387 - 389] I don't want them to fall apart.
[389 - 390] And I'm still over medium high heat.
[390 - 392] If these are getting brown too quickly,
[392 - 394] adjust your heat, lower it down.
[395 - 398] I'm saving the pan. I'm saving all the fat in the pan.
[398 - 399] Don't be afraid of this fat.
[399 - 404] It's actually gonna make our sauce taste better. [upbeat music]
[404 - 406] We saved our pot from browning the meatballs.
[406 - 410] We have that beautiful brown bits on the bottom, that fond.
[410 - 412] Our oil is still in the pan.
[412 - 414] And what I'm gonna start with is the onions, right?
[414 - 416] Onions take a little time to cook.
[416 - 419] Onions lend a little sweetness to my sauce.
[419 - 421] We're gonna cook our sauce for more than 30 minutes.
[421 - 423] That lends sweetness as well.
[423 - 426] My oil is all warmed up, I have it on about medium heat.
[426 - 427] And then I can add my onions.
[427 - 430] These are just chopped onions, fairly small.
[430 - 432] For the most part, these are gonna fall apart
[432 - 434] and melt into our sauce.
[434 - 435] Just a little bit of salt.
[435 - 439] It draws out the moisture, it starts the seasoning process.
[439 - 442] So while my onions are cooking, I have basil
[442 - 445] and I'm gonna pick the leaves off for later.
[445 - 446] I want to use the leaves
[446 - 448] to kind of like give my sauce a little bit of oomph,
[448 - 450] but I'm gonna save the stems.
[450 - 451] They have tons of flavor.
[451 - 453] I get my bay leaf
[453 - 456] and I'm basically gonna just bundle these together.
[456 - 458] I get a little butcher's twine,
[458 - 460] and I'm gonna make myself a bouquet garni,
[460 - 464] which is basically just a bouquet of spices or herbs.
[464 - 466] Tie these together.
[466 - 467] And this is just one of those techniques
[467 - 470] that I think that as a chef I've done throughout the years,
[470 - 472] and it makes my sauce so much better.
[472 - 476] As our onions go translucent and start to get soft,
[476 - 477] we can add our garlic.
[477 - 479] Once my garlic starts to smell a little toasty,
[479 - 481] I can add my tomatoes.
[481 - 484] This was my grandmother's brand that she used. It's kitchen-ready.
[484 - 487] I do not like skins in my tomato sauce.
[487 - 489] I make sure that my tomatoes are always peeled.
[489 - 491] So this goes right into your pot.
[493 - 497] Get as much out as possible. Give it a quick stir, again.
[498 - 500] What I do at this point is I'm gonna add some water.
[500 - 501] And I used to think
[501 - 503] this is just my grandmother being frugal,
[503 - 505] but believe it or not, this has a purpose.
[505 - 508] By adding water to our sauce,
[508 - 510] we're actually slowing down the cooking process.
[510 - 513] If we don't add water, the tomatoes reduce too quick
[513 - 516] and they're gonna be acidic and not sweet.
[516 - 517] If I didn't add the water,
[517 - 519] my sauce would be too thick, too quick.
[519 - 522] I want to give it time for those flavors to develop
[522 - 523] and my sauce to reduce
[523 - 524] and really kind of meld
[524 - 526] with all the other flavors in the pot.
[526 - 529] So at this point, you can see it's starting to bubble.
[529 - 532] I'm gonna add my sachet. Get those herbs in there.
[532 - 534] If you look on the side of the pot,
[534 - 536] sauce always sticks to the side of the pot.
[536 - 539] I am constantly getting my spoon in there
[539 - 540] and scraping that down.
[540 - 541] A lot of people will just leave it there.
[541 - 543] It'll start to burn.
[543 - 545] I like to scrape the side of my pot.
[545 - 547] That's basically just reduced tomato
[547 - 548] adding more flavor to your sauce.
[548 - 552] I'm gonna season up right now, salt and black pepper.
[552 - 555] I'm gonna go fairly light on the seasoning
[555 - 556] because I want to season throughout.
[556 - 559] So you can see that we're starting to get bubbles at top.
[559 - 560] We do not want this sauce to boil.
[560 - 562] Boiling leads to reduction.
[562 - 564] We're gonna reduce it too quickly.
[564 - 566] I want this to happily bubble away.
[566 - 569] So we want this to go on low heat at this point,
[569 - 574] and we can add our meatballs. [upbeat music]
[574 - 576] So our sauce is bubbling away happily.
[576 - 578] I bring it to a simmer, I lower it down,
[578 - 580] and then it's time to add the meatballs.
[580 - 580] And basically what I do
[580 - 583] is I just get my meatballs and I slide them in.
[583 - 586] If there's any juices on this pan,
[586 - 589] if you see any juices, make sure you scrape that in. That's flavor.
[589 - 591] It's on medium low heat.
[591 - 593] I make sure that they're all submerged
[593 - 595] and I just let this bubble away happily,
[595 - 597] stirring occasionally, scraping my sides
[597 - 599] for about half hour to 45 minutes.
[599 - 602] So we've got some reduction.
[602 - 604] I can see that it's not as liquidy as it was.
[604 - 606] I'm gonna take my sachet out.
[606 - 608] This is not edible. Just get rid of that.
[609 - 613] But I do want to taste it before I serve it. Good.
[613 - 617] It does need salt. It does need pepper, right?
[617 - 618] This is a good time to add our basil.
[618 - 620] This is gonna add a little pop,
[620 - 621] a little freshness to our sauce.
[621 - 622] So I just like to tear it.
[622 - 624] It's looking good. I think we're ready to go.
[624 - 626] All we need is a little bit of pasta.
[626 - 630] We can plate it up and give it a taste. [upbeat music]
[630 - 632] I'm gonna plate this kind of granny style,
[632 - 634] the way my grandmother would've done it.
[634 - 635] I'm gonna take some of my sauce,
[635 - 637] put it in the bottom of a big bowl.
[637 - 639] It's kind of family style.
[639 - 642] Grab my cooked spaghetti right into the bowl.
[642 - 646] So my pasta is just a really good quality box pasta.
[646 - 648] We cooked it to al dente,
[648 - 650] and then we're just gonna toss it in the sauce.
[650 - 652] You don't have to go to fresh pasta
[652 - 653] with spaghetti and meatballs.
[653 - 656] Use your favorite box pasta and you're good to go.
[656 - 659] Now I want you to look at what I got going on here.
[659 - 663] All the pasta is coated, but it is not drowning in sauce.
[663 - 666] This is classic pasta 101.
[666 - 668] We don't want it to be swimming in the sauce.
[668 - 670] It's easy to add more sauce.
[670 - 673] It's near impossible to take any sauce away.
[673 - 676] And then I'm gonna add my grated pecorino.
[676 - 678] Don't be stingy. Use good cheese.
[678 - 681] This is fresh grated pecorino romano.
[681 - 683] Don't buy the stuff in the can or the shaker.
[683 - 685] And then I'm just gonna take some basil leaves
[685 - 687] just to accent that basil.
[687 - 690] If they're really big, give 'em a tear.
[690 - 692] So I'm gonna plate some meatballs here
[692 - 694] just for presentation's sake.
[694 - 695] And that is basically
[695 - 698] my grandma style spaghetti and meatballs.
[698 - 699] Typically, if I was having
[699 - 701] a Sunday dinner at my grandmother's house,
[701 - 702] this is how the setup would be.
[702 - 705] We'd have the nice plated pasta with the sauce
[705 - 707] and some meatballs and some garnish.
[707 - 710] And then we'd have a bowl of sauce,
[710 - 712] a bowl of meatballs and cheese
[712 - 715] so that people can dress their plates the way they want it.
[715 - 718] Time to plate this baby up and give it a taste.
[718 - 719] I grab some pasta, get it on my plate.
[719 - 721] I'm gonna get a meatball 'cause I want to taste.
[721 - 724] So I'm gonna taste the pasta by itself first.
[724 - 728] Get me a little bite to see how my sauce is.
[730 - 734] What I love about this sauce is that it's cooked
[734 - 737] but not cooked too long so it's not too dense or deep.
[737 - 740] It still has that nice bright tomatoey flavor.
[740 - 741] Of course, the pecorino cheese
[741 - 743] every single time does it for me.
[743 - 745] My meatballs are super tender.
[746 - 748] You cut 'em with the side of your fork.
[748 - 750] They're not falling apart.
[750 - 752] They're cooked all the way through. They have great flavor.
[752 - 754] We made sure they had great flavor
[754 - 756] 'cause we did our little test.
[756 - 757] Meatballs are perfect.
[758 - 760] You could serve this plate of pasta
[760 - 762] to any Italian American grandma.
[762 - 765] You might get a kiss, you might get a kiss on both cheeks.
[765 - 767] Taking the time, putting the effort in
[767 - 770] and making this sauce at home is well worth it.
[770 - 774] You choose the ingredients, you choose the seasonings.
[774 - 777] You can make it custom to what your family likes,
[777 - 780] and you just can't do that with store-bought food.