The Best Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

Meatballs:

1. Add all ingredients for the meatballs, minus breadcrumbs and milk, in a large mixing bowl. Don’t mix.
2. In a separate bowl, combine your breadcrumbs and milk. You’re looking for the texture of wet sand.
3. Add your breadcrumb mixture to your large mixing bowl, along with a squeeze of olive oil. Gently combine all ingredients using your hands. Be careful not to over mix, that will cause tough meatballs.
4. Form into golf ball sized balls and set aside.
5. In a large saucepan, heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of your pan over medium heat. Once hot, add in your meatballs (this may take two batches), and brown on all sides. Don’t worry about cooking them all the way through, they’ll finish in the sauce. Repeat with your second batch and set aside.

Sauce:

1. In the same saucepan, heat your olive oil over medium/low heat (you might not need to add the full amount of oil depending on how much you have leftover from the meatballs).
2. Once hot, add in your garlic and give it a quick stir. As soon as your garlic begins to sizzle (you don’t want it to brown) pour in your tomatoes and stir.
3. Pour in a cup of water in each tomato can, swirl to pick up the remaining tomato juice, and pour into your sauce. Season with salt and red pepper. Stir.
4. Place your basil leaves directly on top of the sauce, but don’t stir yet. Let the basil wilt and then stir into your sauce, about 5 minutes or so.
5. Adjust seasoning as needed and discard your basil.
6. Reduce heat to low and nestle in your meatballs. Cover and simmer for 1 hour-all day.