Background: One dish I like to use our fresh ground pork shoulder in is meatballs with sauce. The ground pork is already spiced with “breakfast sausage” spices and lots of fresh herbs so ground beef or bison is mixed in. They are then roasted and finished in the sauce, perfect for pasta, but our real favorite is a meatball sandwich!

Ingredients Sauce: 28 oz can San Marzano peeled tomatoes crushed; 15 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes; 29 oz can tomato sauce; 2 tsp brown sugar; 1 tbsp molasses; ½ tsp pepper flakes; 4 tbsp olive oil.

Ingredients Meatballs: ½ lb. ground beef; ½ lb. homemade sausage; ½ red pepper chopped finely; ½ medium onion chopped finely; 1 jalapeno cored and finely chopped; 3 cloves garlic crushed and minced; 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce; ½ cup half and half; ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs; ¼ cup breadcrumbs; ¼ tsp fennel seeds; 1 tbsp olive oil.

Steps:

  1. In a Dutch oven combine the sauce ingredients and bring to a slow boil stirring regularly, then simmer until the meatballs are added. Keep an eye on the heat and stir often so the bottom doesn’t burn.
  2. Add one tbsp of olive oil to a heated nonstick pan then drop in the onion, jalapeno, and red pepper. Allow this to sweat just until the onions start to soften, then drop in the garlic, cook for another minute, and remove from the heat. Set the oven to 400F.
  3. Place the ground pork, ground beef, Worcestershire, fennel, panko, breadcrumbs, and half and half into a large mixing bowl. Drop in the previously cooked vegetables and pour in the half and half. Combine and mix well, but do not overmix. Divide the meat mixture into 6 balls (I use a scale for this) and place them into a lightly oiled 13’ x9” glass baking dish, and place in the oven, center rack. Cook for between 25 and 30 minutes, turning once during that time. 
  4. Once meatballs are browned, remove from the baking dish and place in the sauce stir to cover- allow to simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes, then they are ready to serve with the pasta of choice and make great leftovers.