Superbowl Meatball Sliders

These Superbowl Meatball Sliders are made with my 3-2-1 Italian Meatballs!  They call for 3 pounds of beef, 2 pounds of pork, and 1 pound of veal, which I find to be the perfect combination to make delicious and tender meatballs, that can be used in a variety of ways. This recipe makes enough to feed a crowd, or you can eat some now and freeze the rest for later.  I’m making them to serve at the for the Superbowl in the form of Meatball Sliders!  But they are also great on their own as an appetizer, in a meatball sandwich on a big crusty roll smothered with my  Marvelous Marinara and provolone or mozzarella cheese. You can also cut them up and use as a pizza topping, or just simmer them in a pot of marinara and serve on top of a big pile of spaghetti!

Let’s get cooking!

I like to start by laying all of the meat out on a sheet pan, break the beef, pork, and veal into small chucks, and mix them together lightly with my hands.

In another bowl, beat the eggs just like you are making scrambled eggs.   Chop the basil and parsley, and add the fresh herbs along with the remaining ingredients to the eggs.  Stir thoroughly.  By mixing these ingredients separately it will keep you from over mixing the meatballs.

Combine the egg mixture and the meat mixture and blend with your hands until just combined which will make for a nice and tender meatball.

Now it’s time to portion out the meatballs.  Line 3 half sheet pans with foil to make for easy clean-up.  You can make the meatballs as big or small as you want.  Here I’m using a heaping 3 Tbs scoop (a little over ¼ cup of meat) to portion meatballs and place on the sheet pans.  This just helps me to make sure the meatballs are all roughly the same size.  It also makes the process go a little quicker.  This recipe makes approximately 45-50 meatballs using this method. This is the perfect size for Superbowl Meatball Sliders!

Roll the meatballs in your hands, shaping into balls once they are all portioned.  Place the meatballs in the refrigerator for at least an hour to give them time to firm up and the flavors a chance to marry.  If you are tight on refrigerator space you can put all of the meatballs on two trays to chill them and then separate for baking.

You may either fry the meatballs in a skillet or bake them in the oven.  For the skillet method place enough oil in your skillet to cover the bottom of the pan and fry turning frequently until all sides are browned and the meatballs are cooked through.  Pictured above are slightly smaller meatballs, using the same sized scoop but not heaping.

For the oven method, preheat your oven to 375°, or if you have a convection oven preheat to 350° using the convection setting.  Bake the meatballs for 20-25 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 145-150 degrees.  Rotate pans once after 10 minutes of baking to ensure even cooking.    If you like your meatballs very crispy then turn the broiler on for just a minute to get the meatballs extra brown, rotating pans so all of the meatballs get crisp.

The meatballs can be easily frozen either before or after cooking.  If you want freeze them raw to cook at a later date, simply space them out on a sheet pan and place the entire pan in the freezer, uncovered for at least an hour.  Once the meatballs are individually frozen then you can place them in a zip top freezer bag until you are ready to use them.  If you want to cook them first, like I’m doing above, allow them to cool and then follow the same process.  If you cook them first they are a quick addition to a pot of simmering marinara for a great spaghetti and meatball dinner.  Or you can thaw and reheat, then use them any way you like.

I just love these 3-2-1 Italian Meatballs when I’m having a crowd over.  They are going to be great Superbowl grub for my guests to enjoy!  I’ll just keep them warm in a crock pot with a pile of Hawaiian rolls along side for some super satisfying Superbowl Meatball Sliders.