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Original video by @EthanChlebowski — all credit to the creator.

Ethan Chlebowski

Italian-American Spaghetti & Meatballs

Big, tender pork-and-beef meatballs roasted until browned, then piled over spaghetti tossed in a simple garlic-and-oregano tomato sauce. Fresh basil and grated Parmesan finish each bowl.

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Ingredients

For the meatballs

  • 1/2 lbground beef · 80/20
  • 1/2 lbground pork
  • —egg yolks
  • —onion · finely chopped
  • —breadcrumbs · panko
  • —Parmesan cheese · grated
  • —milk
  • —spice mix
  • —fresh parsley · chopped
  • —salt

For the tomato sauce

  • —butter
  • —olive oil
  • —garlic cloves · cracked
  • —red pepper flake
  • —dried oregano
  • 30 gtomato paste · plus more to thicken if needed
  • 1 canwhole peeled tomatoes · San Marzano packed in tomato puree preferred
  • 1/4onion
  • —salt

To serve

  • 1 lbspaghetti · bronze cut
  • —fresh basil
  • —Parmigiano Reggiano · grated, for finishing

Steps

  1. 1

    Combine the ground beef, ground pork, egg yolks, onion, breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan, milk, spice mix, and fresh parsley in a bowl and mix until evenly blended.

  2. 2

    Form the mixture into 9 large meatballs and arrange them on a baking tray.

  3. 3

    Roast the meatballs at 400°F until they reach about 155°F internal temperature.

  4. 4

    For the sauce, warm butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the cracked garlic cloves, red pepper flake, and oregano and let them bloom.

  5. 5

    Stir in 30 g tomato paste and cook it out, then add the canned tomatoes and the quarter onion.

  6. 6

    Simmer the sauce for about 1 hour, then taste and adjust — season with salt, and stir in extra tomato paste if the sauce is thin or overly acidic.

  7. 7

    Boil the spaghetti until just short of al dente, then transfer it to a pan over medium heat with a spoonful of the sauce and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce.

  8. 8

    Add fresh basil to the pan and stir everything together so the aroma infuses the pasta.

  9. 9

    Plate the pasta, top with two meatballs and more sauce, and finish with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Creator's notes

Ethan's budget-vs-premium verdict: the ingredients worth spending on are the canned tomatoes (San Marzano packed in tomato puree give a sweeter, thicker, more balanced sauce) and real Parmigiano Reggiano, since both hit your palate directly. Save money on premium ground beef and high-end spaghetti — with pork, salt, spices, and aromatics in the mix, and the same fat percentage, you'll notice little beyond a slight textural difference. Look for the cheapest bronze-cut pasta you can find. Buy spices in bulk and refill jars for the same quality at a fraction of the cost. Per-recipe cost worked out to about $25.85 high-end vs $11.46 budget, or roughly $6.46 vs $2.87 per serving.

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