Best Classic Spaghetti And Meatballs For A Crowd Cooks Illustrated Serves Recipes

OUR FAVORITE SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Make the tomato sauce:
• Heat a large, wide pot over medium-low and add oil and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden brown on all sides (if it starts to burn, reduce heat), 8-10 minutes. While garlic cooks, break up tomatoes into smaller pieces with a paring knife or kitchen shears. When garlic is almost ready, add red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, oregano, and pepper and stir, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon, until well combined.
• Increase heat slightly and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and flavors have concentrated, at least 2 hours and up to 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, make the meatballs:
• Place bread in a medium bowl, add milk, and let rest until moistened, about 5 minutes. Squeeze bread with your hands to remove excess milk, discarding milk. Tear bread into smaller, pea-size pieces and return to the medium bowl.
• Combine beef, pork, veal, eggs, garlic, 1 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup parsley, 1 tsp. salt, oregano, pepper, fennel, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Using your hands, gently mix in bread until ingredients are evenly distributed (do not overmix).
• Fill a small bowl with cool water. Moisten your hands and roll meat mixture between palms into golf-ball-sized balls, occasionally moistening hands as needed. Place meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet-you should have about 24-and chill until sauce is ready.
• Finish the sauce and cook the meatballs and pasta:
• After 2-3 hours of simmering, pluck out bay leaves and add basil. Using an immersion blender (or transfer sauce to a food processor or blender, working in batches, if necessary), purée until slightly chunky but not smooth. Reserve 1 1/2 cups sauce; keep remaining sauce in pot warm over very low heat.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high and add oil. Once hot, add meatballs to skillet (without crowding) and work in batches to brown on all sides, turning frequently, about 5 minutes per batch. Return meatballs to baking sheet as you brown them.
• Once all meatballs are browned, add them to pot with tomato sauce. If your pot is not large enough, divide sauce and meatballs between 2 pots. Increase heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 10-15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid, and return pasta to pot over medium-low heat. Spoon reserved 1 1/2 cups sauce over pasta and toss to coat. Add pasta cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, as needed to loosen sauce and coat pasta.
• Divide pasta among plates and top with meatballs and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/4 cup parsley.
• Do Ahead
• Sauce can be made, cooled, and refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Meatballs can be shaped and refrigerated 1 day in advance. Meatballs can be cooked in sauce, cooled, and refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

CROWD-SOURCED SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Make the meatballs: Combine the beef, breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, parsley, basil and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk together the milk, egg and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Pour over the meat and gently mix with your hands until well blended. Roll into 12 golf ball-size meatballs. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 20 minutes.
• Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning, until well browned all over, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the meatballs to a plate and set aside. Discard the oil and gently wipe out the pot with a paper towel.
• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in the same pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, parsley, basil and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper; cook 1 minute. Add the wine and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot, until the wine is nearly evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar and 1/2 cup water.
• Add the meatballs to the sauce. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, 18 to 20 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook as the label directs for al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain. Return the spaghetti to the pasta pot, ladle in about half of the sauce and toss well to coat, adding more sauce if necessary. Divide the spaghetti and meatballs among bowls. Top with Parmesan and serve with the remaining sauce.

CLASSIC SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS FOR A CROWD COOK'S ILLUSTRATED. SERVES 12. RECIPE

Steps:

• 1. FOR THE MEATBALLS: Place wire racks in 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets. Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine bread crumbs and buttermilk in large bowl and let sit, mashing occasionally with fork, until smooth paste forms, about 10 minutes. 2. Add eggs, beef, pork, prosciutto, Parmesan, parsley, garlic, gelatin mixture, 11/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to bread-crumb mixture. Using hands, gently mix until thoroughly combined. Lightly form about ¼ cup mixture into 2-inch round meatball (about 2 ounces); repeat with remaining mixture to form approximately 40 meatballs. 3. Spray wire racks with nonstick cooking spray and place meatballs, evenly spaced, on racks; roast until browned, about 30 minutes, rotating trays from front to back and top to bottom halfway through. 4. FOR THE SAUCE: While meatballs roast, heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden around edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato juice, crushed tomatoes, wine, 1½ teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. 5. Remove meatballs from oven and lower oven temperature to 300 degrees. Gently add meatballs to sauce, cover pot, and place in oven. Cook until meatballs are firm and sauce has thickened, about 1 hour. 6. Meanwhile, bring 10 quarts water to boil in 12-quart pot. Add pasta and 2 tablespoons salt to boiling water; cook until al dente. Drain pasta and return it to cooking pot. 7. TO SERVE: Stir basil and parsley into sauce and adjust seasoning with sugar, salt, and pepper. Toss pasta with 1½ cups sauce until lightly coated. Serve pasta, passing meatballs, remaining sauce, and grated Parmesan separately.