Old Fashioned Meatballs
Delicous Southern Dinner Recipe for Oven Baked Meatballs in Sauce
Meatballs aren't just for parties. Cook up some old fashioned meatballs and serve with mashed potatoes for a fine Southern comfort meal.
Anyone of a certain age from the South will probably remember having meatball dinners. Mom might make them ahead and heat up meatballs as a quick dinner much like microwave dishes today.
There are loads of meatball recipes. Many are stovetop or crock pot. The old fashioned kind of meatballs are similar but tend to be a little richer with thicker sauce. They’re perfect for dinner but also just fine served as finger foods with toothpicks.
Old Fashioned Baked Meatballs Recipe
- 3 pounds lean ground beef (ground chuck for instance)
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 1 ½ cups soft bread crumbs (just break up regular white sandwich bread)
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ cup plus 2 TBS whole milk
- Vegetable oil (enough to lightly cover bottom of skillet)
- ¾ cup Worchester sauce
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup plus 2 TBS vinegar
- 3 cans tomato sauce (8 ounce size cans)
- Fresh chopped parsley
Directions:
- Break the raw hamburger meat apart a bit in a large bowl.
- Add onion bits and stir.
- Add soft bread crumbs, salt, pepper, chili powder, and milk. Stir around in meat mixture until even mixed.
- Shape meat mixture into one inch sized balls (making around 6 dozen total).
- Heat oil to medium high in a skillet.
- Place meatballs in hot oil and lightly brown. If the pan is small, you may have to do the meatballs in batches. Roll them around until they have a nice color and then put on paper towels to drain.
- Put cooked, drained meatballs into a 9 x 13 inch oblong pan or baking dish with sides.
- Measure the Worcestershire sauce, sugar, vinegar, and tomato sauce into a pan on top of the stove.
- Bring the sauce mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to low.
- Cook sauce while stirring for one minute over the low heat.
- Sprinkle parsley over meatballs at this point or if using fresh parsley use as a garnish after the meatballs are baked.
- Bake at 325 degrees F uncovered for 30 minutes.
Add another favorite country side dish to your meatball dinner with Fried Apples. This sweet side dish contrasts very nicely with the zippy meatballs and rib sticking mashed potatoes.
Try some Old Fashioned Southern Cornbread with your meatball dinner too. You'll be saying "boy howdy ya'll" and humming a cheesy country song for sure. Cornbread goes great with most any Southern meal.
For dessert, try a Southern classic - Homemade Brownies - Forget the box mixes. It's really easy to whip up your own brownies with this tasty family favorite recipe. These can be made ahead which is nice, and it's hard to find anyone who doesn't enjoy a rich, fudgy brownie to top off a meal.
