Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs for a Crowd

Not your momma's spaghetti and meatballs

Prep Time

1:00

Hr:Mins

Total Time

2:00

Hrs:Mins

Makes

Servings

MEATBALLS

1 1/2

cups buttermilk

lg eggs, lightly beaten

lbs ground beef

tablespoon ground red pepper

oz thin sliced prosciutto

1 1/2

cups parmesan cheese

tbsp minced garlic

1 1/2

tsp powder gelatin dissolved in 3 tbsp cold water

salt/pepper

2 1/4

upa panko

SAUCE

tbsp olive oil

1 1/2

cups grated onion (1-2 onions)

med garlic cloves minced

1/2

tsp red pepper flakes

tsp oregano

cups tomato juice

cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

tbsp dry white wine

salt/pepper

lbs spaghetti

1/2

cup minced basil

tbsp minced parsely

tsp sugar

Make the meatballs: Place wire racks in 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets. Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions, and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine bread crumbs and buttermilk in large bowl and let sit, mashing occasionally with fork, until a smooth paste forms, about 10 minutes
Add eggs, beef, pork, prosciutto, Parmesan, parsley, garlic, gelatin mixture, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper to bread crumb mixture. Gently mix everything with your hands until thoroughly combined.
Spray the wire racks with nonstick cooking spray (or rub them with olive oil). Form meatballs using about 1/4 cup of meat mixture per meatball, and space the meatballs out on the racks as you form them. You should end up with about 40 meatballs.
Roast until browned, about 30 minutes, rotating trays from front to back and top to bottom halfway through.
Make the sauce: While the meatballs roast, heat olive oil in a LARGE Dutch oven or other pot 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, and 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 a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.
Remove meatballs from oven, and lower oven temperature to 300 degrees. Add meatballs to sauce, cover pot, and place in oven. (At this point, I separated the sauce into two different pots, added meatballs to both, and kept one on the stove. This is a good option if you don't have a big enough pot to fit everything in.)
Cook until meatballs are firm and sauce has thickened, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. (I actually used linguine fini because I don't love the texture of spaghetti. I also recommend thin spaghetti and angel hair.)
Serve: Stir the basil and parsley into the sauce, and add sugar, salt, and pepper, as necessary.
Toss the pasta with a little bit of sauce to coat it. Top pasta with meatballs and extra sauce. Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top, if desired.

Makes Servings