Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs can also be simmered unbrowned in the sauce until cooked, which preserves their moistness and adds flavor both to sauce and meat. Saves time and fuss, too.

Kiom has made assumptions about cooking meat that are not supported. Many reputable sources exist to help us cook food safely, such as www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/index.html and www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answe.... Cooking meat in sauce or other liquids is delicious and has has been done safely for many years. Imagine cooking a holiday brisket without sauce...

@Kiom
Meatballs can absolutely be cooked in the sauce as per Jessica. Comment to Jessica seems to imply " raw meat" should not be cooked in sauce for safety reasons. When making a meat sauce, the meat used is not completely cooked before putting into sauce - it is cooked in the sauce.

Hello there,

I love to eat meat BUT not veal and always organic. I believe for our own good, healthly speaking to us, the end of the food chain, that the animals we've eaten, had to have a chance to live their lives outside and being killed with respect.
Meat balls are as delicious without veal meat and I add a little bit of ginger or cognac...

For generations, after browning the meatballs, we have simmered the meatballs in the sauce for about 1/2 hour. I have never heard of boiling them! It would wash out much of the flavor!

Adding locatelli romano or similar cheese to the meatball recipe adds richness. Finishing them in tomato sauce rather than water is far better and more flavorful. Completing them to that point and refrigerating in the sauce overnite vastly improves flavor-which is why I never serve a lasagna or mousaka the day it is made. The flavors marry overnite and gently reheating leads to a far improved product. Learned much of above from first generation Italian mother of college friend.

Bad idea. Cooking raw meat in a sauce is a no-no, but the recipe itself isn't very good either. Meat is not cooked in a marinara sauce. That would make it a ragu--a meat sauce. And the bacon? Another error and one that does not sit well with the oregano.

I made this twice, once with the bacon and once without, and I preferred the latter. I think the bacon actually detracts from the taste of the meatballs and doesn't quite work here.

I agree with Anreia -- no veal for all the reasons she stated.

These are the best meatballs I’ve made. Added an egg and whisper of Pecorino, poached them in sauce; used fresh marjoram bc no oregano at the store

Why add the 2 cups of water to pan with the meatballs? Are you steaming....boiling in the oven? The meatballs will have no flavors from the sauce nor would they have flavored the sauce since you did not cook them for a bit in the sauce. This is a very strange recipe....however, I will try it out of curiosity.

I brown my meatballs and then reduce heat to add marinara and extra onion/garlic to the pan surrounding the meatballs. Cover and simmer. Yum!

This is a keeper! I followed the meatball ingredients exactly and they were delicious! I sautéed half an onion, plus 4 whole garlic cloves, and a bay leaf for about 10 min. I added my favorite jarred marinara sauce. Rather than boiling the meatballs, after browning I added them to the sauce to finish cooking. I also drained off all fo the fat from the saute pan and added a cup of red to get all of the fond and flavor and added to sauce. Fresh oregano made all of the difference and is a must!