ORLANDO, Fla. — Inside Enzo's Hideaway, top chef John Miele says a meatball is actually a "meats-ball."
- Chef demonstrates how to make Enzo's three-meat meatball
- Learn how to also prepare a Charcuterie board
"So you've got veal, you've got ground beef, and then Italian sausage," Chef showed us.
The meatballs have everything from parsley, bread crumbs, onion, and garlic, to Worcestershire, and fennel seeds.
"My mom used to put toasted fennel seeds in our meatballs," Chef said, smiling. "It kinda gives it that 'licorice-y'-type flavor."
When forming the balls, Chef says the trick is to toss them against your palm until you hear a loud "smack." That, he says, knocks the air out and the meatballs are less likely to fall apart.
To accompany our meatballs, Chef prepared a charcuterie board for us.
"It's like the butcher's cuts," he explained, like salametto ("little salami") and mortadella, which is like the "Italian version of bologna."
"I know everyone loves the prosciutto," he said. "So I always start with the prosciutto, and I make sure there's always enough of the prosciutto on there."
As for the cheeses, Chef walked us over to a climate-controlled display inside Enzo's.
"It's a style of provolone," he said, pointing to the first ones we saw. "It's aged. It has, like, a wax coating on the outside, which protects the cheese. So it can stay in this case for long periods of time."
Hungry? Let's cook!
ENZO'S HIDEAWAY'S CURED MEATS AND CHEESES FOR THE PERFECT CHARCUTTERI PLATTER:
- Prosciutto cured 24 months
- Salame Piccante
- Finocchiona
- Aged 24 months Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Percorino Romano
- Olives
- Giardiniera
- Pickled Vegetables pickled vegetables
- Grissini
- Bread sticks
- Mostarda di Frutta
- Mustard fruit
ENZO'S MEATBALLS
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground sweet sausage
- 2 lb ground veal
- 1 lb ground beef
- 8 oz yellow onion, minced
- 5 ea garlic cloves, minced
- 1tsp Black pepper, ground
- 3 ea whole eggs
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup grated parm
- 1 lb crusty bread, chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 12 oz milk
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp toasted fennel seed
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 2 qts tomato sauce
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients together and mixed until just combined and uniform.
- Portion out into approximately 2 oz balls.
- Preheat oven to 425 f.
- In a large roasting pan, roast the meatball 8-12 minutes until golden brown.
- In a large saucepan, add the meatballs and the tomato sauce and cover.
- Lower the oven to 325 f.
- Braise the meatballs in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the internal temperature is at 165 f or above.
- Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite pasta.