Homemade Meatballs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease rimmed baking sheets lightly.

2. Heat bacon fat in a pan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in the hot pan until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

3. While mixture cools, cut the loaf of bread in half horizontally. Scoop out the white bread, leaving a boat-like shell of crust; save crust for pizza bread or garlic toast. Tear white bread into pieces (should yield 5 to 6 cups) and place into a bowl.

4. Combine milk, chicken broth, and eggs in a bowl. Pour over the torn bread. Mash bread into small pieces with your fingers. Stir in cooled onion and garlic; mix well. Add parsley, salt, Worcestershire, mustard, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Mix very well.

5. Combine ground beef and sausage in a large mixing bowl using your hands. Add bread mixture, about 1 cup at a time, mixing well with your hands between each addition, until all is combined evenly.

6. Form meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheets.

7. Bake until meatballs are browned and no longer pink in the centers, about 30 minutes.

Cook's Notes:

You can use 1/4 cup dried parsley instead of fresh, and half-and-half or cream instead of whole milk.

If you make very small meatballs these are great to use in Italian wedding soup too! I make a pan gravy with the drippings to serve over egg noodles or fried potatoes with meatballs, too!

Please use the best quality ingredients i.e.: free-range eggs, raw dairy, pasture-raised meats, organic veggies - you can taste the difference and they are nutritionally superior to cheap alternatives.

Optional: Gravy - pour pan drippings from the cooked meatballs into a skillet, add flour (or browned flour) to make a roux, add chicken broth, and whisk well.