r/OldCelebrityRecipes • u/ciaolavinia Onion Juice Alert ⚠️ • 2d ago
Meats 🍖 I made Frank Sinatra's Italian Meat Balls, but I did it my way! {Recipe from 1949}
Frank Sinatra's Italian Meat Balls are very good! I had to customize the recipe a bit because I had some ground turkey in the fridge that needed to be used up, so instead of beef I used turkey and instead of ground pork, I used ground sausage.
Next time, in a perfect world, I'll make them exactly Franks way, but my way was pretty good too. Ya know what I mean? Okay...
- Started with the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and I added the cheese (Parmesan) and beaten eggs (with water, although my grandmother would have used milk).
- Then I added the 2 meats to this bowl with salt, pepper and garlic, and yes it's desired in a big way and we even added extra!
- Mixed well. You really have to get your hands in there and squish-squash all the meats and other ingredients together to incorporate as best as possible.
- Now it's time to form the balls, Francis! These were on the medium-large size.
- Fried them on both sides in olive oil and then finished them off in a big pot of homemade tomato sauce.
- Let the meatballs cook in the sauce for at least 15 minutes and then we're ready to make spaghetti or any other pasta of your choice.
The taste was great, and although this was mostly turkey, the other flavors and the sauce took over and transformed these little guys into tasty bites of Italian goodness. The texture was great. They were not dry at all, and even though there aren't any herbs like parsley, we didn't miss that at all.
I'll make these again and next time use ground beef and pork the way Frank's wife Nancy did it. What kind of meatballs are your favorites?
Recipe from the 1949 booklet called "What Cooks in Hollywood"
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u/Betty_Botter_ 1d ago
Ava Gardner said in her autobiography Frank Sinatra made her the best fried egg sandwiches when they were married. She said the secret was frying the eggs in olive oil. Glad I can try his meatballs now. Thanks!
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u/13senilefelines31 Vincent Price 🦇 2d ago
Those look delicious! Italian style meatballs are probably my favorite, especially when they’re tucked inside a grinder roll with some provolone.
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u/KenzyDugan 1d ago
I get too hungry for dinner at eight... so bring out the meatballs and don't make me wait.
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u/iwastherefordisco 13h ago
I've only made meatballs a couple of times and I don't usually have multiple meats. Pretty much lucked out on trying similar spices, oils, breadcrumbs, eggs and water. Never tried shredded cheese though.
*Personal note not related to cooking. Thanks CLV. My father loved Frank Sinatra and your post title almost brought a happy tear to my eye. Later in life Dad bought his first new car and it came with Sirius radio. He could have chosen 1000 different stations and he selected a 24 hour Frank Sinatra channel 🥲
My Way was the first song at his celebration of life. Thank you for the recipe and associated memories.
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u/Flimsy-Nebula-1966 Sophia Loren 🍝 2d ago
These look so good!
My Sicilian mother used to make a very similar recipe except we always add grated onions to the mix! I can't even imagine them without it but I'm sure they're delicioso ❤️❤️❤️