Manly Meatball Marinara Recipe

If you're a child of the 80s, like us, its probably pretty likely that you grew up with the same recipe for meatballs that we did... from the Chef Boyardee can. Its for this reason that we decided to kick off the 2DGC series with a simple recipe that is familiar to pretty much everyone and can be made with relatively inexpensive ingredients that can be found in any megamart.

Marinara is one of the easiest sauces for the beginning home cook to take a swing at. A well made marinara should have very little in common with a mass market sauce like Prego or Ragu... Watery, Acidy, and Ketchup Red in color. Remember that a marinara essentially is a sauce of Onion, Garlic, and Tomato, but you can make you're own variation depending on your preferences.

Since the 2DGC dudes are, in fact, dudes, we felt like introducing a hearty protein into the recipe: 1.5" Meatballs! We've used a cooking technique that ensures doneness but minimizes overcooking and provides a great texture.

Check out the 2 Drunk Guys Cooking YouTube Channel for the How-To video showing some major steps in these recipes, as well as some hijinks during filming.

Basic Marinara Sauce

(Highlighted in 2DGC Ep 1, Part 2: Manly Meatball Marinara)

Olive Oil for Sautéing

1 Yellow Onion - Minced

8 Cloves Garlic - Moinced

4 Cans Crushed Tomato - Cut in the can, Preserving juices

1 Can Tomato Paste

1 Can Chicken Broth

1 Tsp Each Oregano, Basil, Italian Seasoning

Coat a pan with a 1/4" of olive oil, or enough to cover onions and garlic. Sauté on medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until translucent and slightly browned.

Add the entire contents of the 4 cans crushed tomato, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Add dried herbs. Stir, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for at least 15 minutes, but more cooking time will make it even better.

Manly Meatballs

(Highlighted in 2DGC Ep 1, Part 1: Manly Meatball Marinara)

1/4 c. Yellow Onion

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Lb. Ground Turkey and Ground Beef

1/2 Lb. Italian Sausage

2 Eggs

1/4 c. Grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 c. Bread Crumbs

Salt, Pepper, and Crushed Red Pepper to Taste

Combine all the ingredients in a really big bowl, adding the eggs last into a well punched into the center of the meaty mixture. Thoroughly combine and roll into meatballs. You can select a diameter of your choosing, but it will effect cooking time. We did 1.25" diameter meatballs.

In a high-walled "Chef's Pan," add the meatballs after pre-heating to medium high. In the meantime, preheat an oven to 375 F. Add a little olive oil if you're worried about sticking. After 3 minutes, turn the meatballs. Meatballs should be dark brown in color after this amount of time. If you don't like a crisp meatball, cook for the same amount of time on medium heat.

After the second side is cooked, transfer the meatballs to a cooking sheet and roast in the pre-heated oven. Since there is both poultry and pork in this recipe, cook the meatballs all the way through, unless you like risking deadly disease. 20 minutes should cook the meatballs all the way through at this size. Adjust down by as much as 5 minutes for smaller meatballs or as much as 10 minutes for larger ones.

Start your pasta water boiling and add your pasta so that it will be done five minutes after the meatballs are finished. Subtract two minutes from the entire cooking time. When meatballs are finished, add back into the high-walled chef's pan and pour the marinara sauce over them, keeping them at a simmer heat.

After draining the pasta, add directly to the chef's pan. Turn the pasta to coat the noodles. Cook for another two minutes.

Dish up, eat heartily, and drink merrily.

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