Porchetta Meatballs

Porchetta…or meatballs? Meatballs…or porchetta? If you are a fan of Italian-American food, you know that there is no real downside to this dilemma. For those not familiar with porchetta, it is a savory and well seasoned, slow cooked boneless roast of pork (sometimes carved directly from a roasted pig at outdoor events and festivals), usually served on a crusty Italian roll with roasted peppers, sharp provolone and sautéed broccoli rabe. I often make my version of porchetta as a Sunday dinner in a slow cooker, and if you follow my social media pages, you are very familiar with the photos that I share of the well-seasoned pork shoulders being slow cooked on my grill in the summertime. Most other Sunday dinners in my household are of course made up of meatballs and pasta.

It was just last week, as I was checking out the variety of pork shoulders on sale at the supermarket, that the package of ground pork caught my eye and sparked an idea. It is no secret that the classic Italian meatball is made up of equal parts ground beef, veal and pork. It is also common culinary knowledge that rolling and frying (or baking) meatballs takes up a lot less time than seasoning and slow cooking a pork shoulder. Here is where the spark really started to ignite…
If I were to use only the ground pork as the key ingredient in a meatball, seasoned with porchetta spices instead of my traditional meatball spices, would it taste as good as I am imagining it would?
Only one way to find out!

I’ve been writing this blog for just over 10 years, and I’ve put together some creative and fun recipes that I am proud of. But I have to say…this new recipe here is easily one of my favorites. Using only ground pork as the base of this recipe made for a juicy and tender meatball. The seasonings used in this recipe – garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, black pepper and toasted fennel seeds – were the perfect representation of a slow roasted pork shoulder, and worked harmoniously and beautifully with the ground pork. The timing of putting this recipe together – 45 minutes start to finish – was the real game changer.

Of course, I will never turn down a juicy traditional porchetta sandwich, and there will always be room at my dinner table for classic Italian meatballs in Sunday gravy. But this recipe will definitely be put to good use on those days where time and hunger are of the essence!

A Quick Tip about the Fennel Seeds
One of the key ingredients to a flavorful porchetta is fennel seeds, and they are also a key ingredient in this meatball recipe. A trick that I like to do when using fennel seeds for porchetta is to first toast the seeds in pan for about 8-10 minutes, until they start to brown a bit. This helps elevate the aromatic beauty of the seed and adds a really nice toasted flavor. I then prefer to add the toasted seeds, along with the kosher salt, and the garlic and onion powders to a spice grinder to help combine the spices into one mixture. A spice grinder is not absolutely necessary, but I suggest that you at least crush or chop the toasted fennel seeds before adding them to the meat mixture.

PORCHETTA MEATBALLS

1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon toasted fennel seeds (toasted 8-10 minutes in a pan over medium heat, until fragrant)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

*Rosemary is another fragrant herb that is often used to give flavor to a porchetta spice rub. I am not a huge fan of rosemary, so I prefer to leave it out. You can add 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped rosemary, or 1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary for additional flavor if you wish.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you have a spice grinder, add the toasted fennel seed, kosher salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powder to the grinder and pulse a few times until the fennel is chopped and the spices are well mixed. If you do not have a spice grinder, you can simply chop or crush the fennel seeds on their own, then mix with the salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder.

Add the spice mixture and remaining ingredients to the ground pork. Mix well. Roll the pork into 12-15 golfball-sized meatballs (depending on your size preference). Place the meatballs on a baking sheet or in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Lightly spray the meatballs with cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the meatballs start to brown.

Remove from oven and serve immediately. You can serve them with buttered noodles or rice, with pasta, or my personal choice…in a crusty Italian roll with roasted peppers, sharp provolone and sautéed broccoli rabe!