On Mother’s Day, I made this recipe in honor of my mother, who makes the best turkey meatballs on the planet.  These are moist, light and flavorful.  

Many people have asked my mother for this recipe, so several years ago,  I watched and wrote, as my mother made a batch, measuring all of her ingredients as she went along, to finally codify this recipe. 

This recipe is for all of the fans of these wonderful meatballs, and in honor of mom.

As a first course, we had spaghetti, made with the red sauce rich with the flavor of the meatballs.

As our main course, we had the meatballs and some sauteed kale with garlic and lemon.

Mom’s Turkey Meatballs

2 lbs. Ground Turkey (not breast-only, not extra lean)

1 ¾ cups fresh white bread crumbs, crust removed

1 ¾ cups Progresso Italian Style seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

2 Tbls Chopped Fresh Italian Parsley

1 Tbl Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp coarse (kosher) salt

6 Large Eggs

½ cup milk

Up to 1/2 c olive oil, for frying

Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Incorporate well with hands.  Let stand for 15 minutes covered at room temp. 

Make red sauce (recipe below).

Form the balls, and brown, in batches, in olive oil.  If the oil becomes too brown, discard and replenish.  When all of the meatballs have been browned, add the sauteing oil from the last batch to the red sauce.  Simmer meatballs in the sauce for about 20 minutes.

Red Sauce

4 28-oz. Cans Hunts Whole Peeled Tomatoes, briefly pureed in blender or processor

1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil

¼  of a large red onion (or half of smaller onion)

1/8 (a small piece) of a green or red pepper, minced

10 basil leaves torn

 2 sprigs parsley, snipped

 tsp salt

 black pepper

 Combine all and simmer for approx. 20 minutes