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cooking homemade meatballs on the outdoor griddle
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Flat Top Grilled Meatballs

These flat top grilled meatballs are an awesome recipe to make on your outdoor griddle if you're craving Italian food! Add these homemade Italian meatballs to a grilled meatball sub or your favorite pasta dish!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Refrigeration Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Cuisine: Entrees
Servings: 40 meatballs
Calories: 841kcal
Author: Neal

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 lb. ground sausage
  • 1/2 lb. ground mild Italian sausage
  • 2 slices white bread dried on counter overnight
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 white onion grated
  • 3/4 cup ricotta
  • 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese or substitute parmesan
  • 5 fresh basil leaves chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 head roasted garlic
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Tear 2 slices of bread into small pieces and add to a large bowl.
  • Add eggs, the ground meats, grated onion, ricotta and pecorino ramono cheeses, basil, parsley, roasted garlic cloves, and salt and pepper to the bowl.
  • Use your hands to combine all of the meatball ingredients thoroughly.
  • Roll the meatball mixture into balls slightly smaller than a golf ball and place on a plate or baking sheet. The mixture should yield about 40 meatballs.
  • Refrigerate meatballs for at least one hour before cooking on the griddle.
  • Preheat flat top grill or griddle on low.
  • Add chilled meatballs to the griddle and allow to cook on the first side until they develop a nice crust and start to release from the griddle surface.
  • Carefully flip the meatballs to the other side, being sure to "scrape" the crust up from the griddle surface.
  • Allow to cook on the second side until a nice crust develops.
  • Continue to flip the meatballs while they finish cooking so the crust develops evenly and they don't burn. Cook until an internal thermometer reads 160 degrees.
  • Remove cooked meatballs from the griddle and transfer to a plate or wire cooling rack. Allow the meatballs to cool before serving.

Notes

Substitute parmesan cheese if you wish. Add cooked meatballs to a saucepan of your favorite marinara sauce (optional). Cooked meatballs can be frozen in a freezer bag after cooling and reheated in the oven.