Nicky's Famous Meatballs

A recent contest pitted New York City borough restaurants against each other for the title of “Best Meatball in the Boroughs.” Although all the meatballs were delicious (I did the hard work of trying them for you), a panel of celebrity judges—including Frank Pellegrino, actor/co-owner of Rao’s Restaurant, and Michael Maroni, owner of Maroni Cuisine and winner of Food Network’s meatball “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”—declared the winner Nicky’s Famous Meatballs by Manhattan’s Bello Giardino (located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan). See the recipe below.—Denise Shoukas

1 lb. beef, 1 pound pork (instruct butcher to grind meats 3 times; if using pork and beef, grind together)
7 or 8 cloves of garlic
2 to 3 eggs
1/4 lb. Parmesan cheese
Fresh Italian parsley (large bunch)
1 loaf of two-day-old Italian bread

1. Place beef/pork in bowl. Add garlic and use a garlic squeezer so that there are no large chunks. Add eggs and Parmesan cheese.

2. Wash parsley leaves with water and chop them up very fine.

3. In separate bowl, break up hard Italian bread and fill bowl with water. Let bread soak for a few minutes until mushy. Squeeze the excess water and then add remaining ingredients above.

4. Mix all ingredients with hand. Remove all lumps of bread. Make sure hands are wet when shaping meatballs. Do not pack tight—the results will be crispy outside and tender inside.

5. Fill a medium-sized cast iron frying pan with olive, Wesson or Mazola oil to half the depth and heat on medium high until hot. Fry meatballs 8 to 10 at a time, turning when meat is brown. Finished meatball size should be approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inch in diameter.