Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce and Meatballs (VIDEO)

My great grandmother’s authentic recipe for Italian tomato sauce and meatballs. I have added a few personal touches, but I have kept the recipe basically the same.

Ingredients for Sauce:
4 (28-oz.) Cans Crushed Tomatoes (Note: I use Red Pack in the video, but I have found this brand does not work well. Tuttorosso is a much better brand.)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Head Garlic Cloves, minced (you can also roast the head of garlic in the oven @ 400˚F for 45 min. before adding to the sauce)
Water to fill 2 of the cans
1 Tbsp. Salt

Ingredients for Meatballs:
2 lbs. Meatloaf Mix
1 cup Italian Breadcrumbs
1 cup grated Romano Cheese
3 large Eggs, beaten
10 cloves Garlic, minced
2/3 cup dry white wine or water for deglazing the pan
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for frying

Other ingredients:
2 lbs. Sweet Italian Sausage (optional)

Method:
Set a stock pot over medium low heat and add olive oil and head of minced garlic. Cook until the garlic is yellow. (If you roasted the garlic, skip this step and add the roasted garlic cloves to the sauce after putting the tomatoes and water into the pot. Mash them up before adding.) Add the crushed tomatoes. Fill one of the tomato cans full to the brim with water, and add the water to the pot. Fill another can 3/4 full with water, and add the water to the pot. Add the salt and Stir.

Prepare the meatballs. Combine the meatloaf mix, breadcrumbs, Romano cheese, eggs, and 10 cloves garlic in a stand mixer and mix. Roll into meatballs about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Set a fry pan or saute pan over medium high heat and add enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is hot, add the meatballs. The meatballs should sizzle when added. Once browned on the bottom, flip and brown on the other side. The meatballs are soft and break easily, so flip carefully. Once browned, remove pan from heat and add meatballs to sauce. Return pan to heat. Add sausages to the pan and brown on both sides. Remove pan from heat and add sausages to the sauce.

Pour off the oil from the pan. Turn off the stove, and remove the pan from the heat. Add white wine. Set pan over medium heat and deglaze the pan. Add the wine and browned bits to the sauce and stir. Bring the pot to a low simmer and cook for 4 hours. Stir gently every half hour.

NOTE: You’ll notice that I used Red Pack crushed tomatoes in this video. This was the first time I used that brand, and I found that it does not give good results, so I recommend not to use it. I also do not recommend using the San Marzano brand since it does not give good results. The brand that I recommend using is Tuttorosso.