Before Kenny’s Italian Kitchen existed, and after many long hours and a few too many glasses of wine later, chef/owner Kenny Bowers’ “Midnight Meatball” recipe was born. In honor of National Meatball Day on Sunday, March 9, Bowers decided to reveal his prized possession recipe a few weeks ahead. Yesterday, he let me in on a few tricks to making meatballs:
A meatball should never be too mushy, and it shouldn’t be too tough, either.To bind the meatballs and form a perfect ball, the best type of bread to use is white bread. You don’t need fancy Italian bread for this.Grated Parmesan rather than shredded Parmesan mixes better in the meatball mixture. (My tip: Never buy cheese in the “green can.” It’s gross. Don’t do it.)Refrigerate the meatball mixture for a good hour before you form the mixture into the balls.When cooking the meatballs, you can either brown them in the pan, then toss them in the sauce to finish cooking, or brown them in the pan and put them in the oven to finish cooking. Or you could just keep them in the oven for the entire time until they are finished. 
Mixing all the ingredients together (photography by Hayley Votolato)
Dining and Cooking