Instant Pot Meatballs — The Real Recipe, How Many Batches

Week 200. I didn't plan to count weeks but the blog numbering counts them for me, and 200 weeks is three years and forty-eight weeks and the number is large and the life it represents is both larger and smaller than the number. Paul's breathing is at forty percent. The ventilator works harder. The hissing is louder, or maybe I'm hearing it more clearly because the rest of the house is quieter. The talking is gone. The typing is gone. The eyes communicate. Margaret, the hospice nurse, had a gentle conversation with me on Wednesday. She said: "Linda, I want you to think about the things you want him to experience before —" She paused. "Before the breathing becomes too difficult." Before. The word. The things I want him to experience. The things I want him to smell and hear and see and know. I made a list in my head. Not on paper — paper is too permanent for this kind of list. The list: the lake opening (April — will he see April?). Sophie's graduation (May — will he see May?). The bread (every Saturday — how many Saturdays?). The meatballs (the real recipe — how many batches?). The reading (every night — how many stories?). I didn't finish the list. Lists have endings and I'm not ready for endings. Peter called on Sunday. Nine months sober. He said, "How's Dad?" I said, "He's here." The simplest answer. The truest answer. He's here. For now. Today. He's here. Peter said, "I'm coming next weekend." I said, "Good." He said, "I'm bringing wild rice soup." I said, "Good." He said, "Mom, is he —" He stopped. I said, "He's here, Peter. Come while he's here." Come while he's here. The sentence I'm saying to everyone now. Come. While. I baked bread on Saturday. Limpa. The promise. The smell filled the house. Paul's eyes moved — toward the kitchen, toward the smell. He can't turn his head anymore. But his eyes moved. The eyes followed the bread. The bread reached him. I held his hand after the baking. His hand — warm, still, alive. I held it and I said, "The bread is good today, Paul." His eyes looked at me. The look said: I know. Thank you. I'm here. He's here. The bread is baked. The hand is warm. Week 200. He's here.

The bread got baked on Saturday — it always does — but the meatballs are the other thing on the list, the one I wrote in my head and couldn’t finish. “The meatballs (the real recipe) — how many batches?” I don’t know how many batches are left, so I make them when I can. The Instant Pot gets them on the table faster now, which matters more than it used to. This is the recipe I’ve been making for Paul for thirty-one years, and it is still the real one.

Instant Pot Meatballs

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (80/20 blend)
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup beef broth

Instructions

1. Soak the breadcrumbs. In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and milk. Let stand 3 minutes until the milk is absorbed.
2. Mix the meat. Add the ground beef, ground pork, egg, Parmesan, garlic, onion, parsley, salt, pepper, and oregano to the breadcrumb mixture. Mix gently with your hands just until combined — do not overwork or the meatballs will be dense.
3. Form the meatballs. Roll the mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (roughly 24 meatballs). Place on a parchment-lined tray as you work.
4. Brown in the Instant Pot. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté (high). Add olive oil. Working in two batches, brown the meatballs on two sides, about 2 minutes per side. They do not need to be cooked through. Remove to the tray and cancel Sauté.
5. Build the sauce. Pour the beef broth into the pot and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce and stir to combine.
6. Add the meatballs. Nestle the browned meatballs into the sauce in a single layer as best you can. Spoon the remaining 1 cup of marinara over the top.
7. Pressure cook. Secure the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes. When the cycle ends, allow a natural pressure release for 5 minutes, then carefully switch the valve to Venting to release any remaining steam.
8. Serve. Open the lid away from you. Stir the sauce gently around the meatballs. Serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or with thick slices of bread to catch the sauce.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 385 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 740mg