Triple Meat Italian Meatballs

I know that most Italian meatballs are made with a combination of beef, pork, and veal and I rarely make mine that way.  When I went to the market, they were out of ground veal and so I substituted ground bison which added another beefy level of flavor to these yummy meatballs.  I won't ever search for the ground veal for these meatballs again since we just loved the flavor of the beef, pork and bison.  These were pan fried and then finished in a simple tomato sauce.  We loved these meatballs and got several meals out of this.  I still have 2 generous servings stashed in the freezer.  We looked forward to this meal each time we ate some of it.  I served it over spaghetti squash which I had baked in the oven.

Triple Meat Italian Meatballs
Makes 6-8 servings

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground bison
2 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
splash of red wine
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

Combine the beef, pork, bison, eggs, olive oil and seasonings in a large mixing bowl.  Gently combine all ingredients until just blended mixing very gently.  Form meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat and brown meatballs in batches until browned on all sides.  Once all the meatballs are browned and set aside, add the onion and garlic to the drippings and cook until the onions are translucent.  Pour in enough red wine to just cover the bottom of the skillet and let cook down until almost gone.  Add the tomatoes and meatballs back to the skillet, bring to a simmer and then reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.

Slightly adapted from TGI Paleo

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