Bucatini with Bacon Sauce and Italian Meatballs
If you are looking for some delicious comfort food, this recipe for Bucatini with Bacon Sauce and Italian Meatballs is it! The meatballs are homemade with Dewig Meats’ Italian Sausage, and the tomato sauce is homemade with Dewig Meats’ smoked bacon. The sauce will simmer in your kitchen for about an hour. Just think how delicious that will smell while the meatballs are baking in the oven! Top it off with tender pasta and lots of cheese and add some Coloma Frozen Foods vegetables for a quick side dish – what else do you need for the perfect meal?
Acknowledgments:
This recipe is a hit! We have to thank David Wessel, a loyal Dewig Meats customer, for bringing this recipe to us. David found this recipe on The Food Network, and the original version can be viewed here.
Special thanks to a longtime friend, Lisa Taylor, for the additions, subtractions, and pictures taken from her recipe experiment. Her exact words in sharing this revised recipe were, “Really good, the whole family approved!”
- 15 strips Dewig's Smoked Bacon
- 1 cup Coloma Frozen Foods Diced Onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 4-28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- Cooking spray
- 2 pounds Dewig's Italian Sausage
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs (homemade or store bought)
- ¾ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- ¾ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound box bucatini pasta
- Cut bacon into pieces. Cook over medium heat until almost crispy.
- Add onions to pan. Cook until translucent.
- Add garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes (undrained). Bring sauce to a boil.
- Reduce heat, cover, and simmer on low for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine sausage, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, parsley, garlic, eggs, salt, and pepper.
- Roll meat mixture into 1 or 1-1/2 inch meatballs.
- Place meatballs on baking sheet.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- Turn meatballs and reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
- Bake meatballs for 5 more minutes.
- Turn meatballs a second time.
- Bake meatballs for 5 more minutes (15 minutes total baking time)
- Cook bucatini pasta according to package directions.
- Drain.
- Pour sauce over cooked pasta with meatballs on the side.
- Garnish with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Reviewed: DKiesel18