Ina Garten's Salty Secret To Flavorful Turkey Meatballs

If there's anything Ina Garten knows well, it's creating tasty and soul-soothing dishes — her latest cookbook is called "Modern Comfort Food," after all. And if there's anything that screams comfort food, it's probably meatballs. No matter how meatballs are made around the world, they always seem to be a dish that truly hits the spot — just like the Barefoot Contessa's turkey meatballs. 

Yet, like many of her recipes, these are so much more than just turkey meatballs. Garten's creation comes packed with a salty surprise that takes their flavor to the next level, and the secret ingredient just so happens to be prosciutto.

Although prosciutto is meat, it's not something many might expect to find in a meatball. Yet, it's a salty, fatty, flavorful addition that adds a completely unique element to the dish, ultimately setting Garten's meatballs apart from others and winning the hearts of anyone who gives them a try. So what is it about prosciutto, exactly, that makes it such a stellar ingredient? A lot of it has to do with its big flavor.

Maybe you've enjoyed this thinly-sliced meat in an Italian sandwich or on a well-curated charcuterie board, but there's still a lot you may not know about prosciutto, like the many ways it can add to the deliciousness of a meal. To understand why it's such a dimensional ingredient in something like meatballs, it's helpful to understand what prosciutto actually is (and what makes it so tasty).

Prosciutto is a salumi (aka, a cured pork product) that has been made in Italy for thousands of years. It's a cut of meat that comes from pork leg, which is first salt-cured for several weeks and then dry-aged for up to 36 months. This process of curing and drying the meat, along with other factors like how it's seasoned and where it's made, is what makes for such a unique final product.

The cured meat — which can be eaten raw or cooked — tastes both salty and sweet, and yet delicate and rich. It can be packed with flavor depending on what it's seasoned with and how long it's been aged. This all makes it a complex ingredient to add to meatballs — and, in Garten's case, it doesn't just add a saltiness and umami-like flavor to the dish, but also helps keeps the blend of turkey and sausage moist and rich.

So how does the Barefoot Contessa put this winning dish together? As complex as these meatballs taste, especially with turkey as the base ingredient — which can tend to be bland since it's such a lean meat — they're actually quite simple to make.

Garten starts off by soaking some breadcrumbs in milk; this is called a panade, which is a starch-liquid combo that's meant to keep meat moist and tender. After that sits and thickens up for about five minutes, Garten then mixes the majority of the ingredients together, including the ground turkey, sweet Italian pork sausage, prosciutto, asiago cheese, and seasoning and herbs such as salt, pepper, parsley, red pepper flakes, and oregano. She then adds the eggs and olive oil last to bring the mixture together, being careful not to overwork the meat.

From there, it's just a matter of shaping into balls and baking. The beauty of this recipe is that it doesn't require searing or pan-frying the meatballs first; Garten keeps it quick and simple by baking them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35-40 minutes, until they're browned. She typically serves the meatballs with pre-made marinara sauce and spaghetti, but you can eat this flavorful dish any way you'd like.