Yummy Meatball Sub
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Entrées
Cuisine: Sandwiches, Meatballs, American Italian
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 60 hours
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 mins
INGREDIENTS
The Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef (I like sirloin)
½ cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 egg (beaten)
3 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
⅓ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
⅓ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
¼ cup Asiago cheese (grated)
2 teaspoons fresh oregano (chopped)
1 teaspoon fresh basil (chopped)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
The Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 white onion (chopped)
2 stalks fresh celery (chopped)
4 cloves fresh garlic (chopped)
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 8 oz. can diced tomatoes (in juice)
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves (chopped/ dried oregano-use 1Tbsb.)
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves (chopped/ dried basil-use 1 Tbsp.)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup water (or more if too thick)
Bread for Subs:
You can use French Demi-Baguette or Hoagie split-top bread or any bread of your choice (I have even used small Ciabatta bread with dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives and split the top and filled with the meatballs and sauce and cheese)
1 package each of sliced Mozzarella and sliced Provolone cheese
Parmigiano Reggiano (grated-optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
The Meatballs:
1. Git out a big mixin’ bowl. Add the chopped sirloin or ground beef into the bowl.
2. Next, add the bread crumbs and egg.
3. Mix this ‘til the egg is blended into the meat and crumbs.
4. Now, add the garlic, parsley, parmesan, and Asiago cheeses, oregano, basil, salt, and black and cayenne pepper. I just use my hands and mix all these ingredients and the meat until well blended.
5. Then, roll a little of the meat mixture with your hands into golf ball-sized balls and place them on a plate or cooking sheet until all the meat is used up. Once you’ve finished rolling up the balls, place them in the refrigerator while we make the sauce.
The Sauce:
1. Git out your Dutch oven or spaghetti pot and heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and butter in the pot over medium heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and celery to the pot and stir around until the onions are translucent and the chopped celery has softened a bit.
3. Then, add the freshly chopped garlic and stir that around for another minute or two. (You don’t want it to brown.)
4. Now, add to the celery-onion mixture the tomato paste, the diced tomatoes, and the can of crushed tomatoes. Stir it around to blend, and then add the bay leaves, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil, and cayenne pepper and stir ‘til blended. Let this cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. It will begin to thicken a bit. Then, add the cup of water and stir until it is mixed. Turn your burner down to a medium heat.
Back to Meatballs:
1. While the sauce is cooking, git out your skillet and heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium-high heat.
2. Take your meatballs out of the fridge and add them, a few at a time, to the heated oil in the skillet. You want them to cook evenly, so don’t crowd them too much. If you need to brown them in two batches, that’s fine.
3. Brown the meatballs in the skillet on all sides, and then once browned, take a slotted spoon (so extra grease can drain) and place the browned meatballs into the spaghetti sauce you have cookin’ on the other burner.
4. Once all the meatballs are in the sauce, gently stir around the meatballs into the sauce.
Back to Both:
1. You’re gonna let the sauce and the meatballs cook over the medium heat for about 45 minutes. Every 10 minutes or so, you want to check your sauce to see if it has become too thick. At which time, you can stir in another half cup more of water.
2. After about 20 minutes, you can taste the sauce to see if you need a little more oregano or salt, pepper, or garlic powder. (For a deeper flavor, you can also stir in ⅓ cup of red wine.)
To serve::
1. Preheat your oven to 400ᵒ. If you have a long baguette, cut it in half. Now, slice the baguette lengthwise (I don’t cut it all the way through, and leave one lengthwise side part attached. It’s up to you). Whatever bread you use, slice it lengthwise and place iton a cooking pan.
2. Then, lay the slices of Mozzarella and Provolone (I usually use 3-5 of each) atop the bread. Then, spoon on some tomato sauce and 4-5 meatballs, top with a little more sauce, and bake in your 400ᵒ oven until the crust of the bread is golden and the cheese is melted, 4-5 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and place on your serving plate. Sprinkle a little of the Parmigiano-Reggiano on top and serve immediately.
Here's the meatballs in the ciabatta bread with the dried tomatoes! Mangia!!
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