Meat Lovers Meatball Subs

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So, what happens when I notice that ground beef, bacon and Italian sausage are on sale at my local super market? Meatballs subs for dinner!

And you know what?

They were magically delicious.

The bacon and sausage were the star flavors and the ground beef was there more for volume. I made these in the afternoon and wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the finished product. I thought of trying them over pasta like traditional meatballs but wasn’t cracked about that because of their unique flavor. I flirted with dropping them into corn muffin batter then baking them off to make meatball corn muffins, but I ran into a problem which led to a great corn muffin recipe.

In the end, I decided that a sub with pizza sauce and cheese was the way to go. The combo of meats reminded me of a meat lover’s pizza so I thought a sub to carry those flavors would work well – and it did. This was probably the best meatball sub I have ever had, but then again, it’s the only meatball I’ve ever tried made of bacon, Italian sausage and ground beef - which is a tough meatball to compete with.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Meat Lovers Meatball Subs

I bought these sub buns at Walmart. I usually use these buns for photographing hot dogs because they look good in pictures and come without having been pre-sliced. I decided to try them with these subs which meant I had to hollow them out. This created a hot-dog-bun-sized bread boat to work with. I stuffed them with the meatballs and toppings then baked them off, which really did the trick.

They crisped up on the outside and were moist on the inside and provided the perfect delivery system for the tasty meatballs. They reminded me of mini French bread pizzas that had been toasted and made crisp. When I have used them in the past strictly for a good photograph they seemed a little chewy, I discovered that baking them toasts the outside and fluffs the inside. I want to try them again with brats or sausage from the grill. Walmart really came through with these buns!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Meat Lovers Meatball Subs

Makes 44 to 48 meatballs;
12 sandwiches (with some meatballs leftover)
1 lb Ground beef
1 lb Italian sausage
1 lb Bacon finely, chopped
1 C Bread crumbs
1 C Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 C Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 Eggs
FOR THE SUBS
12 Fresh bake brat buns
1 C Mozzarella cheese
1 C Pizza Sauce

Make meat mix
In a large bowl mix together ground beef, Italian sausage and bacon until well combined. Mix in bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and egg until all ingredients are well distributed.

Cook meatballs
Preheat oven to 400°
Roll meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Makes 44 to 48. Place meatballs in cups of a mini cupcake pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until internal temperature of meatballs reaches 165° Remove from oven. Place meatballs in a bowl and let cool to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours.

Make sandwiches
Preheat oven to 350°
Hollow out fresh baked brat buns. In bun place a layer of cheese, pizza sauce, 3 meatballs. Then top with a little more sauce and cheese. Bake subs until cheese is melted and bread is toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

Asian Meatball Subs

I'm doing something different with this post.

In the past, I wouldn't have posted this recipe. I served it to a group of friends last Sunday and it was a tasty treat that got a lot of compliments. It was an experiment though, with great potential to be a blockbuster party snack, but there are a couple of adjustments that need to be made for me to spend the time it takes to create the visual recipe that would be the centerpiece of the post. I do think this is worth sharing though because it was a tasty snack that can easily feed a group of 8 to 10. So, I'm just going with a few nice pics of the finished product, instead of the full-blown graphic treatment.

I decided to post this because I was going through photos of past recipes and looking at stuff I had never published. What I found was lots of good, original food creations that I would serve to anyone. The reason I didn't create a graphic for them was because they needed an adjustment to be a home run, rather than just a double up the middle. Sometimes I strikeout and those recipes shouldn't be published, but on the flip side it doesn't have to be an Iron Chef quality recipe to make it here - afterall, I'm not gonna run out of paper.

That said, I think this recipe needs an adjustment to the flavor of the meatball, so I really don't want to spend the time it takes to create a photo-driven infographic when I know I'm going to revisit it soon and turn it into something I would publish in a book - where paper does run out!

BEHIND THIS BITE

Asian Meatball Subs

This is a play on my simple meatball sub recipe. I just thought I would twist it around a little and surround it with Asian flavors instead of Italian flavors. It seemed like a simple way to create something new from one of my favorite easy party snacks.

I purchased home-style meatballs from the freezer isle rather than Italian-style meatballs, but that was the fatal flaw of this dish. Even the home-style frozen meatballs were really garlicy and Italian flavored. They over-powered the stir fry sauce and broccoli slaw. I will make these again but I need to make the meatballs from scratch and use authentic Asian flavors that compliment the sauce and slaw. They were still tasty but to make a great Asian meatball sub, I won't be able to take the processed freezer isle route. (Unless Meijer starts carrying Asian-style meatballs of course.)

If I'm going to go all out and make the meatballs from scratch next time, I will also make the stir fry sauce rather than a store bought version. I think to do this right it needs to be more complex.

Overall, I would recommend this simple version for a low maintenance treat to take to a pot luck, they are tasty - just not 15-photo, full work-day information-graphic tasty. That will come later down the road!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Asian Meatball Subs

Serves 8 to 10, 3 to 4 hours (15 minutes active)
4 lbs Home-style frozen Meatballs
2 bottles Stir fry sauce (12 oz each)
2 bags Broccoli slaw (12 oz each)
1/2 C Rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs Sesame oil

Make Meatballs
Toss meatballs with sauce in a slow cooker. Heat on high for 2 hours, stir pot, and heat another hour or until hot and simmering.

Make slaw
Toss together broccoli slaw, rice vinegar and sesame oil, place in fridge and let marinate for at least two hours. Season with a little salt if necessary.

Make sub
On a hot dog bun layer meatballs and slaw, then serve.

Simple Meatball Subs

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This is the perfect snack for a party. It makes 16 to 20 meatball subs and takes only minutes to get ready and two hours to warm in a slow cooker. Which allows time to prep for the party or have a few drinks to take off the edge before guests arrive.

I originally made this for a meeting at St. John Bosco Catholic Church that I attended last summer. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but a few months passed and another guy in the group made it to share at a similar gathering I attended. Once that happened, I figured it was worth creating a post for the recipe here.

It really is simple, it requires opening a couple bags, a jar and turning the crock pot on - if that’s to much then you probably have worse things to worry about than feeding others. I don’t generally promote stuff from the freezer isle without serious modification, but I have to admit the frozen Italian-style meatballs from Walmart are really tasty. They don’t compare to homemade, but they could give Subway a run for their money and I think that is why I liked these simple sandwiches so much.

BEHIND THIS BITE
When I was 19 years-old I went for freshmen orientation at Ball State University. I had been accepted to the school but had never set foot on campus. I went to tour the campus and sign up for classes. During my lunch break they let us roam the village - a little spot near campus for college kids to get food, go for drinks and get everyday supplies.

It’s a booming spot when school is in session. I decided to eat at the only familiar restaurant I recognized - Subway. I went there rather than the Flying Tomato - a pizza joint down the street. (which burned down a couple years later) I ordered a 6-inch meatball sub and, like every other meatball sub I have ordered from subway, it fell apart. This one in particular made a mess of my shirt, so everyone else at orientation knew what I had eaten for lunch just by looking at me clothes.

I don’t know why, but other than a few of the buildings I saw, that sandwich is what I remember most about that day. Ball State would change the course of my life and my first real memory is a messy sandwich for lunch. I should probably count my blessings though, because it could probably be much worse.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Makes 16 to 20 subs; 2 hours
2 bags Meatballs (32 oz each)
1 jar Marinara (24 oz)
16 to 20 Hot dog buns
3 C Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Heat meatballs and sauce, assemble, serve
In a crock pot on high, cook meatballs and marinara until heated through, about 2 hours. On a hot dog bun, place a few meatballs, sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Meatballs: A Savory Little Bite

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I love meatballs. They are versatile and unique to the individual that makes them. The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson sums up meatballs the best, he says, There are “many manifestations around the world of this item, which is essentially minced meat (of any edible animal) formed into a ball and cooked in various ways.” I like the “any edible animal” phrase. Makes me wonder if an explorer in Antarctica has ever tried to make meatballs out of penguin.

For this recipe, I use lightly sautéd vegetables to add an extra layer of flavor to the meatball instead of herbs or spices. The light cooking will remove the raw flavor. When raw garlic is added to a meatball mixture it can take over and turn it into a garlic ball. (same is true with meatloaf) These meatballs are browned in a skillet before finishing in the oven so that they have a nice crust on the outside. I served these individually with a simple marinara sauce. They work as a snack for a party or as a center piece of a family meal.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I generally try to avoid doing a recipe for sandwiches in consecutive posts. I had originally planned to make a pasta and meatball dish as the second part but I could not resist. I have a special place in my heart for meatball subs. (here I call it a boat – more on that later)

I went to visit Ball State University in the Fall of 1992 for orientation. I had been accepted for the spring semester and was summoned to get all the paper work finalized and see the beautiful campus located in Muncie, Indiana. It was my first glimpse of the place where I would spend the next four and a half years, earning a bachelors degree with two majors, journalism and history.

On that rainy fall day, I ate lunch at Subway. I ordered a Meatball Marinara Sub and proceeded to slop it all over my sweatshirt. Unscathed by the mess I had made of myself, I got my paperwork finished, toured the campus and got completely fired up to get started and join the group of people that will always be able to say they "went away to school." Everytime I eat a meatball sub it reminds me of the adventurous kid who took a chance and left the security blanket of home. Funny how a certain food or meal can remind you of such specific things in the past.

One thing I don't like about meatball subs is the mess. That is why I hollowed out a hoagie and stuffed it rather than cut it in half. It made for a much easier sub to devour - which I did in about three bites!

Eat well, cook often ...