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.

Breakfast Meat Lovers Pizza

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The aroma of breakfast cooking was my Saturday morning alarm clock growing up, and to this day I love a big morning feast to start a long road trip or a busy Saturday. Most days I eat little or no breakfast at all, which is why I really savor it when I get a chance to go all out.

My favorite part of the morning meal is the meat. Most of the time I go for bacon, but I’ll mix it up every once in a while with sausage patties or smoky links, and I’m always a sucker for a bucket full of sausage gravy over fresh baked biscuits.

In an attempt to satisfy all my carnivore breakfast cravings at once I decided to pile them onto a mega-meat lovers pizza.

For this recipe, sausage gravy acts as the sauce and combines with the melted cheese to make an extra creamy breakfast pie. It also features a double dose of smoky with the addition of bacon and little slices of smoky links. All of this meaty breakfast madness culminates in a hardy pizza that will fill the belly regardless of what time of day it’s eaten.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Breakfast Meat Lovers Pizza

I wanted to put eggs on this pie but I left them off at the last minute so that the pizza would feature only breakfast meats. Also, I have used eggs on pizza before and it adds a creaminess to the pie, which I thought might be to much because, as I mentioned in the introduction, the cheese and gravy make this a really creamy pizza already.

It’s been a while since I posted a pizza recipe here at Behind the Bites. Once I decided I was going to make this pie I knew I wanted to present this one a little different than the pizzas I had done in the past. The difference is really quite subtle but effective. The main shot of the finished pizza is from a 3/4 view rather than a Birdseye shot and I left the pizza on my wooden peel. I had to photoshop a couple of transparent white boxes in so the type for some of the ingredients was readable, which is a minor tradeoff for what I think is a more eye catching presentation of a pizza.

 Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Breakfast Meat Lovers Pizza

Make 2 12” pizzas; 30 minutes
Divide over 2 12” pre-made pizza crusts
2 C Sausage gravy
6 slices Bacon, cooked, crumbled
1 pkg Smoky links, sliced
1 C Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Assemble and bake pizza
On pizza crust layer sausage gravy, bacon, smoky links and cheese. Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and crust is golden brown, slice and serve.

Meat Lovers Casserole

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This is a man’s meal.

It's loaded with meat - so much so that I advise any vegetarians to quit reading now - Your head might explode by the end of the next sentence. This casserole contains three and a half pounds of cooked animal flesh and five, yup, FIVE cups of cheese. Not to mention the pound of pasta and quart of sauce.

All said and done I bet there is 90,000 calories in this pot. Enough man fuel to power the Vegas strip on Super Bowl Sunday.

Adding to the Manliness of this casserole - it’s super simple, idiot proof.

All that is needed is to mix this stuff together and hit the cook button. I guess there is one difficult part - making the pasta. Which, to be honest, if that is difficult – like the vegetarians – stop reading this blog now because the recipes on the site will make your head explode.

I served this at a meeting attended by about 20 guys - it went so fast that not everyone there got to try a full helping. If your hosting a party for the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings or catering a meal for the patrons of the local strip club, this should be on the menu.

BEHIND THIS BITE
Every so often I cook the hearty snack for a local church group that I attend. This recipe is what I made for them last Wednesday night. I really enjoy making things for the group because it’s really the only time I get to cook for a large group of guys, which is a different test group for recipes. Most women would look at this dish and see nothing but calories, some would dare to try it, and I’m sure would enjoy it, but many would turn away at the site. To be fair, there are guys out there too that would see this and wince.

I have found there is no better test for a Football party snack than this group of guys. If it’s good, there will be no leftovers - no matter what the amount. I made this with the intent of making to much. I thought there was no way they would eat it all - and I was totally wrong, in fact the opposite happened. There wasn’t enough!

This dish is a must if your hosting a Super Bowl Party.

Eat well, cook often ...

RECIPE
Serves 15; 2 hours, 30 minutes
2 lb package  Meatballs thawed
1 lb Ham diced
4 oz Pepperoni
4 oz Bacon crumbles
5 C Pasta sauce
5 C Mozzarella cheese
       (4 C mixed in, 1 C for topping)
1 lb Elbow macaroni

Make pasta
Bring 2 quarts of salted water to boil in a large pot, add pasta, return to boil. Cook 7 to 9 minutes for al dente. Then drain.

Assemble, cook, serve
In a large slow cooker, mix together meatball, ham, pepperoni, bacon, pasta sauce, pasta and most of cheese. Once mixed together top with remaining cheese, cover and cook on high setting for two hours or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Then serve.