Meatball Subs

When my son, Daniel, was younger, all he ever wanted from the sub shop was a Meatball Sub.   Nirvana to him, a great big sloppy mess to me, but he loved them.  Sooo, now that he’s all grown up, moved out, and has a son of his own, we’ve started making Meatball Subs.   Shhh!!   Don’t tell him.  We don’t put a lot of herbs in our meatballs, because it’s already in the sauce (Tomato Sauce #2).  We bake the meatballs because it’s a healthier way of cooking, but you can fry them if you prefer.  For a lower-calorie version, try making the meatballs with ground turkey or chicken.  Makes 6 to 8 subs.  

Ingredients

Six -  6” hoagie rolls (check out your local deli for these – fresh is best!)

Tomato Sauce #2

1 lb. ground pork

1 lb ground beef

½ tsp. Garlic powder

½ tsp. Paprika

½ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ tsp. sea salt

½  cup bread crumbs

2 egg, lightly beaten

½ tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

2 dashes Tabasco sauce

1 tsp. brown mustard

2 tbl. butter

3 tbl. olive oil

18 thin slices of  Mozzarella cheese

grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

·        Put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl except for the butter,olive oil.mozzarella and  Parmesan, and mix with an electric mixer until well blended (or by hand, just takes longer – more satisfying but take your rings off first!)

·        Shape meat mixture into 1-inch to 1 ¼ “ meatballs (by hand) and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet

·        Bake on center rack at 350° for 25 minutes

·        Warm up the tomato sauce in a medium sauce pan, and gently place the cooked meatballs in the sauce

·        Stirring gently, you can keep the meatballs and the sauce warm in the saucepan until the buns are toasted

·        Put butter and olive oil in a small saucepan and melt over a low heat

·        If not pre-sliced, cut the buns ¾ of the way through (lengthways . . . not quite all the way in half)

·        Brush the inside of the buns with the butter/olive oil mixture, and sprinkle with a little Parmesan

·        Broil the buns until just lightly browned

·        Remove from the oven, and place ½ slice of Mozzarella on each half of the bun, return to oven, and broil until cheese is just melted

·        put 3 or 4 meatballs on each sub roll (however many will fit – cut them in half if necessary), and sprinkle again lightly with a little Parmesan cheese.

·        Top with a little Tomato Sauce #2 and remaining Mozzarella slices and broil about 2 minutes longer, until cheese is melted

·        Serve hot with lots of napkins!  :-)