Meatball Subs

Isn't Kristi a great photographer?!?

A meatball sandwich is one of my favorite sandwich, and one of my top three favorite foods overall. I have looked for some time for the method of making a delicious meatball, and I have found it: in lieu of adding breadcrumbs, I added day-old bread soaked in whole milk for 20 minutes (I used two cups of cubed bread for 3 lbs of meat). This gave the meatballs almost a luxurious texture, keeping them moist but adding to the richness in an understated way.

You can use whatever combination of meats that you want (traditionally pork, beef, and veal are used), but I like to keep things on the lighter side. So I used one pound each of 95% lean pork, 96% lean beef, and 99% lean turkey. To that I added 2 eggs, fresh garlic, fresh Italian parsley, salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and a touch of cinnamon. After mixing well, I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup to portion out the meatballs, forming all of them and placing them in a large casserole dish.

Once the meatballs were formed, I heated some light olive oil in a deep pot with a heavy bottom (a Dutch oven would work), and browned each meatball on all sides. I then covered the pan with foil and baked the meatballs at 325 for 15 minutes.

Once the meatballs were finished, I made a little bit of gravy, taking a much more simple approach than I normally would. So I took 3 small cans of good tomato sauce and a can of low-sodium beef stock, kosher salt and black pepper and simmered over low heat for a few minutes until barely boiling. I then simmered several meatballs in the gravy to lend it flavor, about 15 minutes.

Sandwich assembly was a cinch: slice and butter the roll, toast in a pan or oven, spread some gravy on the bottom side of the roll, slice two meatballs into halves and place all four pieces on the roll,

add another spoonful of gravy, place provolone cheese on top, another spoonful of gravy, and into the toaster oven for a few minutes on broil to melt the cheese.