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.