Description
Perfectly crusty bread, juicy meatballs, a simple sauce, and gooey cheese and spices make this the best meatball sub!
Ingredients
- FOR THE SAUCE:
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 whole Yellow Onion, Finely Chopped
- 6 cloves Garlic, Minced
- 1-½ teaspoon Dried Basil Leaves
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Tablespoon Salt, More Or Less To Taste
- ¼ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
- 1 can (6 Oz. Size) Tomato Paste
- 1 can (28 Oz. Size) Peeled And Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 can (15 Oz. Size) Tomato Sauce (not Spaghetti Sauce)
- 1 can (15 Oz. Size) Tomato Puree
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- FOR THE MEATBALLS:
- ⅓ cups Milk
- 2 teaspoons Vinegar
- 4 slices White Sandwich Bread, Cubed
- 1 whole Yellow Onion, Finely Minced
- 6 cloves Garlic, Minced Or Pressed
- ¼ cups Parmesan
- 4 whole Large Egg Yolks
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 4 ounces, weight Bacon, Finely Minced
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 pound Ground Pork
- FOR THE SANDWICHES:
- 1 loaf Bread, We Love French Baguette
- 1 pound Fresh, Sliced Mozzarella, Or As Desired
- Shredded Romano Cheese, As Desired, For Topping
- Dried Oregano For Sprinkling
Preparation
For the sauce:
Grease crockpot with cooking spray. Dump all sauce ingredients into crockpot, stir together and cook on low for 7 hours.
For the meatballs:
Whisk together milk and vinegar, or use buttermilk. In a stand mixer, place bread cubes and pour milk/vinegar over the bread cubes. Mix together, so bread cubes are evenly coated in the milk/vinegar or buttermilk. Let sit for 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, using your hands, combine finely minced bacon, ground beef, and ground pork. Set aside.
To the stand mixer, add finely minced yellow onion, pressed garlic, Parmesan, egg yolks, and spices.
Mix until well combined.
With your stand mixer running, add in 1/3 of the meat mixture. Once combined, add in another 1/3 of the mixture, and again, once combined, add in the remaining meat. Once fully combined, store meatball mixture, covered, in the refrigerator until ready for use.
Preheat broiler on high and place rack on the top rung.
Using a large cookie scoop (mine is about 3 tablespoons or 1 1/2 ounces), scoop out meatballs onto a silicone-lined baking sheet. You should have about 36 meatballs.
Broil for 8 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through (keep an eye on them as broiler temperatures can vary). The tops should be nicely browned and the internal temperature should be about 160ºF.
When sauce has cooked for 7 hours, place the meatballs into your crockpot and cover meatballs with the sauce. Set the crockpot to high and cook for an additional hour.
To assemble the sandwiches:
Slice bread in half. Top with meatballs, thinly sliced mozzarella cheese, and Romano cheese. Broil until cheese is melty. Sprinkle with dried oregano and serve immediately!
Note: This would also be fantastic over pasta!
