These Italian style meatball subs are topped with slow simmered flavorful meatballs and sauce, then layered with a blend of melted provolone and parmesan cheese. Perfect for a game day feast, or really any day feast.
In this post I made meatballs subs, but where I'm from, we call them meatball grinders. I always complain that Connecticut is one of the very few states where us natives don't have an accent. Drive an hour north or south and you'll find the sounds of Boston and New Yorker speech, but here in CT, we just sound like your average newscaster. It wasn't until I went to school that I realized, we do have our own little nuances. We might not pronounce words differently, but we do name things differently. The place where you buy alcohol is a package store, or "packy" if you are a frat boy. Selling your used items in your driveway is a Tag Sale and I don't think I have ever known someone to refer to Dunkin using it's full name.
The grinder is something that I stay tried and true to. While I might sometimes say "I have to go to the liquor store," you'll never hear the words "I'll have a tuna grinder." Despite it's name, you go to Subway for grinders, not subs. Alas, sometimes you have to give way to the powers at be (Google) and refer to your meatball grinder as a meatball sub for SEO purposes.
The grinder is something that I stay tried and true to. While I might sometimes say "I have to go to the liquor store," you'll never hear the words "I'll have a tuna grinder." Despite it's name, you go to Subway for grinders, not subs. Alas, sometimes you have to give way to the powers at be (Google) and refer to your meatball grinder as a meatball sub for SEO purposes.
I love making meatballs. Maybe it's the 50% Italian side of me or maybe I just like getting my hands messy, but either way it's therapeutic for me. I also love making sauce, so the combination of meatballs and sauce is very dear to me. Another thing I love is carbs and cheese, so naturally meatballs subs are also very dear to me. These subs actually come together pretty quickly but look like they take hours. I find that baking meatballs for roughly 10 minutes before adding them to the sauce helps aid in the cook time and also let's them shed off some of the extra fat, and not add it to your sauce. The cheese can be up to you. Most meatball sub recipes call for mozzarella cheese but I used provolone topped with parmesan.
Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (1 tsp dried)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the meatball subs:
2 cups marinara sauce
4 hoagie or sub rolls
4 slices provolone cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl combine all meatball ingredients together. Mix with your hands until just combined. Over mixing the meatballs will cause them to become tough.
2. Form meatballs into 1 inch in diameter balls, roughly the size of a golf ball. Place on a lined baking sheet. Bake in the over for 10 - 15 minutes.
3. If serving right away, place into a large pot of heated marinara sauce and simmer for another 30 minutes.
4. Using a serrated knife cut vertically down each roll openings them up. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until crispy. Add a slice of provolone cheese to each roll and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
5. Remove the from the oven and place 3-4 meatballs on each sub roll. Spoon desired amount of sauce over the meatballs. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Bake for another five minutes, until cheese is melted on top. Top with fresh parsley and enjoy!
For the meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (1 tsp dried)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the meatball subs:
2 cups marinara sauce
4 hoagie or sub rolls
4 slices provolone cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl combine all meatball ingredients together. Mix with your hands until just combined. Over mixing the meatballs will cause them to become tough.
2. Form meatballs into 1 inch in diameter balls, roughly the size of a golf ball. Place on a lined baking sheet. Bake in the over for 10 - 15 minutes.
3. If serving right away, place into a large pot of heated marinara sauce and simmer for another 30 minutes.
4. Using a serrated knife cut vertically down each roll openings them up. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until crispy. Add a slice of provolone cheese to each roll and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
5. Remove the from the oven and place 3-4 meatballs on each sub roll. Spoon desired amount of sauce over the meatballs. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Bake for another five minutes, until cheese is melted on top. Top with fresh parsley and enjoy!