Meatball Sub

Crafting the best meatball sub at home

If we are going to talk about iconic hot sandwiches… the meatball sub has to be up there.

Subway Sandwiches made a mainstream brand serving mediocre versions of the meatball sub.

And in pop culture the meatball sub pops up in notables like Point Break and Friends.

In the case of Friends, Joey Tribbiani expresses his love and affection by sharing his meatball sub with his good friend.

A great meatball sub should be a memorable, stop the presses, get off your phone, enjoy the moment, kind of experience.

There’s a few hacks to ensure that you make the best possible and that’s what we are going to do today.

The no-brainer is that you should make meatball subs that day after you make a big batch. Since we just made Madeline’s Meatballs and Red Sauce last, that makes the perfect segue to making this mighty sandwich.

Madeline's Meatballs 🍝

A proper meatball sub should not explode out of the bread when bit into because it’s loaded up with too much red sauce. Nor should it fall apart from being soggy. The bread, sauce, meatball and cheese ratio are all important so you get a perfect balanced bite.

Building the Perfect Meatball Sub

It goes without saying that you need legit meatballs and red sauce to make a perfect meatball sub, but people often forget the bread and as the foundation of the sub this is extremely important.

I did a quick search of meatball sub recipes and saw people using everything from french baguette to sourdough bread slices. 😑

As an avid and obsessive baker I appreciate sourdough and baguette… they are just not the right “tools for the job” when it comes to making the perfect meatball sub.

We need a proper submarine/hoagie roll.

That’s a white bread, with a thin but firm crust and a fine-airy interior crumb structure. 6-8 inches is a good length.

This is extremely important. We want the interior of the bread to soak in some of that luscious red sauce, but we want a sturdy exterior that holds shape. A thin crust that will still easily shatter. (You’ll seeded or unseeded exteriors. I prefer unseeded for meatball subs and seeded for chilled hoagies.)

Slice the roll in half and remove a small layer of the interior on each side. This will allow the meatballs to sit inside the roll and give the proper shape when ready to eat.

Drizzle a little olive oil on each side and toast in a hot oven or under a broiler.

You’ll want to have your meatballs and red sauce warm. You can do this while the bread is toasting. Toasting is vital to keep the red sauce from soaking all the way through the bread.

Once the bread is toasted apply some of the warm red sauce into each of the channels you made in the roll. Leave a half inch edge and try not to load up the sauce. Less is more.

Now you can line up 3-4 meatballs on the bottom slice of the bread roll.

I’ve seen people use meatballs that are cut in half. I believe this is the result of not having the proper ratio. Most likely the bread layer is far too thick. That’s why we slightly hollow the roll out to get the perfect ratio.

Next up: Cheeses.

A combination of a soft and hard cheese.

Firm mozzarella and grated parmigiano reggiano are both traditional.

However, I really like provolone and grated Locatelli.

Either way, you want to grate the hard cheese (Locatelli) first. Then add the provolone on top.

Add your provolone and bake in a hot oven until the cheese melts and oozes down the meatballs (400F is a good temp). Turn off the oven.

Place the top on sandwich (don’t burn yourself).

Now for the most important part.

Get a large square of butcher or parchment paper. Wrap the sub tightly and snugly. Place in the turned off oven and “rest” for 7 mins or so.

Carefully remove the sheet tray with the sub(s) from the oven and on a cutting board cut in half.

Note, the red sauce has soaked into the bread but not all the way through; nothing pouring out of the sandwich. We want to eat the sandwich not wear it.

The melted cheese has bonded to the top of the roll, and the meatball is firmly intact.

This is a proper ratio.

As for serving size?

Depends how hungry you are 😂

2 people could easily split a whole sub, with a side salad.

Start with good bread, have your legit meatballs and red sauce on deck…

As long as you nail the ratios and rest the sub, you are in for treat!

Until next time… got a delicious, versatile and tasty soup dropping for you this weekend.

Perfect for wintery weather.