Meatball Sub
Lunch | American
Juicy meatballs in a rich tomato sauce, loaded into a toasted roll and covered in melted provolone.
The foundation of a good meatball is the panade: breadcrumbs soaked in milk until they form a paste, which gets mixed into the mince and acts as a moisture trap. The panade keeps the meatballs tender through browning and simmering in the sauce. High-fat mince (80/20 or fattier) is equally important; lean mince produces a tighter, drier result because there’s not enough intramuscular fat to compensate for what’s lost during cooking.
The sauce is a simple sugo, and for this recipe I used Christian Petracca’s Nonna’s sugo. But I know not everyone has access to that, so you can buy sugo from the store or make it yourself using my recipe. You can also use passata but it won't be as rich as sugo.
Ingredients
- 100g (3.5 oz) panko breadcrumbs
- 100ml (3.4 fl oz) milk
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1kg (2.2 lbs) minced beef (high fat, 80/20 minimum)
- ¼ cup parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1 brown onion, grated
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 700ml tomato sugo
- pinch chilli flakes
- pinch dried oregano
- 4 Hoagie rolls (or soft long rolls)
- 50g butter, softened
- 200g (7 oz) provolone cheese, grated
Directions
PREP THE MEATBALLS
- In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and milk. Season generously with salt and black pepper, then set aside for 5 minutes to soak.
- Stir mixture well, then add the beef mince, parsley, onion and 1 of the garlic cloves, finely chopped. Combine thoroughly, then shape the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs.
COOK MEATBALLS AND SAUCE
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook the meatballs, turning carefully, until they are browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- To make the sauce, add the garlic (lightly crushed) and sauté for 1 minute, until aromatic. Add the chilli, oregano and tomato sugo. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 5 minutes.
- Return the meatballs to the pan, turning gently to coat in the sauce. Continue to cook for a further 10 minutes.
FINISH AND SERVE
- Split the rolls in half, without slicing all the way through and butter the insides.
- Heat a large frying pan on medium high. Toast the insides of the rolls until golden and crisp.
- Spoon the meatballs onto the rolls along with a generous amount of sauce. Top with the grated cheese and melt it either under the grill quickly or you can use a kitchen blow torch if you can one.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe notes
Panko breadcrumbs:
Panko has a larger, more open crumb structure than standard breadcrumbs, which means it absorbs the milk more readily and forms a softer panade. That panade is what keeps the meatball tender through cooking. Fine regular breadcrumbs work, but the texture of the finished meatball is noticeably denser.
Minced beef (80/20 minimum):
Fat content directly affects how juicy the meatball is. Lean mince (90/10 or lower) produces a firm, drier meatball because there isn’t enough intramuscular fat to compensate for what renders out during cooking. Chuck mince from a butcher naturally sits in the 80/20 range and is a good option if your supermarket only stocks leaner blends.
Provolone dolce:
Provolone comes in two styles: dolce (young, mild, creamy) and piccante or classico (aged, firmer, sharper). For this recipe you want dolce, which melts evenly and cleanly over the meatballs. The aged version is excellent for eating as is, but it tends to split and go oily when melted under heat. Sliced provolone from the deli counter melts better than pre-grated.