So, yesterday I made spaghetti with homemade meatballs. Today, I wanted a meatball sub. I was thinking I still had some good buns from New Year’s day. They were not good. I had already melted the butter. The store-brand white bread was calling to me. A sandwich? No, a club.., Something worthy of shenanigans.

It seemed to be a hit on various social media platforms, so I thought I’d share the love. If you make one, please, post the photo, tag me (@AiXelsyD13 on just about everything), and let me know how it was!

The Meatballs:

I have shared my meatball ingredient secrets a quadruple of times:

• Meatballs and Lasagna.
• Non-Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
• #MeatballSub #Recipe
• Hamburgers vs. Meatballs vs. Meatloaf?

I generally don’t measure, and make them different every time. This time I fried them on medium-high in a large pan on the stove & a tiny bit of EVOO.

The Sauce: 

OK, gonna level with you. I am not Italian. This is going to make some people mad. I use jarred sauce. This was the cheap Aldi stuff. Usually we get that or the Prego Three Cheese. I add brown sugar & Parmesan/Romano shake cheese. Sometimes, I even add shopped garlic, onion powder, or “Italian Seasoning.” This time it was just brown sugar and cheese. I don’t measure. I toss a little in with abandon. I like the sweetness & it cuts the acid.

The Club:

Get your stuff…

• ¼ stick butter
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Parsley or (Italian Seasoning)
• 6 or so leftover meatballs.
• Shredded cheese (I had Gruyere & Swiss, but I would probably go for Mozzarella or Provolone, but the stuff I had was fantastic.)
• “Shake Cheese” I had the cheap Giant Eagle brand Parmesan/Romano blend.
• Three pieces of white bread.

Do it…

1. Pre-heat the oven to 390° on the air fryer setting.
2. Melt the butter w/ garlic powder, onion powder, & parsley to taste in a microwave save bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until it’s a liquid.
3. Put the bread on a baking dish, brush on the melted butter after a good stir. (I just did the top sides.)
4. Air fry for 2 minutes, & it gets almost crispy on top, the bottom was nice and toasted.
5. While you’re doing that nuke the meatballs & sauce on a microwave safe plate for 2 min. (or longer if needed.)
6. Pull the toast out. (I cut the meatballs in half with a spoon then scooped them and the sauce on to two of the slices of bread.)
7. Top the meatballs with the shredded cheese.
8. Put the “shake cheese” on the 3rd slice of bread.
9. Put it back in on air fry for for 4 or 5 minutes.
10. Pull it out, assemble it like a tower of gluttony, then slice it diagonally with a giant serrated bread knife for dramatic effect.
11. Take a photo to share & make people hungry.

That’s it. It took a little bit of time & prep, but it was worth it.

Notes:

• If you cook & have your own meatball or sauce recipe, of course do that.
• Use whatever kind of cheese you want, shredded, or sliced, or whatever.
• I would guess you can use the oven on 375°-ish on a regular setting for a bit longer times, or a counter top air fryer.
• You could also probably do all of it in the air fryer from cooking the meatballs to melting the butter if you have the appropriate vessels.
• If you slice it in rectangles and not triangles, you are a psychopath.

Discussion:

• If you’re out of sausage or sub buns, or hot dog buns, what are you using? Pita? Tortilla? Soft Pretzel? Dinner Rolls? Bisquick? Crescent roll dough?
• Please, tell me in the comments how wrong it is to use jarred sauce or add brown sugar.
• Share with me your meatball secrets.
• Do you like the powdery shake cheese or the fancy stuff?
• Do you make a forbidden sandwich? What is it?
• Is this a Meatball Club, or a Meatball Melt?

This is why I had leftover meatballs:

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A post shared by Eric Carroll (@aixelsyd13)