This is becoming a trend. I want to make a sandwich and don’t have the appropriate bread or bun. Thankfully, this lack of planning for a meatball sub brought forth the almighty Meatball Club (the Meatball Melt isn’t bad either). This was not a bad alternative, if I do say so myself.

Did you get yourself a The Meatball Club T-shirt yet? Maybe I should trademark that.

I made some of my grilled chicken noodle soup that we had with a salad for dinner last night. I had some leftovers for lunch today and wanted a lil’ sandwich to go with it. Not much beats a local mom n’ pop pizza shop Italian Sub. I had some almost sort of close enough ingredients in the house, so I crafted my own.

In my humble opinion, the key to a great local sub shop Italian Sub is the toasting. The second key is to call it a sub and not a hoagie, grinder, hero or whatever other word yinz have for it. Maybe this would be less a Subwich and more a Submersible?

I didn’t have a sub roll, but I did have the super cheap hamburger buns. That worked, because it was lunch time and I didn’t need a foot long sandwich anyway.

Here’s what I did…

I preheated the oven to 400° and gathered all my stuff.

I melted some butter & EVOO with garlic powder, onion powder, & Italian seasoning in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl.

I spread the butter on the insides of the bun, sprinkled on a tiny bit of shake cheese, and toasted it inside up in the oven for 5 minutes on a sheet pan.

I took it out and poured some Sweet Italian Dressing on the inside of both buns.

I stacked the cold cuts, cheese, & veggies like this from the bottom up on the bottom bun: Turkey, hard salami, provolone cheese, ham, hard salami, jarred roasted red peppers, sliced black olives, shredded Parmesan from a tub,

I put a slice of provolone on the inside of the top bun.

I put it back in the oven for 6 minutes.

I took it out & assembled the sandwich.

I brushed a little more melted butter/spices on the top, and put it back in… this time on convection at 350° for two minutes because why not?

I bought it out and it definitely gave me mom n’ pop pizza shop vibes. Those slightly burnt edges make it kick.

My wife likes the Roasted Red Pepper Italian dressing & some mayo on hers. If you’re going to comment that you don’t like back olives, can’t eat roasted red peppers, or would add onions, lettuce, & tomato… I’ll lift the weight off of your shoulders and ask how you’d make this yours?

If you are here to say bread, meat, or cheese are not for you and/or ask what you can substitute, I’ll say “Bean Soup” to you.

I asked Gemini to pull out an ingredient list, and it did this whole ass thing, so I’ll paste it all below for the “jump to the recipe” crowd. It’s funny how it says to slice the bun like this isn’t the ~$1 pack of 8 from Aldi. It does know what “shake cheese” is though. Do other people call it that, or just me? It adds some wild stuff all inferred from my text above.

Ingredients

This is for one sandwich, but is easily scalable for a crowd!

The Butter Brush & Dressing

• 1 Sub Bun (or your favorite hoagie roll)
• 2 Tbsp Butter (unsalted or salted)
• 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 2-3 Tbsp Sweet Italian Dressing (or another vinaigrette of your choice)
• 1-2 tsp “Shake Cheese” (the grated Parmesan from a container)

The Filling

• 2 Slices Provolone Cheese
• 3-4 Slices Turkey (deli slices)
• 3-4 Slices Ham (deli slices)
• 6-8 Slices Hard Salami (layered)
• 2 Tbsp Jarred Roasted Red Peppers (drained)
• 1 Tbsp Sliced Black Olives
• 1-2 Tbsp Shredded Parmesan (from a tub, for texture)

Wife’s Variation (Optional)

• Roasted Red Pepper Italian Dressing
• Mayonnaise

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Instructions

1. Preheat and Prep the Butter

• Preheat your oven to 400°F.
• In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and EVOO together.
• Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Set aside.

2. Toast the Bun

• Slice your bun open and lay both halves on a sheet pan, inside-up.
• Brush a generous layer of the seasoned butter mix onto the insides of both buns.
• Sprinkle the insides with a tiny bit of the “shake cheese”.
• Toast the buns in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown.

3. Build the Base

• Remove the buns from the oven.
• Pour a drizzle of the Sweet Italian Dressing onto the inside of both buns—don’t saturate it, just a light coat.
• On the bottom bun, stack the cold cuts, cheese, and veggies in this order:
  • Turkey
  • Hard Salami
  • One Slice of Provolone Cheese
  • Ham
  • Hard Salami
  • Jarred Roasted Red Peppers
  • Sliced Black Olives
  • Shredded Parmesan
• Place the second slice of provolone cheese directly on the inside of the top bun (it will act as a shield and melt beautifully).

4. Melt and Warm

• Put both halves of the sandwich (still separate) back in the oven for 6 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
• Carefully remove the sheet pan and assemble the sandwich by placing the top bun onto the bottom.

5. The Final Kick

Take it out, slice it, and enjoy!

Brush a little more of the remaining melted butter/spices right onto the top crust of the sandwich.

(Optional, but highly recommended) Turn the oven to Convection at 350°F and pop the sandwich back in for 2 minutes. This gives you those amazing, slightly crispy, burnt edges that make the sandwich sing.

Oh yeah, did you see the soup?

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…And what should I call this?

While we’re at it, which local pizza shop or deli makes your favorite Italian Sub? More than one answer is OK!