Meatball Sub - Open Face Slow Cooked Recipe - Dishes Delish (2024)

Sink your teeth into a hearty, satisfying meatball sub, a beloved staple for sandwich enthusiasts everywhere. This iconic sub stacks juicy, well-seasoned meatballs drenched in a robust marinara sauce and smothered with melted cheese, all nestled within a toasted, crusty roll. Whether craving a quick lunch, a filling dinner, or a late-night snack, the meatball sub delivers comfort and flavor in every bite, promising to become a go-to in your sandwich rotation.

The semantics of sandwiches

What do you call the above? Submarine sandwich? Hoagie? Sandwich? Grinder? Hero? Sub? Inquiring minds would like to know. Leave me a comment to tell me.

I call it a sub.

One of the reasons this one is open faced is because I couldn’t get the bread to split without it separating into two pieces.

It’s been a while since I’ve had an open face sandwich. I miss having one after a big holiday. Nothing beats an open face turkey sandwich.

Mmmm.

I love meatball subs. In fact, if I went to a sub shop, that’s what I would get. There used to be a shop downtown that had the greatest subs and pizzas. I especially loved theireggplant subs. Mmmmm. Eggplant was my sister Nancy’s favorite.

Unfortunately, the owners passed away and the family had a dispute and they closed the shop. Itwas a sad day for the peeps in my hometown.

I dedicate this recipe to both that long ago pizza parlor and my sister Nancy.

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How to make the open face meatball sub

Here are some ofthe ingredients. We have some cans of crushed tomatoes, some tomato paste, an onion and some grass-fed ground beef.

Now, I know that you don’t usuallyput meat in marinara sauce, but for this recipe I do because smooth gravy goes better with a sub, instead of my usual chunky gravy. And it is a meatball sub so I had to put them in the gravy.

Do you see? There is a method to my madness.

First thing I do is heat my dutch oven on medium and add 3 – 4 tablespoons olive oil. Next, I dice the onion and toss it in the pan along with 2 teaspoons garlic paste, which is my new best friend. I’m sure I’ll cook with cloves of garlic again but I need to run this string out.

I wonder how long this garlic paste frenzy isgoing to last.

As the onions start sautéing, I toss in some oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. I sauté the onions for five minutes.

Fragrant and lovely

I love the smell of sautéed onions. Don’t you?

I open up the two cans of crushed tomatoes and pour them into the pan with the onions. Also, I open a can of tomato paste and plop that into the gravy as well. I fill the can twice with warm water and pour the contents into the gravy.

Finally, I add a bay leaf.

Looking good, though it will change once it’s fully cooked.

I open my grass fed beef package and plop it into one of my mixing bowls along with 2 eggs, 3/4 cup bread crumbs, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

Dig in with those hands

I mix the beef all together and roll it into small meatballs.

I line them up on this parchment paper covered jelly roll pan because I want to put the meatballs into the gravy at the same time.

Now, here is the hardest part. When you put raw meatballs into the gravy, it takes a while for them to cook. So, you must wait. Patiently, if you can.

I can do it.

Yes, I can.

I hope I can.

Finally

I let everything cook for 6 hours. It probably took less time for the meatballs to cook all the way through, but it doesn’t do any harm letting the gravycook.

In fact, it makes it taste even yummier by letting the meat flavor the gravy. So if you start the gravy in the morning, it will be piping hot and ready to eat by dinner.

I turn the broiler on high and get ready to make the subs. I gather 4 slices of mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and the sub rolls.

Now, I cut the one of the rolls in half and place iton a foil covered jelly roll pan.

I get two pieces of mozzarella cheese, tear them in half and place one slice on each piece of bread. Into the oven it goes to melt the cheese and toast the bread.

If you don’t toast the bread it gets soggy. The toasting and melting only take a minute or two.

I get my ladle and place two meatballs on each slice of bread. Then I cut the meatballs in half and ladle on some gravy.

I sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese and place two more half pieces of cheese on the gravy. Into the oven it goes. It should only take a minute for the cheese to melt.

Doesn’t that look goooooood?

I can’t wait to eat it. I just have to take one more shot. A close up!

I grab my knife and fork and dig in.

It is delicious!

I hope you enjoyed this meatball sub recipe!

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried thisor any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can alsoFOLLOW MEonFACEBOOK,TWITTER,INSTAGRAMandPINTERESTto see more of my delicious food and delightful co*cktails!