Meatball Subs - Steve Cooks

Alright Crushers,

Today I'm going to do my best to write out how to make meatball subs the Steve way. This is a little difficult for me because he doesn't really measure anything. Instead, I will try to give you approximate amounts. 

Chef Steve
Isn't he handsome?

Note: Steve has full ability to edit this, so you might want to come back later and see what he's changed. In the meantime, he's got long days ahead of him this week with parent-teacher conferences!

OK, so here is what he did:

Meatball Subs
Ingredients (approximate):
1 ground pound mild Italian sausage
1 ground beef (at least 85% lean)
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (maybe? I have no idea - he just sprinkled them in there)
1 cup-ish spinach, cut into small bits (two handfuls?)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 jar marinara sauce
1/2 sliced peppers
about 8-9 hot beans (his dad's recipe, which also is never quite the same)
4 deli brat buns

In case you're wondering what hot beans look like, that's them.
Some people call them dilly beans.

Instructions:
In a large bowl, you combine one pound each of the sausage and ground beef. Add the diced spinach, garlic, and onion until it looks about right. You can add more or less of these items, but be careful that you don't add too much or they could get soggy and break apart.


Oh, you should probably preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (You may want to enlist your wife or someone else to turn on the oven for you if your hands are covered in meat mix - see next paragraph). Take a large baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil (I'm adding the foil part now since we forgot to do it on Sunday - easier clean up!). Then take a baking rack and place it on top of the foil-lined pan. Spray it with some cooking spray so the meatballs don't get stuck. This way they bake nicely and a lot of the grease drips off.

See? We forgot the foil. Oh well, they still turned out great!

Add in the egg and bread crumbs. Then, use your hands to mix everything up and make sure it's all well incorporated. (Steve made a point to note that while his hands were washed, he did this all without taking off his wedding ring). Mold the meat mix into balls that are a little big bigger than golf balls and try to make them a consistent size.

Place them on the cooking rack with about 2-inches between them. Put the whole pan in the oven for 20 minutes or until they're fully cooked. They will shrink a bit, but not that much!

All ready for sauce!

While those are baking, go wash your hands and start on the sauce. Heat the contents of a jar of marinara sauce in a sauce pan along with some ground pepper, a little salt, your sliced peppers and hot beans. Heat it until it bubbles and then turn down the heat or it will splash all over the place.

When the meatballs are done, place about 3 of them on a bun and cover in the marinara sauce. Make sure you get a few peppers and hot beans on there, too. Sprinkle your favorite cheese on top. Then try and eat it without splashing marinara sauce all over the place!

Feel free to add as much or as little sauce as you like.

Enjoy!