Hungry for a good meatball sandwich, then this Italian Meatball Hoagie is perfect to sadisfy. Starting off with a great homemade hoagie bun for a good foundation. Then making moist homemade Italian Meatball using good quality ground beef. Using the right combination of aromatics, herbs, cheeses and flavorings. These handmade meatballs will taste so much better than store bought variety. Next comes the homemade Italian Sauce, made with homegrown San Marzano Tomatoes. Cooking the sauce with aromatics, herbs and cheeses along the with Italian Meatballs to perfection. Oh the aromatic aroma fills the kitchen as family pops in to see what’s cooking.
The Hoagie Bun:
Making a perfect Hoagie Bun has certain characteristics, moist and tender center, with golden soft golden brown crust. The hoagie bun must be able to hold fillings without sandwich falling apart when picked up to eat. Too tough of crust with too much of a chewy center makes sandwich hard to handle causing filling to spill out of the sandwich.
Developing the right hoagie recipe that’s easy to make, with basic ingredients most bakers have. Keeping it simple with just warm water, instant yeast, bread flour, butter, salt and egg wash. Takes a little practice shaping dough, but well worth extra effort.
Italian Meat Balls:
The best part of Sandwich is making the homemade Italian Meat Balls. Using lean ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs, Italian Herbs, parmesan cheese, garlic, onions and sweet peppers. The key to successful meatball is mixing the ingredients by hand just enough to bind all meatball mixture without overworking mixture. Over mixing meatball ingredients causes proteins to over develop making meatballs rubbery in texture. Hand mixing until meatball consistency just starts to get sticky is perfect. Shaping the meatballs using scoop helps make more even portions. But each meatball needs to be hand rolled into round ball shape.
The shaped meatballs need to be placed onto greased sheet tray and baked or browned in sauce pot. If making large batches of meatball far easier to bake in oven until brown and cooked through. Cooking them in sauce pot have to cook them in batches carefully turning them to brown evenly. The purpose of cooking them in sauce pot is capturing flavors of cooked meatballs in sauce pot. So for ease of cooking baking meatballs is simple, but loose some of flavors through baking process. So up to individual which technique to use to meet the needs.
Making Italian Sauce:
The Italian Sauce is also a key component in making the Meatball Hoagie. The Sauce using basic ingredients, San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, onions, sweet peppers, Italian herbs, oregano, salt, pepper, sugar and optional chili pepper flakes. Starting off with soffritto cooked garlic, onions, peppers with olive oil until soft and fragrant. Then adding to soffritto, crushed San Marzano tomatoes, Italian herbs, oregano, chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Balancing flavors after simmering with cooked meatballs with extra salt, pepper and sugar.
Building Italian Meatball Hoagie:
Putting together the sandwich starting with following steps listed.
- Split Hoagie Bun using bread knife almost all the way through, then opening up like clam shell.
- Place five meat balls evenly onto the Hoagie Bun.
- Spoon some extra Italian Sauce over meatballs, caution not to put too much sauce on sandwich.
- Place two slices of Provolone Cheese over Italian Meatballs covering nicely.
- Put the Italian Meatball Sandwich in Air Fryer Basket.
- Set Air Fryer to 400°F for 3 to 5 minutes depending on if Air Fryer heated to temperature.
- Toast the Italian Meatball Sandwich in Air Fryer, test see if cheese is melted and slightly brown.
- Place on Dinner Plate and serve with Pickles, French Fries or Chips.
Try Italian Sous Vide Beef Hoagie Sandwich:
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 6 servings | 1 hour |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 45 minutes | 1 hour |
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Homemade hand rolled Italian Meatballs, cooked in Italian Sauce, on Hoagie Bun topped with slice provolone cheese toasted in Air Fryer making perfect Italian Meatball Hoagie.
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- 1 pound lean ground beef 85% to 90% lean
- 2 ounces onion chopped finely
- 1 ounce sweet mixed peppers chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic cloves minced finely
- 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Low sodium Soy sauce
- 2 tsp italian herbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 2 ounces onion chopped finely
- 1 ounce sweet mixed peppers chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic cloves minced finely
- 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 pint San Marzano Tomatoes crushed
- 2 tsp italian herbs
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Turbinado sugar to taste
- 6 buns Hoagie Buns homemade
- 12 slices provolone cheese sliced
- 24 slices Dill Pickle slices to garnish
- Peel and finally dice onions, mince garlic and core seed and finally dice sweet peppers. Note process enough of each ingredient to make both meatball and Italian Sauce.
- Measure all the ingredients for meatball mixture.
- Add to medium size mixing bowl ground beef, onions, sweet peppers, garlic, bread crumbs, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, egg, parmesan cheese, Italian herbs, salt and pepper.
- Using hands to mix the Italian Meatball mixture until well combined. Squeezing meat mixture through hands.
- The Italian Meatball mixture should have a little sticky consistency. Do not over mix the meatball mixture, just enough to totally mix all ingredients together and hold together.
- Using number 30 scoop portion Italian Meatball mixture onto prepared sheet tray.
- Roll each Italian Meatball by hand into round balls. Spacing them apart equally.
- Bake the meatballs in 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes until meatballs are completely done. Or brown and cook them in 12" skillet until brown and cooked through. Note skillet method might have to do them in batches.
- Measure all the ingredients out to make the Italian Sauce.
- In medium sauce pan add olive oil, garlic, onion and sweet peppers. Cook on medium heat until soften and fragrant soffritto.
- Add to the soffritto vegetables, tomatoes, Italian herbs, oregano, kosher salt, pepper and Turbinado sugar. Simmer this Italian sauce for 15 minutes.
- Next add the cooked meatballs to the simmering Italian sauce, stirring the meatballs into sauce.
- Continue cooking the Italian Meatball Sauce for one hour or more on low heat. To build flavors of the Meatball sauce.
- Split Hoagie Buns almost all the way through the bun length wise. Then opening the Hoagie Bun up like clam shell.
- Place five Italian Meatballs evenly onto each bottom half the Hoagie Bun. Spoon extra Italian Sauce over meatballs, caution not to put too much sauce on sandwich. Overdue the amount of sauce on each of the Sandwichs will cause bottom Hoagie bun to become soggy.
- Next place 2 slices of Provolone Cheese over top of Italian Meatballs covering evenly.
- Set Air Fryer 400°F setting or Toaster oven toasting mode. Place a Italian Meatball Sandwich in basket place in Air Fryer for 4 to 6 minutes depending on if Air Frier is pre heated. Using Toaster oven set on toasting mode for 4 minutes if pre heated. Check how toasting of sandwich is coming along. Adjusting time as needed. Every appliance is different so adjust accordingly.
- The toasted Italian Meatball Sandwich in Air Fryer, the cheese is melted and slightly brown. The top of the bun is light brown and slightly crisp.
- Place the Italian Meatball Sandwich closed, yet showing the light brown cheese and saucy Italian Meatballs onto dinner plate. Serve with pickles and French Fries or Potato Chips.
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