These Italian American meatball hoagies feature smokey fennel meatballs in sauce on homemade bread rolls finished off with fresh mozzarella and basil. A mix of old world Italian, mid-century American, and my global kitchen.
Bread Rolls
370 grams / 13 oz all purpose flour
210 grams / 7.5 oz water
20 grams / 1 oz olive oil
5 grams / 0.2 oz instant dry yeast
7 grams / 0.25 oz salt
Meatballs
350 grams of ground beef
1 yellow onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
75 grams / 2.5 oz smoked turkey, finely diced
1 egg
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2.5 cups tomato sauce of your choice
Garnish
Fresh basil
Fresh mozzarella
Bread Rolls
Mix: Add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attachment. Mix for about 20 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Alternatively add all ingredients to a regular bowl and mix with a large wooden spoon until incorporated, then knead for 10 – 15 minutes (fold dough in half, rotate a half turn, repeat) or until smooth.
Rest: Divide the dough up into 6 even sized balls and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
Shape: Roll out each piece with your hands or a rolling pin and then roll it up like a cigar and put on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover lightly and rest another 20 minutes. You can prepare the meatballs in the meantime.
Bake: Preheat oven to 225 C / 450 F. Just before baking cut a line lengthwise across each roll with a sharp knife or baker’s razor. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden.
Meatballs
Mix & shape: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon until homogenous. Shape into 18 evenly sized meatballs.
Sear off: Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sear off the meatballs just enough to give them a relatively even brown crust. If you work in batches, remove finished meatballs to a paper towel lined plate.
Sauce: Once all the meatballs are fried, put them all back in the skillet and cover with tomato sauce. Put on lid and simmer for 15 minutes.
Assemble: When you are ready to serve, cut the bread rolls lengthwise and put 3 meatballs in each roll. Top with more sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil.
You can substitute ground pork, chicken, turkey or a mix.
Keywords: hoagie, sub, submarine sandwich, sandwich, hoagie sandwich, meatball sub, italian meatball sub, italian sub, italian sub sandwich