Fried Meatball Sandwich with Giardiniera
- 5 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups grated Pecorino Romano
- 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 pounds ground chuck
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground veal (if you don't like veal, just use more beef)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Olive oil, for frying
- 8 slices provolone
- 4 ciabatta buns, split
- 1 jar your favorite marinara sauce, warmed
- 1 jar roasted red peppers, sliced into strips
- 1 cup Homemade Hot Giardiniera, roughly chopped (or store-bought)
- For the meatballs: Preheat the oven to broil.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, Romano, parsley, garlic, and some salt and pepper until it is all incorporated.
- Add in the ground meats and breadcrumbs and, using your God-given hands, get after it and mix away.
- Do not overwork the meat or it will turn "meat-loafy."
- You want it loose and supple.
- Using your hands again, make 4 loose patties to match the size of your bread.
- (The mixture will form at least 10 patties, depending on how big your buns are.
- But I like to make some patties for sandwiches and then roll the rest to make meatballs, which I then freeze so I have meatballs at the ready.)
- Heat some oil in a large, heavy-bottomed cast-iron pan (or use a griddle pan) over medium heat.
- In batches, fry the patties until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
- For the sandwich build: Place 1 slice of cheese on each side of the buns and broil in the oven until the cheese is brown and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes, but keep watch!
- On the cheesy buns, add the patties, spoon over some marinara, top with some pepper slices and pile on some giardiniera.
- Then eat the hell out of them.
- Serve with more marinara sauce on the side.
eggs, romano, parsley, garlic, salt, ground chuck, ground pork, ground veal, breadcrumbs, olive oil, provolone, buns, red peppers
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jeff-mauro/fried-meatball-sandwich-with-giardiniera-recipe.html (may not work)