Tender juicy meatballs simmered in oregano butter and marinara sauce stuffed into an oregano butter hoagie roll topped with mozzarella & parmesan and broiled to perfection! Is there anything better than hot messy meatball subs on game day!

Football season is back and you no were going to be posting some of our favorite things to eat on game day! Guys this is the ultimate meatball sub sandwich perfect for serving a small crowd and easy enough to make that you won’t miss out on the action.

ITS ALL ABOUT THE MEATBALLS!

Classic Italian meatballs that are perfectly seasoned and not overmixed. Yes it’s that simple. Simple ingredients done right! We used a mixture of lean ground beef and Italian sausage. Lean ground beef because we pan seared our meatballs in oregano butter so the fat from the butter and ground sausage mixture was plenty enough to keep the meatballs juicy. Too much fat will make the meatballs greasy and can be hard to eat and digest. If you don’t plan on searing the meatballs in butter I would used an 80/20 blend of ground beef. To the meatballs we added Italian parsley, a small amount of finely chopped onions, garlic, Italian breadcrumbs with seasoning and an egg.

SEAR IN OREGANO BUTTER

The perfect meatball needs to be browned on all sides. Sear the meatballs in oregano butter until all sides are browned. Keep adding the butter to the pan and coat the meatballs, this will ensure all the flavor from the butter seeps into the meatballs.

SIMMER IN SAUCE

Simmer the meatballs in your marinara sauce for about 30 minutes. We used a blend of two different store bought sauces. One was an Arrabbiata sauce and the other an Italian marinara sauce. The Arrabbiata sauce is a spicy version of a marinara and had chillies in the sauce which add a nice hint of spice to the sauce and the Italian marinara typically has a sweeter profile with basil, sweet onions and garlic. This is a great trick to ensure your sauce isn’t bland and lacking flavor. To a pan add the sauces and meatballs plus add some oregano butter and fresh oregano and let cook for 30 minutes.

ASSEMBLE YOUR SUBS!

I like to remove a bit of the bread inside the hoagie under the top half. It helps the meatballs sit better in the hoagie and for diet reasons we just like to limit the amount of bread we consume. Brush the inside of your hoagies with melted oregano butter, add the meatballs and top with shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes and broil until the cheese has melted and starts to blister. Finish the subs with chopped basil and you’re ready to serve!

We hope you guys enjoyed our game day recipe!

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Print Recipe

GAME DAY MEATBALL SUBS

Tender juicy meatballs simmered in oregano butter and marinara sauce stuffed into an oregano butter hoagie roll topped with
mozzarella & parmesan and broiled to perfection! Is there anything better than hot messy meatball subs on game day!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Football Sunday

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 7 -8

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lb lean ground beef
• ½ lb mild Italian sausage ground or casing removed
• 1/3 cup Italian parsley finely chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic minced
• ¼ cup finely chopped sweet onion
• ½ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• Generous amount of Salt & pepper
• 3 cups Marinara sauce We used a blend of store bought Arrabbiata and Italian Marinara
• Hoagie Rolls
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Finely chopped basil
• Fresh oregano
• Make ahead compound oregano butter
• 1 ½ cup butter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• 1. Add the beef, sausage, parsley, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, onion, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Use your hands to combine the meatball ingredients until fully combined, do not overwork the mixture. Once all ingredients are combined, roll into 30 meatballs, about 1 ½ to
  2 tablespoons each. (Tip wet your hands before rolling meatballs, this makes sure the ground meat doesn’t stick to your hands)
• 2. Heat a pan on medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of your compound oregano butter to the pan. (if you don’t have compound butter you can use regular butter or garlic butter) Sear the meatballs until each side has a nice golden crust. Keep adding butter to the pan while the meatballs sear and coating each meatball in butter. Remove meatballs from the pan and set aside.
• 3. Add marinara and arrabbiata sauce to a large saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of oregano butter or garlic butter and 2 sprigs of fresh oregano. Bring to a low simmer. Add the meatballs to the pan and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes.
• 4. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F
• 5. Brush the inside of the hoagies with melted oregano butter and arrange on a baking sheet. Add 3 meatballs to each hoagie and stop with extra sauce. Top each sub with shredded mozzarella and shredded parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 minutes and broil for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted and starts to blister.
• Garnish with chopped basil and enjoy!

Notes

To make oregano compound butter:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

2. Place on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll into a log. Twist ends to seal well.

3. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably overnight

4. Slice into rounds and enjoy on steaks, vegetables or bread.