Mark Anderson and Ryan Fey, a.k.a. The Grill Dads, walk you through how to create a smoked meatball sandwich on La Brea Bakery Ciabatta Rolls.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
- Kosher salt, for seasoning
- Freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning
- 1 cup fine breadcrumbs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil, for seasoning
For the red sauce
- 1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic
- The Grill Dads Spiceology Salt Pepper + Three Chiles Seasoning
- Handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
For the sandwiches
- 4 La Brea Bakery Take-and-Bake Ciabatta Rolls
- Avocado oil, for grilling the bread
- ½ cup pesto (favorite recipe or store bought)
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Preparation
- Heat a grill for medium indirect heat.
- Combine the beef and sausage in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the breadcrumbs, milk, egg, Parmesan, garlic, and parsley. Use clean hands to gently work the meat mixture together, careful not to overmix.
- Divide the meatball mixture into 12 meatballs, packing loosely into rounds. Arrange the meatballs in a grill-safe baking dish and season with more salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the meatballs on the grill for 20 minutes at medium heat.
- While the meatballs cook, make the red sauce. Combine the canned tomatoes, garlic, seasoning, basil and olive oil in a large bowl. Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce until smooth.
- When the meatballs are browned and almost cooked through, pour 2 cups of the sauce over the meatballs and cook until bubbling (about 15 minutes more). Remove the meatballs from the grill and set aside.
- Brush the rolls with avocado oil and grill for 1 to 2 minutes over direct heat, until charred but not burned.
- To build the sandwiches, apply pesto on both halves of the rolls, topping the bottom half with 3 meatballs, grated Parmesan and the top of the roll. Serve warm.
Recipe adapted from Mark Anderson and Ryan Fey, The Grill Dads
