Recipe: Italian meatball grinder

I grew up on the East Coast in an Italian family.
One of my favorite meals was a Meatball Parmesan Grinder.
A foot-long loaf, stuffed with meatballs and sauce and covered with Parmesan cheese.
Oh my... good stuff!   Like all spicy Italian food, they are not available anywhere I have located west of the Rockies.
I make my own Authentic Hot sausage, as it is also not available out west.

Meatball Ingredients)
3/4# ground beef
1/4#  hot Italian sausage
1 egg
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon  salt, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 cup parsley
1 cup crustless bread
1 small onion

Sauce)
2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup onion
24 oz diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 tsp red pepper, 1 tsp anise, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, dash of pepper

Making meatballs)
Cut the crust from 2 pieces of bread, and grate or process one small onion. Mix well in a bowl and set aside.
Mix the beef and sausage.
In a larger bowl, mix one egg, 1/4 cup cheese, two cloves of crushed garlic, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and the parsley.
Add in bread, onion mix, and the meat.  Mix well.
Use olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.  
Roll the mixture into balls and brown them, but do not thoroughly cook them.  
Remove the meatballs from the heat and set them aside in a separate container..

Sauce)
Pour juices from the frying pan into your saucepan.
Add olive oil, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, and 3/4 cup of processed onion; sauté until transparent.
Add tomatoes and dry ingredients.  Add meatballs and 1/2 cup of water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and partially cover.  Simmer at a very low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened (3-5 hours).
Please don't let it burn.

Using any size loaf of bread you like, add meatballs and sauce, and grate cheese over the top. Place it in a hot oven for 30 seconds or so to melt the cheese.
Enjoy!
Leave out the bread and add pasta if you would prefer a nice spaghetti meal.
I made this yesterday, but I neglected to take photos... I was too busy eating!










 

With a name like Rubino, you would have to be Italiano...

Never heard of a Meatball Sandwich called a Grider, thanks for the lesson learned.

I love them though I have not made meatballs in years ...

You know a sandwich originates from the New England Italians if its called a grinder.

I've seen the terms 'grinder', 'hoagie', 'sub', 'hero', and a sandwich to describe the same thing.

I'm going to give this recipe a try soon, thank you for sharing!