In theory, tucking meatballs and marinara sauce into a roll is a delicious idea. The hardy bread sops up the sweet sauce while the meatballs deliver their payloads of flavor, bite by bite.

In practice, most meatball sandwiches suck. The rolls don't often have the structural fortitude necessary to carry a flight of meatballs, which usually tumble out the back of the sandwich, along with gobs of sauce. Anyone who has ever made the mistake of ordering a meatball sub at a chain sandwich shop knows this.

There's a solution to all this, however. It's a solution that, upon discovery, will change the way you make meatball sandwiches forever. And it's so blatantly obvious that you'll curse meatball sandwich purveyors everywhere for every sauce-stained shirt they've ever inadvertently caused.

The solution: Instead of building your meatball sandwich on a feeble hoagie roll, use ciabbata.

Ciabatta, an Italian bread, has a robust, tenacious quality. It's the kind of bread that won't let meatballs push it around. It's less likely to split, crack, or go limp when laden with sauce. But how to pack the orbs of beefy goodness into the bread? Cut a pocket into the ciabatta, scoop out some of the bread, if necessary, and tumble the meatballs inside. It's the way that Dan Mancini, founder of Meatball Obsession in Manhattan, serves his meatball sandwiches. And it's the only way you may start eating yours.

Ciabatta Meatball Sandwich
Recipe by Dan Mancini, founder of Meatball Obsession

What you’ll need:
For the sauce
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

For the meatballs
2 pounds ground beef chuck*
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 large eggs
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil, for frying

How to make it:
1. First, make the sauce. In a large saucepan with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, add the tomatoes, along with their juices. Using your hands, crush tomatoes and then add the tomatoes to saucepan. Add bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Cover the saucepan, bring to a boil, and immediately reduce to a simmer.
2. Next, make the meatballs. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the beef, cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, onion, eggs, salt, and pepper. Gently mix together by hand to combine. Wet your hands with cold water and roll the meat mixture into 1 3/4-inch balls.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, if necessary, place meatballs in skillet. Cook until browned on all sides, but not cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes total. Transfer meatballs to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
4. Transfer the meatballs to sauce and gently stir from the bottom up to coat with sauce. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Uncover and reduce heat. Continue cooking the meatballs, stirring every now and then, for 3 hours more. Serve tucked inside ciabatta rolls.

*This recipe makes about 30 meatballs, which would equate to 10 sandwiches. You could make less, but if you’re going to make meatballs the right way—which takes time—you might as well cook up a big batch. They go awesome with pasta, of course, but also taste great on their own, topped with grated Romano, chopped parsley, and toasted pine nuts. 

Via: Craft The Ultimate Meatball Sandwich