Hickory Smoked BBQ Meatball Sandwiches & a Feature Spotlight

 Every once in awhile I come across a blog that blows me away.The recipes,the pictures,the writing. Last week I was lucky enough to find a new favorite blog, The Fresh Fridge . The design of Megan's blog is classy and her recipes sound awesome. One that intrigued me right  off the bat was Hickory Barbecue Meatball Sandwiches . I added the recipe to my menu plan and made them last night. All I can say is awesome.Everyone was quiet at the dinner table, because they were  eating these   sandwiches. And let me tell you, to quiet my entire bunch for  a few minutes is a feat. Four boys and an italian husband makes for a level of loudness incomprehensible to some people ;) .So I am happy to report that  this meal  will definitely be made again.I will play around with it and see if I can convert it to a crockpot meatball, so we can have them ready after football practice in the coming months. I did not change up the recipe , just added slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese and slathered the buns with a bit of barbecue sauce too.

Hickory Barbecue Meatball Subs
adapted from The Fresh Fridge 


Ingredients:
For meatballs:

• 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 eggs
• pepper to taste

For Sauce:

• 1 and ¼ cup Ketchup
• ¾ cup hickory flavored  barbeque sauce
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• garlic powder to taste
• pepper to taste

Extras:
      * extra sharp cheddar cheese slices
      * shredded lettuce
Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread, onion, milk, salt and eggs. Shape into little meatballs, about 1 inch in size. Place the meatballs into a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine ingredients for the sauce and then pour barbecue sauce over the meatballs. Bake for 1 hour.
3. While baking: At 30 minutes – turn the meatballs over halfway through and drain the grease off halfway through and at the end. The sauce can make them burn on top so put foil on top the whole time or at least the last 30 minutes of the bake time. You can also reserve more sauce to put on top toward the last 30 minutes.
4. To make sandwiches, slather a bit of  barbecue sauce on a hoagie roll, add a few slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese ,shredded lettuce and meatballs. (I usually take  some of the bread out of the top piece of the bun and make it hollow,then add it on top of the meatballs.That way the meatballs are nestled in the sandwich and do not fall out of the sandwich as easily.  A life saver for me, since I usually have meatballs rolling all over the floor if I don't.)

In other awesome news, I am a featured blogger over at Take it From Me: Welcome Wednesday .I am so excited to  be featured this week, and even more excited to have brand new followers.I hope that everyone who stops here will find at least one recipe that peaks their interest. Here is a list of the participating  blogs  this week,just in case you would like to browse a few new ones yourself.



And  I am linking  up to these parties this  week:
Full Plate Thursday @Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Show Off Your Stuff@Fireflies &Jellybeans
Hookin" up with HoH @ House of Hepworth's
Rounding Up @ Gooseberry Patch


Pin It