Italian ANYTHING is not something expected for mealtime when camping and cooking over an open fire. With this awesome recipe for a stick to your ribs meat ball sub, that’s no longer the case! This recipe does require pre-planning and pre-cooking the meatballs.
Photo Source: Pillsbury Italian Meatball Subs
Meatballs Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion finely diced
2 eggs
1/2 Cup parmesan cheese grated
3/4 Cup plain bread crumbs
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dried basil
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well with your hands (use disposable gloves). Shape mixture into 1 1/2″ balls and place on a greased baking sheet, or line baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned, turning at fifteen minutes. Allow meatballs to cool completely before storing in a Ziploc bag. These can be frozen until your camping trip, and can be taken out to thaw at the camp site.
You can also make your own tasty sub bund ahead of time:
Freezer Friendly Bread Buns
You can also make your own tasty sub buns ahead of time:
Ingredients
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. dry active yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
5 cups + all purpose flour
1 egg white w/ splash of cold water
Instructions
Mix 1/2 cup lukewarm water, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and yeast in a large glass and let rise for 10 minutes.
Mix 2 cups lukewarm water, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, oil and yeast mixture on low in a stand mixer.
Add flour 1 cup at a time. When dough releases from side of bowl, turn out on a well floured surface and knead until slightly sticky and soft.
Cover in a well-oiled large bowl, make sure top of dough is coated in oil as well, and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for an hour or until doubled in size.
Punch down dough. Take small portions of dough and make into a cigar shape (about 2 oz.) for hotdog buns and disk shape (about 3 oz.) for hamburger buns. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat, cover with a tea towel, and let rise for about 30 minutes.
Beat egg white with a splash of water and brush on the top of each bun. Bake at 375 for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe Notes
For Freezing: After baking the buns, flash freeze on a baking sheet for 1-2 hours. Place frozen buns in a large, freezer safe, zip lock bag. When ready to eat. Wrap 1 or 2 buns at a time in a paper towel and microwave for 15-20 seconds or until warm.
CAMPSITE INSTRUCTIONS:
When ready to make the subs, roast meat balls on metal skewers until they brown and start to sizzle. Spoon canned spaghetti sauce onto each meatball and continue to roast until sauce is heated. Place sliced sub buns on aluminum foil and line with slices of mozzarella cheese and extra sauce. Add roasted meat balls, wrap in foil and place at the edge of the fire for 5 minutes to heat through and melt cheese.