REWIND -- Meatballs in the Slow Cooker

You can always add sauce if you like your sub that way. I prefer mine with a sprinkling of red pepper flakes or the Dark and Smoky blend from the Flatiron Pepper Co.

In my quest for the perfect meatball, I experimented from my previous Meatballs in the Slow Cooker recipe by changing up the ingredients and working on a new sauce. The results were better than the previous recipe, and the sauce tastes much more flavorful. Try them both out and see which one you like better.

Ingredients

·         1 pound of ground beef (90/10 or as lean as you can get)

·         1 pound of ground pork

·         1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (Italian style is best)

·         1 T. Italian seasoning

·         2 T. minced garlic

·         2 t. onion powder

·         1 egg, lightly beaten

·         24 oz. spaghetti sauce (homemade or jar doesn’t matter, but diavolo is best)

·         28 oz. whole San Marzano tomatoes

Method

1.       Combine beef, pork, Panko, Italian seasoning, garlic, onion, and egg until well mixed. Form the meatballs, making them about the size of a golf ball. Use a #20 scooper or your hands.

2.       In the slow cooker, mix the spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Set your slow cooker for low for 8 hours.

3.       During the first hour, stir the sauce occasionally, breaking up the tomatoes as they cook. After 1 hour, place the meatballs in the sauce and cover.

4.       Cook covered for about 6 to 6 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally to cover the meatballs with the sauce. For the last 30 minutes, uncover and finish cooking. You may want to use a splatter screen on top to keep things cleaner.

5.       Enjoy

Variants

These go great in a soft roll with a slice of provolone that gets melted under the broiler. Sure, you could mix them in with your favorite pasta. Nothing wrong there but eating them by themselves seems like a decadent treat.