I Turned Neapolitan Pizza Dough Into a Meatball Sandwich

What's up, everyone? My name is Julian Sisypho, and I grew up eating meatballs for breakfast. Growing up in an Italian-American family, especially here in Philadelphia, this type of food is in our DNA. And today, I'm gonna show you how to make my grandma's meatballs inside of this Gosney ARC XL. And in the end of this video, I'm gonna show you how to make an Italian-style pizza panuozzo using a pizza dough. It's gonna be the ultimate meatball sandwich. Now let's just get right into it. I like to start off this recipe by making the sponge, which gives the meatballs their moisture and tender texture. I prefer actually to cook the onions and the garlic beforehand to mellow out those stronger flavors and help them blend more evenly into the mixture. Now add all of the wet ingredients into the bowl and give a good whisk. Then add some plain panko breadcrumbs, whole milk, parmigiano-reggiano, chopped parsley, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. This sponge is essentially a mixture of the wet ingredients and breadcrumbs, allowing the panko to absorb all of that moisture. This step is what helps keep the meatballs juicy, tender, and flavorful after they're cooked. Now I am quite sure that most Italian grandmas do not know this technique. Please apply it to making your own meatballs next time. It makes all the difference. And the meatballs will be meaty, however juicy, tender, and so flavorful from this sponge that I just taught you today. And that sponge mixture is totally okay to even prepare the night before. Now, when mixing your meatballs, I'm taking a pound and a half of ground beef, a pound of ground pork, that sponge mixture, and mixing it all up using my hands to make sure everything is evenly incorporated. When you see that this mix becomes tacky, that means your meatball mix is ready. Before rolling out the meatballs, lightly oil your hands to prevent sticking. Divide the mixture into equal portions, and now you're gonna start to roll medium-sized meatballs. So far, if you are enjoying this video, please don't forget to like, subscribe, and share this video. I appreciate all your support. Now, this oven is on low heat, average of 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and the tray in here has been heating up for around 10 minutes. What I will do is turn off this flame. And the reason we oil these meatballs is because it can catch on fire, and that's why we are shutting that flame off for the initial bake. So the flame is off. The oven is around 750 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm gonna allow these meatballs to warm up so that the inside isn't stone cold first. Then, of course, we're gonna crank that heat to get that nice and beautiful sear on the outside crust. It's already smelling amazing. The goal here is to develop a beautiful sear on the outside of the meatballs. Once the bottom develops that deep golden brown crust, flip them over, place them back in the pan to finish inside the oven. As they bake, the meatballs release some of their fat and juices, helping keep them incredibly moist and flavorful. Just look at them. Beautifully browned on the outside, tender and bouncy to the touch, absolutely loaded with juices. All right, now we have our meatballs, but we need a sugo, a rich sauce that will coat these meatballs, and I'm gonna show you how. Take a clove of garlic, give it a nice smash, and add it to a pan along with all of those flavorful oils and rendered fats left behind from the meatballs. Let it gently toast and infuse the oil before adding in the pureed tomatoes. Cook them down, allowing the sauce to reduce slightly and concentrate its flavor. And once it's thickened a bit, remove the garlic and add in the meatballs back into the pan along with any of those juices that they have released. Gently toss the meatballs in that sauce, put them back into the oven, let them bake until those meatballs are beautifully glazed and delicious. And now let's start to open up our pizza dough. Now this will be in panuozzo sandwich, so start by pressing out the cornicione. This whole dough will be nice and flat. Unlike a traditional Neapolitan pizza, you don't want a puffy rim here. Instead, focus on creating an evenly thick disc, putting the cheese on half of the pizza, closing it with some oil inside, and then pressing it slightly on the outer crust. Now into the oven this goes at a low flame to bake until it's crispy golden brown. Along with that incredible mozzarella cheese pull, we're building this panuozzo with a generous layer of whipped ricotta, spreading it evenly from edge to edge. On top goes those glazed meatballs and sugo, still hot and coated with that rich tomato sauce. Everything is so steamy hot that I'm finishing it with aged parmigiano-reggiano to melt inside. Fresh basil leaves and extra virgin olive oil gives it that topping of freshness. This is one beautiful and delicious Italian sandwiches that you can make at home. Now let's give it a taste test. Now this here is a serious sandwich. The meatball panuozzo, all cooked in that Gosney ArcXL. It looks sloppy, but it is handheld, as you can see. My dough, well fermented, beautifully structured, has a nice crispy crust. It holds up to all those ingredients. Put seven meatballs in there, I mean, come on. Let's give it a try. Mama. Those meatballs are so tender and so flavorful. And the gooey soft ricotta, it's like a swimming pool for those meatballs. Sandwich is well balanced, and the parmigiano gives a nice kick to it all. I'm obsessed with this sandwich. My name is Julian Sissifold. Those are my homemade meatballs and how to make that panuozzo sandwich. This definitely needs to be on that to-do list. I hope you enjoyed this video because I'm gonna see you in the next one. Thanks for watching.