MEATBALL SMASHWICH WITH BABISH

For the Potato-Brioche Hybrid Buns Dough

Cube butter into small pieces and set aside to bring up to room temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add bread flour, potato flour, kosher salt, granulated sugar, and instant yeast. Whisk until homogenous.

Heat whole milk until steaming, then combine with water, bringing wet ingredients temperature up to about 105 °F - 110 °F.

Crack egg into a separate bowl first to ensure no shell fragments make it into the dough, then transfer to the dough mixture.

Mix on medium speed until a shaggy, cohesive and smooth dough ball forms.

Continue mixing on medium speed and begin adding butter 1 piece at a time. Wait until each piece is fully incorporated before adding another piece of butter. This will take a while. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

The final result should be smooth, bouncy, and pulling away from the sides of the bowl without help.

Check for doneness using the window pane test.

Turn dough out onto a flat workspace with buttered hands, kneading and shaping into a taut ball.

Using a bench scraper, transfer the shaped dough ball to a well-buttered mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to proof for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours or until size increases by ~50%-75%.

While the dough is proofing, make the sauce.

For the Sauce

Lightly purée San Marzano tomatoes until almost smooth but with some texture.

Finely mince white onion.

In a medium sauté pan, add extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.

Then, add minced onion and sweat for 3 to 5 minutes or until translucent.

Add crushed garlic, sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Then, add tomato paste and anchovy paste. Sauté for another 30 seconds.

Then, add puréed San Marzano tomatoes along with parmesan rind, crushed red pepper flakes, and dried oregano. Heat through, scraping up anything from the bottom of the pot using a wooden spoon or spatula.

Reduce heat to a low simmer, add basil stems, and cook for at least 45 minutes to an hour.

While the sauce is cooking, shape the buns.

For the Potato-Brioche Hybrid Buns

Once the dough is finished proofing, use your kitchen scale for accurate weight measurements.

First, measure the total weight of the dough in grams. Then, divide by 10. The resulting number will be the weight of each shaped bun.

Prepare rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a bench scraper and your kitchen scale, divide dough into the 10 equal pieces, and using both your hands, roll and shape each piece into taut little balls.

Transfer to prepared rimmed baking sheets and loosely cover with well-oiled plastic wrap shaped dough.

Proof the shaped dough buns for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Heavily dust parchment paper-prepared baking sheet with semolina flour and preheat oven to 350 °F

For the Sauce (continued)

Check on the sauce while the dough buns are proofing.

If the sauce is too thick, add some water, ~ ¼ cup at a time as needed.

Remove basil stems & parmesan rinds.

Add unsalted butter, kill the heat, and stir, allowing the residual heat to melt the butter. Taste, and optionally add more butter to your preference.

Set aside for later use.

For the Calabrian Chili Mayonnaise

In a tall, narrow container about the width of your immersion blender, add egg, lemon juice, garlic clove, Dijon mustard, and seeded Calabrian Chilis. Blend until homogenous.

Then, slowly stream vegetable oil down the side of the container so that it settles on top of the egg mixture. Then, using the immersion blender, very slowly begin pulsing up from the bottom, paying attention to consistency.

If the mixture is too thin, add another egg, and continue blending from the bottom of the container slowly working your way up.

Add kosher salt, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Meatball Mixture

Using the large holes of a box grater, shred white onion. Then finely mince the shredded pieces into an almost paste-like consistency.

In a sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil and onion. Sauté using a rubber spatula to spread the onion, releasing moisture.

When the onion mixture begins to dry out and gain a bit of color, add crushed garlic. Sauté for another 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Kill the heat and sauté until the mixture is dried out and fragrant.

Transfer to a heat-proof plate and spread out evenly to allow to cool completely before adding to the meatball mix.

Meanwhile, prepare the buns for baking.

For the Potato-Brioche Hybrid Buns continued

Prepare an egg wash with a whole egg, splash of water, and a pinch of salt. Beat until homogenous.

Transfer proofed buns to semolina dusted prepared baking sheet, brush each bun with egg wash, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Transfer to the preheated 350 °F oven for 18-22 minutes until golden brown and 195 °F at their center.

For the Meatball Mixture continued

In a large mixing bowl, add Panko breadcrumbs, whole egg, parmesan cheese, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, dried parsley, and dried basil. Whisk to combine.

Then add onion and mix by hand to combine.

Add ground beef, pork, and lamb (or whichever combination of meat you prefer, coming to 1 ½ lbs ground meat).

Mix thoroughly with hands until homogenous using a ‘press and smear’ method.

Using your kitchen scale, weigh out 3 oz pieces of meatball mixture and shape each piece into smooth, crack-free meatballs.

For the Assembly

Preheat the cast iron griddle in the oven at 450 °F. Then, transfer to the stovetop on high heat.

Transfer 2, 3 oz meatballs to preheated cast iron griddle over high heat. Allow crust to form on bottom of meatball, flip, then smash into a thin patty, bigger in diameter than your buns, using a metal spatula.

As the patties finish cooking, top 1 patty with 1 slice of mozzarella cheese, and the other patty with provolone cheese. Top each pattie with a dollop of sauce.

Slice and toast your burger buns.

Begin Assembly: Spread Calabrian Chili Mayo on the top bun, and pesto on the bottom bun. Then, layer the cooked meatball smash patties between the buns.

Serve immediately, and enjoy!