Sandwiches
198 recipes found
Baltimore Pit Beef Sandwich
Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken Sandwich
Pointedly low-fuss and remarkably moist, this recipe gets its verve from pickles used two ways: Dill pickle brine seasons and moistens the chicken from the inside-out, while chopped pickles add zip to the coleslaw. Many fried chicken sandwich recipes use breasts, but thighs have more fat, which means they’re more flavorful and harder to overcook. The chicken also fries at a lower temperature, so it finishes cooking and its crust crisps at precisely the same time. The buttermilk is key to the crispness here, so avoid any substitutions. Paired with cornstarch, it forms a thick crust that shatters with each bite. This sandwich is best enjoyed immediately, with your favorite hot sauce and a pile of napkins. (Watch the video of Alexa Weibel making pickle-brined fried chicken sandwich here.)
Crab Toast
Like the very best crab cakes on earth, which have as little dulling, distracting or deadening filler as possible, these crab toasts take that ethos to the extreme. There is no call for bell pepper or bread crumbs or diced celery; just the best fresh, sweet, saline crab meat you can buy, gently seasoned with a little lemon juice, bound with a tiny amount of tangy crème fraîche, then piled onto a slab of good toast, still warm. The toast is made ever so luxurious with a slathering of nutty brown butter mayonnaise. These two simple components — crab and brown butter toast — act in concert, and a glass of cold rosé to wash them down makes for the most exhilarating, satisfying spring supper imaginable.
Tomato Salad on a Roll
This sandwich, a delight of summer, is a cross between the pan bagnat from Nice and the Catalan tomato bread with anchovy. And it's dead simple. Tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovy and basil. A splash of red wine vinegar. This sandwich comes together quickly, but the ingredients need to stay inside the loaf for at least an hour. That way, the juicy tomatoes and all the tasty aromatics permeate the bread in a soggy, heavenly way. Eat it outside.
Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich
This sandwich does not necessarily need a recipe, given its simplicity. But it’s an unlikely pairing, is peanut butter and pickle, and sometimes that is what a recipe is for -- to prod you in a direction that you never considered. Dwight Garner, a book critic for The Times, makes a strong case for this, his favorite sandwich, calling it “a thrifty and unacknowledged American classic.” The vinegary snap of the pickles tempers the unctuousness of the peanut butter, and it’s an unusual pantry sandwich for when luncheon meats leave you cold.
Caviar Sandwich
I now prefer the caviar sandwich to all other more classic presentations at the holidays. All that caviar crammed into a sandwich makes me feel giddy and extravagant and very lucky to be alive the second I set eyes on it. Context is everything; what I could reasonably splurge for would feel forlorn if showcased on a proper silver trolley atop a mound of shaved ice with a mother-of-pearl spoon at the ready on its nearby velvet pillow, but here, by contrast, in the context of a lowly sandwich, it feels as decadent as if I were eating caviar straight out of the tin, like a midnight pint of ice cream. Buy the caviar you most prefer from a retailer you trust the most—the most expensive may by no means necessarily be your favorite-- and see if this luscious sandwich doesn’t make you feel pretty giddy, too.
Chanclas Poblanas (Chorizo Sandwiches With Tomato-Guajillo Salsa)
Sold in the markets and street stalls of Puebla, chanclas poblanas are made with a slightly flattened, flour-dusted, oval-shaped bun called pan para chanclas which gets its rise and flavor from pulque, a fermented alcoholic drink made from the maguey plant. (Chancla, which means flip-flop or sandal, refers to the shape.) Then, they’re opened and stuffed with chorizo and bathed in a rich tomato-guajillo salsa. They’re messy, but they can be eaten with your hands or a fork and a knife.
Classic Coronation Chicken
To celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, a dish of cold poached chicken with a curry cream sauce was served at a banquet luncheon for 350 of the queen’s guests. That dish, originally called “Poulet Reine Elizabeth,” became known as coronation chicken, spurring a thousand variations in Britain and beyond. This one, from Tea & Sympathy in New York City, is closely based on the original recipe, and includes a mix of curry powder, red wine and tomato purée folded into a mayonnaise dressing. At the luncheon, the chicken was served alongside a rice salad studded with peas. But it’s also excellent piled on lettuce leaves or stuffed into sandwiches. For a meatless version, you can try these cauliflower salad sandwiches.
Bulgogi Sliders With Scallion Salsa
Here is a sandwich version of the Korean barbecue standard known as bulgogi — “fire meat,” is the literal translation — and a taste of the sort of home cooking that can lead to more home cooking. It serves as a fragrant hamburger crusher, an elegant vanquisher of pizza. It is an enemy of takeout. I learned the recipe from Hooni Kim, the chef and owner of Danji, on the edge of the theater district in Manhattan, where bulgogi “sliders” are a hallmark of the menu and by far the restaurant’s most popular dish. It’s been adapted for use in the home.
Portobello Patty Melts
This is a traditional patty melt in all ways save the fact that the beef has been swapped out for roasted portobello-mushroom caps. It otherwise hews closely to the recipe served at Tiny Naylor’s drive-in restaurant in Los Angeles in the 1950s, and to the ones used in coffee shops and diners across the country. But those mushrooms! Roasted in the oven in a marinade of oil, balsamic vinegar, soy and garlic, they take on immense flavor and density, and provide a terrific foil to the caramelized onions, Swiss cheese and butter-griddled rye bread.
Sosis Bandari (Spicy Sausages and Onion)
Sosis bandari means “port sausage” and refers to the ports in the south of Iran, home of this delicious street food. The classic preparation combines fragrant sausages and onion cooked in a rich tomato sauce with a couple of key spices, including some type of heat. You can use any dried or fresh chile that you have on hand. This recipe calls for beef hot dogs, or franks, which are a suitable substitute for the fragrant sosis, the sausages traditionally used in this sandwich. Other versions, like this one, include creamy potatoes and green bell pepper to add bulk and to flavor the spicy and savory sausages. Serve sosis bandari as a sandwich filling on a French bun or similar type of sandwich bread, or eat it straight from the pan with bread on the side for scooping. Either way, you’ll want plenty of napkins and something cold to wash it all down.
Chorizo Sloppy Joes With Kale and Provolone
Matthew Hyland, a chef and an owner of the Emily and Emmy Squared restaurants in New York and Nashville, is known for making exemplary pizza and hamburgers. But his sandwich game is strong as well. This one recalls the flavors that he first experienced as a college student in Bristol, R.I., which has supported a sizable Portuguese community since at least the late 19th century. It is a sloppy Joe of sorts, built on a base of crumbled Mexican-style chorizo, which Hyland uses in place of chourico, a Portuguese sausage also spiced with paprika and garlic. He uses chorizo because he can’t regularly find chourico in his neighborhood stores. I can, sometimes. Other times, not, and I can’t find Mexican chorizo either. Then I use Guatemalan chorizo instead. It’s a great sandwich whichever member of the chorizo family you use. Do not stint on the olives, banana peppers or celery seeds. The celery seeds especially, a nod to one of the toppings scattered on a Rhode Island “New York System” hot dog, are a perfect touch.
Turkey Cubano
Two heated baking pans topped by a cast-iron skillet stand in for a sandwich press in this easy Cubano recipe. It also substitutes sliced turkey for the usual roast pork, but retains the melted cheese, sliced ham and slivers of pickle that makes the traditional sandwich so incredibly compelling. Deli ham is the go-to choice here, but prosciutto gives a deeper, saltier flavor; use whichever you like.
Crab Croque-Madame
Every Francophile has eaten a croque-monsieur, which is essentially a hot ham and cheese sandwich, the top spread with a layer of béchamel sauce and grated cheese, then grilled until golden and bubbly. You can get one in any café, where it is eaten from a little plate, either at a small table or standing at the bar, using a knife and fork. A croque-madame is exactly the same, with a fried egg on top. Why is it madame when it has an egg? No one knows. I decided to make a version with crab meat, which I thought would be novel, until I discovered it had already been invented, many times over. It seems there already exists the crab toastie, an American open-face snack made with English muffins. And crab toasties are well known in the British Isles as well. I pushed mine in a slightly creole direction, adding cayenne, tarragon and chives.
Patty Melts
As great dinner sandwiches go, it is hard to beat patty melts: ground beef, Swiss cheese and caramelized onions griddled on rye bread until they become crisp, oozing packages of salty-sweet delight. This recipe for them, which riffs on the ones served at Tiny Naylor’s drive-in restaurant in Los Angeles in the 1950s, is about as traditional as you can get – luscious enough that they don’t require condiments. Between the butter and the onions and the cheese, the sandwiches makes their own. Undercook the burger patties slightly before assembly, so they finish while you’re griddling the sandwiches at the end.
Bulgogi Cheese Steaks
These sandwiches, which are inspired by Philly cheese steaks, are made with beef marinated in classic Korean barbecue flavors. Tender rib-eye steak is thinly sliced and pounded to mimic the texture of shaved meat, then tossed in a savory garlic-soy marinade. Thin-skinned shishito peppers, a common ingredient in Korean cuisine, stand in for traditional bell peppers. Shishito peppers vary in spiciness, so once blistered, they will add mild, or sometimes bold, heat to the sandwiches. Rib-eye creates the juiciest sandwiches, but sirloin is more affordable, and a solid substitute.
Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Inspired by Iranians’ love affair with pickles and fresh herbs, this tuna salad combines the crunch and tang of dill pickles with a mix of herbs. The cheerful addition of potato chips celebrates relaxed summer lunches — and tastes great any time of year. Ciabatta rolls and classic salted chips are especially good here, but you can use your favorite loaves and chips, or skip the bread and just serve the tuna salad with chips for scooping.
Smoky Beef and Vegetable Sliders
Sliders are a great way to stretch out a small amount of ground meat. I made this dish, which is reminiscent of a sloppy Joe (though a lot tidier), to use up the half-pound of left-over ground beef, and added vegetables to bulk it out and lighten it up.
Vegetarian Mushroom Shawarma Pitas
Dusted with smoky spices like cumin, coriander and paprika, these thick-cut roasted portobello mushrooms are inspired by shawarma, Middle Eastern spiced lamb — and they taste surprisingly meaty. The flavors are bold, but the prep is simple: While the mushrooms and onions roast, make an easy turmeric and Greek yogurt sauce, and toss sliced red cabbage with salt. Pile everything into a pita with a flurry of cilantro and mint to freshen things up (parsley or salad greens would also do the job in a pinch). While these hearty pitas are best enjoyed with a knife and fork as open-faced sandwiches, they can also be folded into half-moon parcels and eaten out of hand.
Cream Cheese Sandwiches With Dates, Pecans and Rosemary
For these sandwiches, look for soft, juicy dates. It’s also worth seeking out natural cream cheese rather than the gummy commercial kind, or substitute fresh ricotta. The crisp, salty herbed pecans pair very nicely with the slightly sweet spread.
Roasted Pepper Tartine
The hot, open-face tartine is a lunchtime staple in Paris’s small neighborhood cafés and bistros. Like a piece of pizza, a tartine is constructed from a thick slice of rustic bread, lightly toasted. A savory topping and some good French cheese precede a few minutes of browning under the broiler. This tartine features garlicky roasted pepper strips (fresh or from a jar), a dab of sundried tomato purée (sliced fresh tomatoes in summer) and black olives. A thick slice of goat cheese makes a perfect pairing, or use Camembert if you prefer. Make a green salad to serve alongside for a quick light meal, or you may cut the tartine into small wedges to serve with drinks.
Roast Turkey Pav
This dish was inspired in equal measures by a cluttered refrigerator on the day after the Thanksgiving, and the pav bhaji of western India — a gloriously spiced mash of vegetables served with buttery, toasted buns. It works beautifully with roast turkey meat, cut into small pieces, though it's ideal for scraps of meat pulled off the turkey carcass after making stock, giving them a second life and infusing them with flavor. Serve the dish with garnishes of cilantro and red onion on the side, allowing people to determine their own ratios, or take control and garnish the whole pan yourself. Either way, don't skip buttering and toasting those rolls.
Mushrooms on Toast
Beloved by British and other Anglophone cooks, mushrooms on toast is a hearty savory dish that can be made quickly. It’s cheap and delicious if you use ordinary cultivated mushrooms, and suitable for any time of day: breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner or late snack. One pound of mushrooms is just right for two servings.
Todd Richards’s Grilled Peach Toast With Spicy Pimento Cheese
Pimento cheese is a Southern classic, but the combination of spicy, smoky pimento cheese — spiked with bacon and the adobo that comes in a can of chipotle chiles — and sweet, juicy peaches could only come from the mind of a chef. Todd Richards of Richards’ Southern Fried in Atlanta’s Krog Street Market and the author of “Soul: A Chef’s Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes” (Oxmoor House, 2018) calls this his ideal summer breakfast, “along with a glass of champagne.” If you don’t want to use a grill, just toast the bread and use the peaches freshly sliced.