Unusual Sandwiches
- Thread starter Dannyalcatraz
- Start date
Mom had some leftover takeout chicken tenders in the fridge, so I decided to make a lunch sammie out of a couple of them.
I’ve been making a fry dipping sauce out of a 50/50 mix of A1 and yellow mustard with splashes of Tabasco and a dusting of ground black peppers since the late 1980s, and it’s pretty good. Using the same ratios, I subbed Heinz 57 for the A1 to use as the main condiment. H-57 has a more tomato-forward flavor that I felt would play better with the chicken. After making that mix, I coated my sourdough toast with it, placed a layer of dill pickle slices down, and then the warmed tenders. Then a drizzled just a little mayo on top.
End results were tasty, and comparable to several of the commercial fried chicken sandwiches out there. It got a little soggy because of the amount of sauce & pickles I used, but I also didn’t toast my (thinly sliced) bread as much as I should have. It would also be better with better tenders- the ones we had on hand are nicely cooked, but a tad under seasoned IMHO.
Would do again.
I’ve been making a fry dipping sauce out of a 50/50 mix of A1 and yellow mustard with splashes of Tabasco and a dusting of ground black peppers since the late 1980s, and it’s pretty good. Using the same ratios, I subbed Heinz 57 for the A1 to use as the main condiment. H-57 has a more tomato-forward flavor that I felt would play better with the chicken. After making that mix, I coated my sourdough toast with it, placed a layer of dill pickle slices down, and then the warmed tenders. Then a drizzled just a little mayo on top.
End results were tasty, and comparable to several of the commercial fried chicken sandwiches out there. It got a little soggy because of the amount of sauce & pickles I used, but I also didn’t toast my (thinly sliced) bread as much as I should have. It would also be better with better tenders- the ones we had on hand are nicely cooked, but a tad under seasoned IMHO.
Would do again.
Yes. They’re typically used as steak sauces. I typically use them as sauce enhancers/bases.
Oddly, I don’t cook chicken that often. The most common uses for uncooked chicken in our house are for our dog (who is on a special diet), gumbo and BBQs, and Dad is the master of the BBQ. My usual role when he’s playing with fire is making the sauces and sides.
Zardnaar
Legend
I get sick of chicken and sometimes crave vegetarian lol.
I definitely go vegetarian on occasion. My longest streak was 2-3 weeks.
Technically, that’s a Thanksgiving dinner leftover sandwich! (We’re eating our freezer down.)
So it’s thawed chunks of turkey on a bed of onion sprouts, a layer of smoked Gruyere, mayo, Coleman’s English mustard, and a very liberal sprinkling of Tajin, all on toasted sourdough.
This was better than I expected.
The turkey, Gruyere, mayo & bread are a mainstream enough core to set expectations. The smoky cheese & sprouts are a minor but noticeable step off the path of normalcy. But the interplay between the English mustard and the Mexican spice mix is straight out of TANG CITY!
I was turned onto Coleman’s by a fellow Imgurian. It’s a nice, classic mustard with a moderate burn as compared to some variants I’ve had in the past. It’s not going to pop your sinuses, but you’ll know it’s there.
Tajin is a blend of chili peppers, salt, citrus & other seasonings made in Mexico. But the peppers chosen aren’t the high heat ones, so the mix plays mostly as a citrusy spice with just a ghost of a burn.
On Mayonnaise
No question that mayo is a much beloved condiment in our house, especially by my father and me: we buy the 1Gal jars of Kraft.
While I personally like Hellman’s, my folks only eat it when there’s no other option. My folks grew up on Blue Plate, but because my dad was in the Army, we haven’t seen much of it since 1974.
We just got some Duke’s to try a couple weeks ago. To me, it’s definitely a superior texture and consistency as compared to Kraft or Hellman’s, and I do like its flavor at least as much as those others. But its cost per serving is higher than Kraft, so it’s not going to become our #1 over it. Still, I’ll probably be keeping some on hand for certain dishes where its richness will elevate the overall taste & texture.
Which brings us to Truff black truffle mayonnaise. I was gifted some a couple nights ago by a friend who is a fan of how I cook. I had some straight from the jar as well as on a cracker with some deli chicken.
I was surprised. After the straight tasting, I was very skeptical about it. While the base mayo texture was similar to Duke’s, the ground truffle added a certain grittiness. And the flavor had an odd finish to it.
To be clear: I like black truffles. Besides enjoying it in dishes in restaurants, I often have truffle-infused foods in the house- usually cheeses. So not actually enjoying Truff straight was unexpected.
But I continued to the next test because I know that some condiments or ingredients don’t taste particularly good in isolation, like Dijon mustard. I use Dijon all the time, but I never use it solo or lick the spoon.
My results with the second test were markedly better. On a cracker with deli chicken, the grittiness I detected was entirely absent. The flavor was different from a plain mayonnaise, as expected, but I’m still undecided as to whether it was a flavor worth investing in.
IOW: tests inconclusive; more investigation needed.
Tonight, I used the Truff to make my midnight snack- a classic ham & swiss sandwich on sourdough, with some yellow mustard and dill pickle slices. For context, in the past, I have made similar sandwiches using regular mayo but truffle gouda cheese instead of swiss.
And yes, I licked the mayo knife after the sandwich was made, as is my custom.
1) the sample on the knife was better received than the first solo taste test. The texture was better* . But it still wasn’t a mayo flavor I truly enjoyed more than traditional mayo, or even related condiments like mayo infused with olive oil, garlic aioli, toum and so forth.
2) the sandwich was good, but it wasn’t right. The aforementioned similar sammie with truffle cheese was hands down better.
So I think it’s safe to say Truff won’t be purchased by any of my family. There’s other truffle mayonnaise products out there, though. I’d be open to trying at least one more of those.
* and I have no idea why
No question that mayo is a much beloved condiment in our house, especially by my father and me: we buy the 1Gal jars of Kraft.
While I personally like Hellman’s, my folks only eat it when there’s no other option. My folks grew up on Blue Plate, but because my dad was in the Army, we haven’t seen much of it since 1974.
We just got some Duke’s to try a couple weeks ago. To me, it’s definitely a superior texture and consistency as compared to Kraft or Hellman’s, and I do like its flavor at least as much as those others. But its cost per serving is higher than Kraft, so it’s not going to become our #1 over it. Still, I’ll probably be keeping some on hand for certain dishes where its richness will elevate the overall taste & texture.
Which brings us to Truff black truffle mayonnaise. I was gifted some a couple nights ago by a friend who is a fan of how I cook. I had some straight from the jar as well as on a cracker with some deli chicken.
I was surprised. After the straight tasting, I was very skeptical about it. While the base mayo texture was similar to Duke’s, the ground truffle added a certain grittiness. And the flavor had an odd finish to it.
To be clear: I like black truffles. Besides enjoying it in dishes in restaurants, I often have truffle-infused foods in the house- usually cheeses. So not actually enjoying Truff straight was unexpected.
But I continued to the next test because I know that some condiments or ingredients don’t taste particularly good in isolation, like Dijon mustard. I use Dijon all the time, but I never use it solo or lick the spoon.
My results with the second test were markedly better. On a cracker with deli chicken, the grittiness I detected was entirely absent. The flavor was different from a plain mayonnaise, as expected, but I’m still undecided as to whether it was a flavor worth investing in.
IOW: tests inconclusive; more investigation needed.
Tonight, I used the Truff to make my midnight snack- a classic ham & swiss sandwich on sourdough, with some yellow mustard and dill pickle slices. For context, in the past, I have made similar sandwiches using regular mayo but truffle gouda cheese instead of swiss.
And yes, I licked the mayo knife after the sandwich was made, as is my custom.
1) the sample on the knife was better received than the first solo taste test. The texture was better* . But it still wasn’t a mayo flavor I truly enjoyed more than traditional mayo, or even related condiments like mayo infused with olive oil, garlic aioli, toum and so forth.
2) the sandwich was good, but it wasn’t right. The aforementioned similar sammie with truffle cheese was hands down better.
So I think it’s safe to say Truff won’t be purchased by any of my family. There’s other truffle mayonnaise products out there, though. I’d be open to trying at least one more of those.
* and I have no idea why
I was inspired by George Motz’s video on the Mississippi Slugburger (see video below), and wanted to try out a variation on one. Note: the burger does not include slugs. The name comes from the burger’s original cost of 5¢- a “slug”. Slugburgers have breadcrumbs added to the meat in order to stretch the meat, a measure born of economic hardship. The rest of the burger is similarly austere: a little salt added to the meat; a simple bun with yellow mustard, and some pickles. No cheese.
While I intend to try the original some day, tonight I wanted to upscale the idea a bit. Instead of the plain, chunky breadcrumbs, I wanted to try fine, seasoned breadcrumbs. I used fancier bread and spicy brown mustard. I added cheese & bacon.
INGREDIENTS
3lbs ground meat
1/2 can Progresso Garlic & Herb breadcrumbs
Roasted Garlic bread, sliced & toasted
Bacon
Dietz & Watson caramelized onion cheddar
Mayo
Guilden’s Spicy Brown mustard
Sliced dill pickles
Tonight’s burgers were 1/4lb each, topped with 2 (thick) slices of cheese and 2 bacon strips. Because the bread had a small cross-section, i didn’t flatten the patties that much and I could only fit 2 pickle slices per burger.
The remaining 2lbs of meat/breadcrumbs mix was stored in one of these:
Burger Master® 8-in-1 Burger Press and Freezer Container
Go beyond the burger press by instantly shaping and storing your homemade burger patties!
www.shapeandstore.com
(Very handy product, highly recommended!)
RESULTS:
The burgers were tasty and super sloppy.
Even though my breadcrumbs were much finer than the original recipe (as depicted in the video), there was still a noticeable difference in the way & speed the patties developed a crust while cooking as compared to normal.
I used 2 slices of cheese per patty, which might have been overkill. Because this cheese is slightly stickier & crunblier than some, I usually get it sliced thick AND get paper placed between the slices…but I forgot the second part. That meant I couldn’t easily separate individual slices. Oh well!
The bacon did what bacon does.
The small bread contributed to the sloppiness. Tasty though it was, it wasn’t big enough to control all the various slippery ingredients. Next time I make these, I’ll either get real burger buns or another kind of roll or bread to build on.
Toasted a ciabatta roll, smeared some Dijon on the bottom side, topped it with Swiss cheese & pastrami. Then I tossed some romaine lettuce in some Caesar salad dressing (and drizzled some more on the top half of the toasted bun.
I regret to inform you my sandwich was too small.
I regret to inform you my sandwich was too small.
