Welcome to our gastronomic voyage, where we will discover the mouthwatering tastes and mouthfeel of the classic chopped cheese sandwich. This popular meal, which originated on the streets of Harlem, has won over the hearts and palates of foodies all over the world. With the help of this in-depth tutorial, you will be able to make the ultimate chopped cheese masterpiece in the convenience of your own home.
It’s important to grasp the fundamentals of making the ideal chopped cheese sandwich before we get into the specifics. Chopped cheese is a delicious combination of flavours—juicy ground beef, melted cheese, onions, peppers, and spices—all wrapped up in a soft roll. A wonderful gastronomic joy, each bite offers a symphony of savoury, cheesy, and slightly sour aromas.
The Ingredients: Quality Matters Chopped Cheese Recipe
Excellent ingredients are essential to this gastronomic journey. What you’ll need is as follows:
PREP TIME: 10 mins
COOK TIME: 20 mins
TOTAL TIME: 30 mins
SERVINGS: 6 servings
YIELD: 6 sandwiches
For the Sandwich:
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (80/20 blend) ground beef
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 4 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 6 hoagie or bolillo rolls
- 12 slices American cheese
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- Shredded iceberg lettuce, for serving
- Tomato slices, for serving
Optional Additions:
- Pickles, tomato, and lettuce for extra freshness
- For an added burst, use ketchup or hot sauce.
Step-by-Step Preparation:
Now that we have all of the components ready, let’s get started on making the ideal chopped cheese sandwich:
1. Sauté the Onions and Peppers
- In a skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
- To the skillet, add the diced bell peppers and onions that have been thinly sliced.
- Sauté the vegetables for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are tender and caramelised.
- To taste, add salt and pepper for seasoning.
2. Cook the Ground Beef
- Heat the olive oil in a different skillet over medium-high heat.
- Using a spatula, add the ground beef to the skillet and break it up.
- Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the steak is browned and well-cooked.
- To taste, add salt and pepper for seasoning.
3. Assemble the Sandwiches
- The hoagie rolls should be split lengthwise and put on a baking pan.
- Place a layer of cooked ground beef on the underside of every roll.
- Add the sautéed onions and peppers on top of the steak.
- Top the vegetables with two slices of American cheese.
- For one to two minutes, or when the cheese is melted and bubbling, place the baking sheet under the grill.
- Take out of the oven and gently shut the sandwiches.
4. Serve and Enjoy!
- Serve the heated sandwiches with a cut in half.
- Combine with your preferred sides and condiments for a satisfying supper.
- Savour the flavorful perfection of your homemade chopped cheese dish!
Method
- Cook the ground beef:
In a big, dry saucepan or skillet, add your ground beef and cook over medium-low heat. Cook gently to allow the fat to render out. The beef should be stirred often, breaking it up as it cooks, until it is crumbly but not completely cooked—part of the flesh will still be pink.
- Add the onions, garlic, and seasoning:
Raise the heat to medium and add the onions and garlic when the beef has browned and most of the fat has drained off, which should take approximately 7 to 8 minutes of cooking. Simmer for a further 4–5 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to the filling. Take off the heat.
- Toast the buns:
Cut your buns in half, then toast them until browned in batches on a griddle or in a big skillet over medium heat.
- Combine the cheese and ground beef:
Portion out approximately 1/6 of the beef filling for each sandwich, then add it to the skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. After allowing the mixture to warm up, place two slices of American cheese on top. Give it ample time to settle so the cheese may melt. Using the side of a metal spatula, roughly “chop” the cheese and add it to the meat mixture if desired.
- Place the roll on the ground beef:
Spread 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on one side of the toasted bun, then place the roll, toasted side down, over the chopped beef mixture to enclose it.
- Finish the sandwich and serve:
Using a spatula, turn the roll after 30 seconds, preserving the contents inside. Use the spatula to replace any filling that spills back into the roll. Repeat to prepare additional sandwiches as needed.
Top the sandwich with tomato slices and shredded lettuce. Slice in half, then serve right away.
For three to four days, leftover chopped cheese filling can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container. To make a sandwich, you can add the filling directly from the refrigerator to a griddle.
Make only as many sandwiches as necessary, but it’s great if you have a leftover filling!
Is anyone here a fan of chopped cheese? Post a comment!
Chopped Cheese
Many people who have visited bodegas in certain areas of New York City are familiar with the delicious sandwich known as chopped cheese. It’s a hearty, portable dinner of seasoned ground beef and American cheese on hoagie bread with toppings. If you replicate chopped cheese at home, it will win your devotion very soon.
This recipe is truly unusual, as anyone who has ever had a chopped cheese sandwich will attest to. A decent chopped cheese is essentially made with ground beef, onions, and seasonings that are cooked on a griddle and then “chopped” with the side of a big spatula while it is griddling. After adding cheese and letting it melt, everything is placed on a solid bread and topped with lettuce and tomatoes for vegetables.
Chopped Cheese: Not Cheesesteak
Although the exact origin of chopped cheese, also known as chop cheese, will always be up for question, bodegas and tiny stores throughout the boroughs of New York City are popular places to find it, and each has its unique touch.
I’m not interested in getting into the argument between cheesesteaks from Philly and chopped cheese from NYC. As an equal-opportunity sandwich guy, I’ll accept any deliciously cheesy sandwich that is offered to me.
To begin with, slivered steak is used in cheesesteaks, whereas ground beef is used in chopped cheese sandwiches. Because of this distinction, chopping cheese at home is simpler. Now that we’ve worked on the cheesesteak, let’s move on to the chopped cheese and try our hand at creating a respectable homemade version!
Instead of the Cheez Whiz seen on some Philly cheesesteaks, the cheese on a chopped cheese will probably be sliced American cheese. While chopped cheese sandwiches typically include some fresh tomato and lettuce, cheesesteaks typically solely use cooked vegetables.
Use 80/20 Beef for Chopped Cheese
This sandwich is best cooked on a large griddle. This recipe is modified using a saucepan and a cast iron skillet, as few home chefs own one.
A chopped cheese in a bodega usually begins with one or two premade hamburger patties. To ensure that the filling has sufficient of fat, I like to start at home with an 80/20 blend of ground beef. If you choose a leaner option, you may want to drizzle some oil into the pot before cooking (since you’ll probably be using a skillet at home rather than a flat-top griddle like at a bodega).
If you choose to use an 80/20 blend, simply place the ground beef in a pot over medium-low heat and allow it to cook gently, which will cause the fat to render out. As the beef is browned, stir it frequently. Add the onions and garlic to the browned beef and mix, or “chop,” them into the meat. In essence, they will cook in the ground beef’s rendered fat. They will get softer after four to five minutes.
Use Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to season the beef filling. You can now assemble your chopped cheese sandwiches using the filling.
Use a Griddle or Skillet
Transfer some of the cooked beef filling to a skillet or griddle over medium heat to reheat. Next, add the cheese, allow it to melt, and then “chop” it into the filling with a spatula.
After toasting bread and spreading mayonnaise on it, place it over the meat filling and wait 30 seconds. Scoop up the sandwich with a spatula, scrape up any leftover filling, and place it onto the bun. Serve each sandwich right away after adding lettuce and tomatoes as garnish!
Origins of Chopped Cheese
Like many other distinctive regional sandwiches, the simple chopped cheese sandwich originated in working-class areas through the mingling of immigrant experiences. If you happen to live in a neighbourhood in New York City where you can walk into a corner store and order one, it’s convenient, cheap, aesthetically pleasing, and customizable.
The majority of sources credit Blue Sky Deli in East Harlem as the sandwich’s original creator. According to some accounts, the meat filling, which was free-form, might have been broken up on a griddle to make it fit on a long hoagie roll more snugly than a pre-formed burger patty.
Regarding the term “chopped,” it may refer to the process of chopping ingredients while they cook to combine them, a method of cooking that many Yemeni immigrants who own bodegas in New York are familiar with. Anything easily accessible and practical can be used as a beef spice, such as chicken bouillon granules, Dominican adobo seasoning, or seasoned salt.
Much of the popularity of chopped cheese outside of New York City can be attributed to hip-hop culture’s loving name drops and Parts Unknown’s mention of Anthony Bourdain. A select group of chefs developed sophisticated versions of chopped cheese in the middle of the decade, which sparked accusations of cultural appropriation of what many New Yorkers familiar with the sandwich would refer to as a hood speciality. If you don’t live near a corner bodega where you can quickly get your fix for chopped cheese, try this recipe and join the narrative that is still developing.
FAQs
What is a cheese that has been chopped?
Popular sandwiches with chopped cheese are native to New York City’s Harlem neighbourhood. Usually eaten on hoagie bread, it has melted cheese, chopped or ground beef, onions, peppers, and spices.
Where’s the chopped cheese that I want?
Though it started in Harlem, chopped cheese has become more and more popular, and you can get it at delis, bodegas, and sandwich shops throughout New York City and beyond. A few eateries and food trucks also provide their special takes on the traditional chopped cheese sandwich.
What kind of cheese is utilised in the cheese that’s chopped?
American cheese is most frequently used in chopped cheese sandwiches because of its mild flavour and melting consistency. Some varieties, nevertheless, might use different cheeses, such as Swiss, Provolone, or cheddar.
Can I have a customised sandwich with chopped cheese?
Of course! The adaptability of chopped cheese is one of its many wonderful qualities. To suit your tastes, feel free to add more toppings to your sandwich, such as lettuce, tomato, pickles, or sauces like mustard, ketchup, or hot sauce.
Does chopped cheese resemble a sandwich cheesesteak?
Cheesesteak sandwiches and chopped cheese sandwiches both have melted cheese and finely sliced or chopped meat, but they differ greatly in flavour and technique. Chopped cheese has a different flavour profile from a regular cheesesteak because it usually contains a combination of herbs and veggies, such as onions and peppers.
Conclusion
Developing your chopped cheese skills brings up a whole new range of culinary possibilities. It’s easy to reproduce this famous New York City treat in your kitchen with a few basic ingredients and a little culinary skill. Chopped cheese is a hit whether you’re entertaining friends or just in the mood for a filling dinner. Why then wait? Get your ingredients ready, and let’s go on a delicious adventure!