choice
6 slices ham (see Tip)
4 slices Swiss cheese
6 pickle rounds or 2 large pickles, cut lengthwise into ¼-in/6-mm slices
⅔ cup/115 g shredded roast pork shoulder or 6 slices deli roast pork
1. Lay the rolls cut-side down on a work surface. Butter the outsides generously with the butter. Turn them butter-side down and spread the mustard on cut sides. Layer the ham, cheese, pickles, and pork on the sandwich bottoms, dividing them evenly. Replace the tops, butter-side out.
2. Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, carefully add the buttered sandwiches, top-side down. Weight the sandwiches with a brick wrapped in aluminum foil (see “It’s that easy”) or another heavy pan. Cook until browned and crispy on the first side, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat if they threaten to brown too fast—you want the inside of the sandwich to be warmed through and the cheese oozing before the bread chars. Flip the sandwiches over and cook the second side for another 2 or 3 minutes until browned. Remove the sandwiches from the pan, cut in half, and serve hot.
tip: The better the ham, the better the sandwich. Black Forest is delicious.
it’s that easy: You don’t need no stinkin’ panini press. A foil-wrapped brick can do the job just as well. It compresses the meaty, juicy insides while helping the exterior crisp up to crunchy browned perfection. Now go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back, because you’ve just MacGyver’d a do-it-yourself panini press for creating great tasting, crispy-hot sandwiches at home.
extra hungry? How about a pile of sea salt kettle-fried potato chips? You know you love them.
in the glass: There is something fabulous about a cold beer with a hot sandwich. A Dos Equis from Mexico or a bottle of your current favorite brew would pair well with the pickles, mustard, and ham in this zesty sandwich.
Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches
with BACON and CHUTNEY
Most everyone gets excited about ripe summer tomatoes. But I’m addicted to the unripened green ones! Especially when they’re fried up crispy in a hot, hot pan of bacon fat. And they’re even more delectable when paired with creamy avocado, crunchy iceberg lettuce, salty bacon, and tucked inside a toasted English muffin spread with tart-sweet Major Grey’s chutney. This meal, a harmonious blend of rebel yell and Union Jack, is definitely something to get excited about.
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START TO FINISH 35 minutes
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HANDS-ON TIME 35 minutes
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serves 2
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¾ cup/85 g panko bread crumbs
¼ cup/30 g all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 green tomato, cut into 4 big slices
½ in/12 mm thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 slices bacon
1 tbsp vegetable oil, or as needed (optional)
⅓ cup/100 g Major Grey’s chutney
4 English muffins, split and toasted
½ ripe avocado, peeled and thinly sliced (see “It’s that easy”)
4 or 8 iceberg lettuce leaves
1. Put the panko and flour in two separate shallow bowls. Put the egg in a third shallow bowl and beat until well blended. Sprinkle the tomato slices on both sides with salt and pepper and dredge them in the flour, shaking off the excess. Dip the slices in the egg and then dredge them in the panko to coat completely. Set aside on a plate.
2. Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat and add half the bacon slices. Cook, turning as needed, until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Cook the remaining bacon in the same way.
3. There should be lots of bacon fat in the pan for frying the tomatoes, but add the vegetable oil if it ever seems to be too dry. Add the breaded tomato slices to the hot pan and fry until browned on the first side, about 2 minutes. Flip them over carefully with a wide spatula and cook to brown the second side, another 2 minutes or so. Transfer the tomatoes as they are finished to the plate with the bacon.
4. Spread some of the chutney on each toasted muffin bottom and top each with a