Recipes
The chivito was the first thing Steven ate on his first trip to Uruguay and it foreshadowed the onslaught of red meat that would accompany his visit. (“We eat meat thirteen times a week,” his guide confided, the fourteenth meal being fish for lunch on Friday.) Simply defined, the chivito is a steak sandwich—the way the Super Bowl, simply defined, is a football game. You start with thin-sliced steak and pile on bacon, eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. It makes a Philly cheesesteak look downright anorexic.
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2. Hot Gut Hero (Beef Sausage and Pepper Jack Cheese Sandwich)
Sausage is often discussed in euphemism. We avoid saying what’s really in it. (Remember the adage about two things to avoid watching. The workings of politics and the stuffing of sausage. Texans have the courage to call it what it is: hot guts. Hot as in larded with jalapenos. Guts as in, well let’s just say they use natural sausage casings. This being Texas, the meat for the sausage is beef. And this being Texas, the essential flavoring is wood smoke.
Depending on where you are, this sandwich might be called a hoagie (in Philadelphia), a grinder (in western Massachusetts), a po’boy (in New Orleans). We call it a hero and it’s about to make you the hero of your next tailgating party.
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3. Cubano
The Cubano owes its distinction to a quadruple blast of flavor in the form of garlicky roast pork, smoked ham, pungent Gruyère cheese, and tangy pickles. Curiously, the best Cubano Steven says he ever tasted came not from the tropics but from a lively café in wintery Montreal called olive + gourmando. The secret? Two ingenious twists on the Cuban classic: They used cornichons (super-sour tiny French pickles) in place of dill pickles and add some smoky chipotle mayonnaise.
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4. The Raichlen Pan Bagnat (Provincale Tuna Sandwich)
Pan Bagnat—the name means “bathed bread”—is the perfect picnic sandwich: sturdy, flavorful, and hearty enough to fuel an afternoon of swimming, backpacking, or deep sea fishing. A specialty of Nice, France, this sandwich is essentially a Salade Niçoise pinioned in a crusty roll or baguette. Lightly grilled tuna plays the lead role in Steven’s rendition, supported by slices of hard-cooked egg, tomato, red onion, anchovy fillets, poblano pepper, and olives, all of it drizzled liberally with extra virgin olive oil. Best made several hours ahead, pan bagnat embraces the appealing sogginess it takes on from the oil and tomato juices. Be sure to pack plenty of napkins and crisp white wine. Warning: This is not a “first date” sandwich.
Photo: Reddit User: tdylf
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5. Double-Down Reuben
There doesn’t appear to be consensus on the origins of this popular griddled sandwich, typically featuring corned beef, Swiss cheese, and drained sauerkraut on rye bread slathered with Thousand Island dressing. (Regional variations substitute grouper, walleye, or Montreal smoked meat for the corned beef.) Omaha, Nebraska, claims the sandwich as its own, while another account credits a New York City deli owner, Reuben Arnold, with creating the iconic but improbable combo. Steven’s version combines two smoked meats—corned beef and pastrami—which takes the sandwich to a new level.
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6. Bratwurst Hot Tub
The town of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is home to this stubby sausage’s biggest fans. Grilled over charcoal and served on a semmel roll with brown mustard, pickles, ketchup, and onions. While the beer “hot tub” is not traditional, indirect grilling brats over charcoal is. The method crisps their casings, keeps the brats moist, and eliminates the risk of burning and flare-ups, while the wood smoke adds a haunting dimension of flavor. To us, there is no better way to cook bratwurst or any sausage.
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