Chopped Cheese Sandwich

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 4 Servings

Ilove hot sandwiches. I’m never happier than when I’ve got my hands on a breakfast sandwich, a katsu sando, or a classic Cuban. But if you ask me, the undisputed champion of hot sandwiches is the chopped cheese.

A chopped cheese sandwich is pure New York City bodega fare. Said to have originally been developed in the bodegas of Harlem, it’s become a classic NYC sandwich right alongside the bacon, egg, and cheese and a pastrami on rye. I grew up in the Bronx, and the chopped cheese was a staple in my youth. I sourced them from bodegas in different parts of the city, but my favorites were the ones closer to home, made in corner stores on my commute to and from school.

Ingredients

1 small yellow onion
2 medium tomatoes
1/4 medium head iceberg lettuce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
4 (6- to 8-inch) soft sandwich rolls, such as hoagie
1 pound lean ground beef (85% lean)
1 1/2 teaspoons adobo seasoning or sazón seasoning, or a combination
1 teaspoon kosher salt (if using seasoning blends that don’t contain salt)
4 slices American cheese

Instructions

Thinly slice 1/2 small yellow onion (about 1/2 cup). Cut 2 medium tomatoes into 8 slices. Core and cut 1/4 medium head iceberg lettuce into fine shreds until you have 1 cup.
Place 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 1/4 cup ketchup in a small bowl and stir to combine. Split 4 soft sandwich rolls lengthwise. Spread the sauce onto the cut sides of the rolls (1 tablespoon per piece).
Place 1 pound lean ground beef, 1 1/2 teaspoons adobo or sazón seasoning, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt (if using a no-salt seasoning) in a medium bowl. Gently mix with your hands until combined. Divide the mixture into 4 portions (4 ounces each). Form each portion into a patty about 3 1/2-inches wide and 1/2-inch thick.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 of the patties and scatter half of the onions over the patties. Cook undisturbed until the bottom is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the patties with a sturdy metal spatula or metal bench scraper. Use the spatula to chop the patty into small pieces.
Top each patty with 1 slice of the American cheese. Continue to chop and mix until the cheese is melted and the beef is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes more.
Use the spatula to arrange the chopped beef into two portions about the size and shape of the rolls. Transfer the mixture to 2 of the rolls. Repeat cooking the remaining 2 patties.
Top the sandwiches with the lettuce and tomato slices. Carefully close each sandwich and transfer each one to a separate sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil. Wrap each sandwich tightly in the parchment and cut in half.