Tag: sandwich
Roast Pork and Broccoli Rabe Sandwich (Philly’s DiNic’s knock-off)
Roast Pork and Broccoli Rabe Sandwich (Philly’s DiNic’s knock-off)
There is a legendary sandwich located in Philly at the Reading Terminal Market. No, it isn’t a cheesesteak. This sandwich has been featured on many food travel shows, Good Morning America, etc, and is recognized as the best sandwich in America. In that market is a small food stall named DiNic’s. DiNic’s have perfected the Italian classic roast pork with broccoli rabe sandwich. I have had the opportunity to eat this monstrosity of porky love on 2 occasions; most recently in September 2021 with my homies Brian and Aaron during the Decibel Magazine beer and Metalfest. It is that good. No fucking joke. I look forward to eating this sandwich more than the festival. And now I’ve taken it upon myself to learn how to make this epic sandwich.DiNic’s uses pork shoulder instead of pork loin. Usually when you think of pork shoulder, you think of shredded pulled pork. But this is sliced. The key to this roast pork is to only cook it to 180 degrees internal temperature. It will be sliceable. If you cook it past 200 degrees internal temp, it will fall apart and shred like pulled pork. Quite honestly, that way is good too, but if you want your sandwich to be like DiNic’s, it needs to be sliced. If you happen to have a deli slicer like me, slice that pork as thin as possible. Or you can use a carving knife. The pork gets added back into the juices it cooked in for more flavor and moistness.Broccoli rabe is a bitter green in season during the Fall. It is finely chopped, stems and all, and sautéed in olive oil with garlic and crushed red pepper. The bitterness of the greens balances out the richness of the pork. If you can’t find broccoli rabe, mustard and turnip green are a suitable replacement. I’ve tried all 3 and they’re all pretty close in flavor in this preparation. I think my roast pork and broccoli rabe turned out really close to DiNic’s. There is one thing that sets their sandwich apart from mine, and that is their bread. It has the perfect level of chewiness that soaks up the pork juices without it being a sloppy mess. I recommend using as crusty of a hoagie roll as possible. Anything that is too light won’t be able to handle the moisture from the fillings.
Equipment
- twine
- roasting pan with rack
- meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 lbs boneless pork shoulder
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds ground
- 1 tbsp dried rosemary
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 20 garlic cloves minced
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- olive oil
- 4 cups pork stock
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 15 oz canned tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
Broccoli Rabe
- 2 bunches broccoli rabe washed; finely chopped (can substitute mustard or turnip greens)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
Sandwich
- Italian hoagie buns
- provolone cheese 2 slices per sandwich
- pepperoncinis peppers sliced
Instructions
- Tightly tie your pork shoulder.
- Mix together all of the dried seasonings.
- Make a bed of onions in the bottom of a large bowl. Rub the pork shoulder with the dry rub, minced garlic cloves, parsley, and olive oil. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator
- Let rest at room temperature for 2 hours before roasting. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the pork shoulder on a rack on a roasting pan. Save the onions and any other drippings from the bowl. Roast for 30 minutes.
- Mix together the stock, red wine, canned tomatoes, and bay leaves with the saved bowl of onions. Pour that into the roasting pan. Cover the pan with foil and roast for another 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees and roast for 2 hours.
- Remove the rack from the roasting pan. Place the pork shoulder in the juices. Cover with the foil and roast for another 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees with a meat thermometer.
- Let the pork rest for 30 minutes before slicing. Save the reserved juices in the roasting pan.
- Remove the twine. Thinly slice the pork shoulder.
- Place the pork back in the pan of juices.
Broccoli Rabe
- Heat up the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic and crushed red pepper for 1 minute.
- Add in the broccoli rabe. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Sauté for 10 minutes until the stems are tender.
Sandwich Assembly
- Toast your bun in the oven for a couple of minutes. Slice open and place the slices of provolone across the inside.
- Place a couple of scoops of the broccoli rabe on one side of the hoagie bun. Then layer the slices of pork on the other side. Spoon over some of the juices if you like your sandwich wet.
Uruguayan Chivito
Uruguayan Chivito
The chivito is the national sandwich of Uruguay. This whopper of a sandwich has beef tenderloin, ham, cheese, avocado, pickled red onion, basil, and mayonnaise on a toasted bun.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 brioche rolls
- 6 oz beef tenderloin thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 slices ham
- 2 slices mozzarella cheese or Swiss
- 1/2 avocado thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup basil
- pickled red onions
- mayonnaise
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Toast the buns for a couple of minutes. Remove from the pan.
- Seadon the tenderloin with salt and pepper. Add to the sauté pan. Sear for a minute on the first side.
- Flip the tenderloin. Create 2 piles with the beef. Top each pile with a slice of cheese. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the ham to the pan and cook for a minute.
Sandwich Assembly
- Spread mayonnaise on both sides of the buns.
- Place the avocado slices on the bottom half; pickled red onions on the top.
- Place the beef/cheese pile on top of the avocado.
- Top the beef with a handful of basil. Place the ham on the red onions.
Prego Steak Sandwich
Prego Steak Sandwich
In addition to the prego rolls, the Portuguese also introduced the prego steak sandwich to South Africans. This might be the most ultimate steak sandwich you’ll ever eat. It is that good and fairly easy to make. Thinly sliced sirloin steaks are marinated in a peri peri based marinade, then quickly grilled. The steaks are topped on a prego roll with onion and tomato. I made a simple peri peri aioli to smear on top of the roll.
Servings: 4 sandwiches
Equipment
- immersion blender
Ingredients
Steak Marinade
- 3 tbsp peri peri sauce
- 1 small roma tomato chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Prego Sandwich
- 4 prego rolls sliced in half
- 1 1/2 lbs top sirloin cut into 4 steaks; each steak sliced in half and pounded to 1/8” thick
- tomato thinly sliced
- onion thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp peri peri sauce
- olive oil
Instructions
- Place the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the ingredients.
- Marinate the sirloin for 8 hours.
- Heat up a tbsp of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Toast the prego rolls until golden brown.
- Add another tbsp of olive oil to the pan. Increase the heat to high. Add in the sirloin in 2 batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
- Cook the sirloin for no more than 2 minutes a side.
Sandwich Assembly
- Place 2 pieces of steak on the bottom part of the prego roll.
- Mix together the mayo and peri peri and smear the top part of the bun. Top the steak with sliced tomato and onion.
Prego Rolls
What a lot of people don’t realize is that South Africa was discovered by a Portuguese explorer in 1488, heavily influencing the country’s cuisine. The Portuguese introduced prego rolls (amongst many other things) to South Africa, becoming a staple at the dinner table. The rolls only have a couple of ingredients and are fairly easy to make if you have the patience to allow dough to rise. Prego rolls are good on their own with butter, but even better as a prego sandwich.
Equipment
- standing mixer with dough hook attachment
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4 1/4 cups bread flour plus more
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Add the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt to the bowl of a standing mixer on low speed. Mix for 2 minutes. Pour in the milk.
- Slowly incorporate the flour into the bowl until a ball forms. Knead in the mixer on medium low speed for 5 minutes.
- Take the dough off the hook. Cover with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
- Lightly flour a clean surface. Roll the dough out into one long cylindrical shape. Cut that in half. Then cut 6 equal pieces out of each cylinder, for a total of 12 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball and cut an X into the top.
- Place each dough roll on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the rolls to rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the baking sheet on the center rack.
- Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown.
Peri Peri Sauce
Peri peri is eaten all over Southern African countries such as Mozambique and South African. The sauce, which can double as a marinade, has the perfect balance of sweet, salt, and acidity, with a tremendous amount of heat. It pairs well with just about every meat, fish, and seafood. The base of the sauce comes from African bird’s eye chilies. Since these peppers aren’t accessible outside of Africa, Thai red bird’s eye chilies are a suitable replacement. All of the ingredients are puréed in a food processor, then slowly simmered to cook out the raw flavor of the ingredients. Peri peri can be stored in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 red onion chopped
- 8 garlic cloves chopped
- 1/2 cup red bird’s eye chilies chopped
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 2 small roma tomatoes chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small lemons juiced and zested
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in a food processor.
- Purée until smooth.
- Place the purée in a small pot over medium low heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring.
