Estilo Americano: The Big Tony Sandwich

Thank you, Anthony Bourdain

Lately the foodie internet has been abuzz with recipes for the late Anthony Bourdain’s favorite mortadella sandwich, something he discovered in Brazil. It sounds tasty, if a bit plain, so I decided to kick it up a notch.

The Big Tony

Bourdain’s version is pretty simple, lots of fried mortadella and prosciutto, topped with provolone, and dressed with mustard and mayo on a toasted soft bun. Nice, but where’s the color, where’s the vegetables? And prosciutto? Tasty, but tends to be stringy, and not a very bold flavor, so….

So here’s my Americano version, the Big Tony:

• toasted bread or roll — for my first version I used sourdough rye, which was on the hearty side — next time maybe a Kaiser roll
• wasabi mayo — mix wasabi sauce and Duke’s mayo, 1:4
• a large thin slice of mortadella
• two thin slices of hot sopressata salami
• two thin slices of provolone
• a lettuce leaf — I use romaine, buy YMMV
• two thin slices of beefsteak tomato

To prepare the sandwich:

• Toast the bread, dress both sides with the wasabi mayo
• Fold the slice of mortadella over the two slices of sopressata
• Fry this “cold cut taco” on a medium hot griddle. When it starts to sizzle, flip it over, top with the two slices of provolone and one of the dressed slices of toast
• Top the remaining slice of toast with lettuce and the tomato slices
• Pull the bread, cheese, and meat from the griddle and close up the sandwich
• Cut in half–otherwise it’s nearly unmanageable–and serve

While this doesn’t sound as hefty as Bourdain’s recipe–his has a half-pound of meat!–you’ll find that is more than enough. Remember the basic sandwich and burger rule: Make ’em wider, not taller!