- This sandwich is a bodega favorite
across the boroughs of New York City.
Simple ingredients that create a delicious sandwich,
but don't let the name fool you.
There's plenty of beef in this cheesy sandwich.
Today we'll be making the iconic chopped cheese.
(electronic dance music)
You want to make a meal for a group on the Blackstone,
but you're running out of ideas.
You have to try this chopped cheese.
Griddled beef and cheese on a hero roll,
but you can have everyone customize the toppings
as they like.
This sandwich will become a new staple
for whenever you feel like cooking on a flat top.
The ingredients here are pretty simple,
ground beef, hero rolls, cheese,
your favorite hamburger toppings, onions,
and some basic seasonings.
We'll start with toasting the rolls
in a little bit of butter over medium-low heat.
That browning will add a great flavor
and texture to the sandwich.
We're just going for a nice golden brown
when we're toasting these buns.
Once the buns are all toasted,
we'll get some diced onions cooking over medium-low heat.
These will take a few minutes,
so you can prep the rest of the ingredients while they cook.
We just want to slightly cook these onions through
because we'll fold 'em into the beef later.
Keeping it simple with this is key,
so use the kind of toppings that you would on a burger.
We like to use finally shredded lettuce for some crunch
and some thinly sliced tomato.
Slicing both the lettuce and the tomato thin
will help to prevent them
from squeezing out of the sandwich when you take a bite.
This sandwich will be sloppy,
but we want to try and contain all the ingredients.
Remember to check on those onions
to make sure they aren't burning.
You want some browning and a little char is okay,
but you don't want them to go too far
'cause they're gonna stay on the griddle with the meat.
A little mayo on the roll will add some creaminess,
but you could use ketchup, mustard,
or any sauce that you prefer.
Preheat half the griddle to high heat
and hit it with a little neutral oil like canola or peanut.
Traditionally, patties are thrown right on the griddle,
then chopped up.
We use bulk ground beef
because you can get just as much browning as patties
if you spread out all the ground beef in an even layer
so that it browns like one giant patty.
Simply season with salt, pepper,
and a generous dusting of granulated garlic
and just let that sear for a few minutes.
Time to check and see how the beef is searing.
Nice, it's getting a good browning all over,
so we'll give it a quick flip
and then get to the chopping,
which gives this sandwich its namesake.
For this method, you'll want to use two spatulas
or a spatula and a bench scraper will come in handy.
Just start chopping up all that ground beef.
You want to get it finally chopped without any big chunks.
You could have started by chopping it up,
but browning it first in one large mass
will add a ton more flavor.
Once it's almost cooked through
and a little bit of pink remains,
bring in those onions from earlier.
We'll want to start chopping and folding those onions
into the meat as well.
Everything's cooked through
and we can start to divide this into four portions.
You can just eyeball the amount
and try to keep it fairly even.
You want to make sure everyone gets their fair share
of this delicious griddled beef.
Hit each pile with two slices of American cheese.
Other cheese may have more intense flavors,
but American melts to a gooey state
that no other cheese can match,
and that's what this sandwich is all about,
chopped up ground beef
with a gooey cheese gluing it all together.
Use a spatula and work the cheese into the ground beef
while folding and letting it melt.
Dang, that is lookin' tasty!
Now you can drop your hero rolls right onto the ground beef
and then use the spatula to turn the beef over
right into the bun.
This makes it easy to fill all at once
and you'll want to make sure to grab any bits left behind.
Now just hit it with your favorite toppings.
We like to keep it classic with tomato slices
and some shredduce,
but when you're making this at home,
you can add or emit anything you would like.
The toppings are just there to accentuate the ground beef
and if you start with Certified Angus Beef,
you can't miss with this sandwich.
Because if it's not Certified, it's not the best.
Oh, I can't wait.
This is the kind of thing you want to be making
on your black stone.
See you next time here at the Test Kitchen.
(electronic dance music)