OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 15I
T’S A HOT afternoon in East
Harlem. The broad streets are
free of the usual New York hustle,
but the drumbeats of a salsa festi-
val pop from a few blocks away. I arrive
at the corner of 110th Street and First
Avenue and step into Blue Sky Deli,
known locally as Hajji’s. The clerk at
the counter hollers out, asking if I want
to place an order. Hajji’s is part conve-
nience store, part take-out deli. He asks,
“Chopped with everything?” I nod.
Tourists from as far away as Austra-
lia and Japan make their way here just
to order this famed sandwich, which
Hajji’s claims to have invented. I make
my way toward the back of the store
where cook Jhonny Sanchez methodi-
cally works the griddle. His kitchen is
sectioned off by a 5-foot wall. As I settle
in to watch, he sends another chopped
cheese out the door.
The combination of the tempera-
ture outside and the heat radiating
from the griddle makes the work space
nearly unbearable. But Sanchez moves
quickly and wears an earnest smile,
proud to be the guy who makes the
sandwich everyone talks about. “Snoop
Dogg was here last week,” he tells me.
He estimates he’ll make 500 sand-
wiches on this particular Saturday and
chuckles as the number leaves his lips.
He slaps a few ground beef patties
onto the griddle, dusts them with two
mystery commercial seasoning blends,
and scatters a handful of paper-thin
onion over the top. He grabs two metal
spatulas and begins chopping the beef
and onion together with the intensity of
a Tito Puente drum solo. The rhythm
echoes through the small shop––the
music of bodega cuisine.
He divides the meat into long piles
the same length as the toasted sub rolls,
which he dresses with mayo and ketch-
up. American cheese is layered on top of
the meat, followed by tomato slices so
thin they’re nearly transparent. With a
scoop of the spatula, he slides the meat
onto the bread. Shredded iceberg let-
tuce finishes it off before it’s folded and
wrapped in paper. As Sanchez hands
me my sandwich, the clerk calls out for
three more “chopped with everything.”CHOPPED CHEESE SANDWICHES
Serves 4
The Goya seasoning can be found in
the spice or international section of your
grocery store; Lawry’s Seasoned Salt is
usually stocked with other salt blends
in the spice section. You can wrap the
sandwiches in butcher paper instead of
parchment paper, if desired.1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon Goya Adobo All
Purpose Seasoning
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
4 (8-inch) sub rolls, split
1⁄3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
8 slices yellow American cheese
(8 ounces)
12 thin tomato slices (2 tomatoes)
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce- Adjust oven rack to middle position
and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine
beef, onion, all-purpose seasoning,
and seasoned salt in 12-inch nonstick
skillet. Cook over medium-high heat,
constantly breaking up meat into small
pieces with wooden spoon, until cooked
through and excess moisture is driven
off, about 8 minutes.- Arrange sub rolls on baking sheet and
spread mayonnaise and ketchup evenly
on cut sides of rolls. Divide beef mixture
evenly among rolls. Layer 2 slices
American cheese over beef on each roll.
Bake until bread is warmed through and
cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. - Layer tomatoes and lettuce over
cheese. Close 1 sandwich, using spatula
as needed to keep ingredients contained
within roll (sandwich will be very full).
Starting from corner of 16 by 12-inch
sheet of parchment paper, immediately
wrap sandwich tightly. Repeat closing
and wrapping with remaining 3 sand-
wiches. To serve, cut sandwiches in half
through parchment paper and unwrap
as you eat.
Could we re-create
this bodega classic
at home?
by Morgan Bolling^
and Bryan RoofTHERE’S NOTHING LIKE
a real bodega chopped cheese
sandwich straight off a flat-top
griddle in East Harlem. But once
you’ve had one of these local
favorites—ground beef, seasonings,
and cheese piled atop a soft sub roll
along with ketchup, mayonnaise,
lettuce, and tomato—the cravings
can be relentless. So we set out to
create a recipe that would allow
home cooks everywhere to enjoy
this landmark sandwich.
We started with a pound of
ground beef to ensure we’d have
enough filling for four hearty
sandwiches. Early tests proved that
90 percent lean ground beef was too
dry and 80 percent lean was just a
tad too greasy; 85 percent lean was
just right.
In NYC bodegas, line cooks use
the high heat of flat-top griddles to
cook big batches of ground beef for
dozens of sandwiches every day. We
found that a nonstick skillet was a
fine substitute for a smaller batch.
A wooden spoon made breaking up
the meat a breeze.
The bodega cooks in New York
sprinkled two mystery seasoning
blends on the meat while searing it.
After some experimentation, we
found a close approximation with
a mix of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and
Goya Adobo All Purpose Season-
ing. The Lawry’s seasoning gave
the beef a salty, peppery, oniony
flavor while the Goya season-
ing added more salt, garlic, and
oregano. Together, they packed
tons of flavor.
To prep our split sub rolls, we
spread them with ketchup and may-
onnaise, added the seasoned beef,
and layered American cheese slices
on top. We wanted our sandwiches
to have melty cheese and warm
condiments, so we transferred them
to the oven and baked them until
they were lightly toasted.
These sandwiches are a wonderful
mess to eat, but if you’re unwilling
to put your shirt in danger, wrap
them tightly in parchment paper and
cut them in half before digging in.
Your experience will be just a touch
neater, and the swaddle helps meld
the cheese and the beef.Chopped Cheese
Sandwiches
Deeply seasoned
beef, melty cheese,
ketchup, mayo,
lettuce, and tomato.
The perfect sandwich.Illu
str
ati
on
:^ R
os
s^ M
ac
Do
na
ld
For more photos of our trip to East
Harlem, visit CooksCountry.com/
hajji19.