Primanti Bros-style Sandwiches

Ham & Egg with an a-typical triple layer.

In the history of American sandwiches, there are a handful of legendary sandwich makers; makers who come up with an idea that is truly revolutionary. They create a sandwich that spawns imitators and creates devotees. These iconic establishments become a Mecca of the over-weight middle class. There are probably less than a dozen of these type sandwich makers in America.

I originally heard of Primanti Bros on the Food Network's Man v. Food, Pittsburg episode. Then I had the fortune of meeting Luke. Luke went to college in Pittsburg and was minutes away from Primanti Bros. Luke suggested that we attempt to replicate a Primanti Bros sandwich. To this date, the Primanti Bros is the most difficult sandwich to make, primarily due to the coordination of the materials. In fact, it took several attempts before we had a reasonable reproduction (according to Luke).

The main concept for Primanti Bros seems to be meat and cheese on an Italian loaf. The gimmick is they top their sandwiches with a handful of hot french fries and a scoop of vinaigrette coleslaw. They also have an option for an over-easy egg or two.

Over the holidays we had a little extra time, so we made our third attempt at the Primanti Bros style sandwich. Luke and his wife (both Pennsylvania natives) both think have created passable and delicious replications.

Ingredients

• Italian Loaf - cut in *thick* slices
• Pastrami
• Capicolo
• Boiled Ham
• Provolone Cheese
• Coleslaw (below)
• Sliced Tomatoes
• French Fries
• Egg - over easy (Bonus! but optional)
• Butter (for frying the egg & meat) - Why not?!?
• Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce
• Wax Paper

Coleslaw Recipe

We used the recipe provided by the Washington Post.

Assembly

Make the coleslaw ahead of time. At least 4 hours before you want to eat. We just do it first thing in the morning.

You could make your own fries, but it's a lot of work and we don't have the resources we need at our office. We outsource the fries by going to pick them up directly before building the sandwiches. We have a Five Guys close to our office and they work pretty well. We've used fries from other places and the over processed or frozen fries don't work out as well. If you close the bag on the fries then they stay hotter, but then the steam collects and makes them soggy. Try closing the top of the bag, but leave a vent at the top for the steam to escape - it's a pretty good balance between hot/soggy.

In the past, we just made these sandwiches with pastrami, capicola, and provolone so the George Foreman Grill worked perfectly. This time we wanted to try the ham and egg, so we actually brought in a electric grill and cooked everything on that. Grill all the meat until it's hot, but don't cook it to death - you'll dry the pastrami out. Cook the egg over easy. When the meat is ready, stack it up and put on a slice of cheese to start melting. Don't be afraid to experiment a little with the meats. The Pastrami, Capicola and Provolone is awesome, but The Ham and Egg w/ Capicola is excellent as well.

Meanwhile, put a piece of wax paper down on your plate. Right now you're probably thinking you don't need the wax paper. Trust us here - the wax paper is the missing ingredient. You won't be able to keep the sandwich together in the end without it. It took us several failures before we standardized on the wax paper.

Build the sandwich with the meat and cheese on the bottom, then egg if you have it, coleslaw, tomato, and fries on top. Douse it in as much hot sauce as you like. Typically there are just two thick slices of bread, but you can see above that the loaf was cut too think and I ended up doing a triple layer. Same amount of bread, but a little unconventional. Wrap the whole thin in wax paper then slice it in half.

Enjoy! You're eating a famous and delicious sandwich without having to travel all the way to Pittsburg.

Utensils

• George Foreman Grill or Electric Grill
• Large Bowl for Coleslaw
• Wax Paper