East Coast Sandwiches! (Philly Cheesesteak, Italian Sub, Pastrami on Rye, Pork Roll)

🤘🏼 Adam

---

STUFF I USE...

12-inch Cast Iron Skillet

7-qt Round Dutch Oven

Hoagie Spread

My Cookware Set

My Dutch Oven

My Induction Burner

Deli Containers

Large Mason Jars (32oz, wide mouth)

Rust-proof Mason Jar Lids

Portable Single-burner Stove

Butane Torch

Butane Canisters

Coarse Reinforced Strainer

Fine Mesh Reinforced Strainer

Sheet Trays

---

The Maine Lobster Roll

Cooking the lobster is the same for both sandwiches. You can "stoil" (steam + boil) the lobster whole in a flavorful and seasoned liquid. I use beer (water works too), herbs (thyme, bay, etc.), a halved lemon, black peppercorns and Old Bay seasoning. Simply pour enough beer or water to reach 2 inches up a large pot, add all the ingredients and bring it to a simmer. Lower in the lobsters and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the lobsters are bright red and cooked through.

Yield: 4-6 Sandwiches

Print

The Lobster Roll

Ingredients

Maine-style Lobster Roll

• 1 1/2 cups Lobster, cooked
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 pinch Cayenne Pepper
• 1 stalk of Celery, diced
• 2 pieces Butter or Bibb Lettuce
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Black Pepper

Connecticut-style Lobster Roll

• Top-split Bun (recipe below)
• 1 1/2 cups Lobster, cooked
• Butter, melted
• Chives, sliced thin for garnish
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Black Pepper, to taste

Top-split Buns

• 1 ¼ cup Whole Milk (277g), warm
• 3 Tbsp Sugar (35g)
• 2 ½ tsp Active Dry Yeast (9g)
• 3 cups Bread Flour (360g)
• ¼ cup Milk Powder (28g)
• ¼ cup Potato Flour (43g)
• 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (85g), tempered
• 1 ¼ tsp Kosher Salt (8g)
• 3.5g Soy Lecithin Powder, optional

Instructions

Maine-style Lobster Roll

1. Mix the lobster with the mayo, mustard, cayenne and celery in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Build the sandwich by laying the butter or bibb lettuce inside a top-split bun and spooning on some of the lobster mixture. Serve cold.

Connecticut-style Lobster Roll

1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan or tea kettle.
2. Pour the butter over the lobster and stir in the chives with a pinch of salt and few cracks of pepper. Serve warm.

Top-split Buns

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add whole milk, yeast and sugar. Wait until it begins to bubble, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Sift together: bread flour, milk powder and potato flour and add to the stand mixer bowl. With the dough hook attached, knead the dough on medium speed until it comes together.
3. Incrementally add unsalted butter. Fully blend the butter into the dough before adding more. Once the butter has been incorporated, knead the bread until it is smooth and elastic and passes the “window test.” Add salt, knead for a minute more, then shape the dough into a ball, cover, and allow to rest for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and deflate it. Divide into 5 even pieces and shape each piece into balls. Allow to rest for 10 minutes, then shape into long buns about 1 ½ x 6 inches long. Place the shaped buns on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper spaced out ⅓ of an inch apart. Brush the buns with an egg wash, cover and allow to proof for 1 hour.
5. 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 400F (204c). Brush with an egg wash once more.
6. Bake the buns for 20-22 minutes or until the internal temperature of the center of the bread reads 190F (x c). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Adam's Notes

• The soy lecithin powder in the bread recipe acts to keep the bread more moist for longer. You can leave it out and get the same result, but if you plan on making the rolls ahead of time, I recommend using it.

---

The Pastrami on rye

Check out my FULL VIDEO on homemade Pastrami and Rye Bread here.

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Pastrami on Rye

Cook time: 1 HourInactive time: 171 HourTotal time: 172 Hour

Manny's Deli inspired. Serve with a dill pickle spear, a monster-sized latke and a Dr. Browns pop. You can find the latke recipe on my Patreon page.

Ingredients

Curing

• 5% Kosher Salt (weight of water)
• 3% Brown Sugar (weight of water)
• .5% Pink Curing Salt (weight of meat)
• 2 Tbsp Black Peppercorn
• 2 Tbsp Coriander Seed
• 1 Tbsp Mustard Seed
• 1 Tbsp Fennel Seed
• 1 Tbsp Chili Flakes
• 1 tsp Clove
• 1 Cinnamon Sticks
• 3 Bay Leaves

Pastrami Rub

• ½ cup Black Peppercorn, coarsely ground
• ¼ cup Coriander Seed, coarsely ground
• 1 Tbsp Mustard Seed, coarsely ground
• 2 tsp Juniper Berries, coarsely ground
• 2 Star Anise
• 1 Tbsp Chili Flakes
• 1 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar *because we aren’t smoking that long.
• NO SALT, the cure already did that.

Jewish Rye Bread

• 340g Water, warm
• 280g Bread Flour
• 165g Rye Flour
• 28g Milk Powder
• 36g Caraway Seeds, plus more for topping
• 5g Instant Yeast
• 25g Neutral Oil
• 4g Kosher Salt

Sandwich Assembly

• 2 Slices Jewish Rye
• 9 ounces Pastrami, sliced
• Horseradish Mustard
• Pickle
• Adam’s Latke
• Dr. Browns Pop

Instructions

Curing

1. Add all of the cure ingredients to a large container and whisk until completely dissolved. Lower the trimmed brisket inside, optionally inject it a couple of times with the brine to speed up the curing process. Cover and allow to cure in the fridge for 7 days.

Pastrami Rub

1. Preheat the oven to 300F.
2. Remove the naval from the wet cure and rinse thoroughly before patting dry. Season the naval on all sides with the dry rub as evenly as possible.
3. Set a large wire rack in a large sheet tray and fill the bottom with enough water just to coat the bottom and set the seasoned naval on top. Slow-roast the naval on the middle rack of the oven for 2-3 hours, until the meat is fork tender, the fat is slightly rendered and the meat is dark and crusty. The internal temperature should read around 205F.
4. Remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. Either slice immediately or for thinner pieces do the following: transfer the pastrami to the freezer for 1-2 hours, until it’s firmed up slightly, which will make it easier to slice. Use a mandolin to slice thin pieces off of the naval across the grain. Steam the thin slices until warmed through and serve as needed.

Jewish Rye Bread

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer add the water, bread flour, rye flour, milk powder, caraway seeds, instant yeast and oil. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
2. Knead the dough on medium speed for 6-7 minutes, until it has no dry spots. The dough will be wet and tacky, this is normal. With oiled hands, shape the dough into a ball on a clean work surface and add it back to the bowl, covered. Perform a set of “stretch and folds” (see video), three separate times every 20 minutes for the next hour. Allow the dough to proof one hour for a total of 2 hours.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl, punch out the air, and shape the dough into a circular loaf (aka a “boule”). Sprinkle some corn meal on a piece of parchment paper, set the loaf on top, cover, then allow to proof for 30-45 minutes, or until noticeably puffed.
4. Preheat the oven to 450F and set a large dutch oven with its lid on the center rack. Allow the oven and dutch oven at least 45 minutes to charge with heat before baking.
5. Spritz the loaf with water, then sprinkle on some more caraway seeds. Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven, grab the parchment paper by its sides and gently lower the bread into the pot, cover, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 3-5 minutes more, until the loaf reaches an internal temperature of 195-200F.
6. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Sandwich Assembly

1. On a slice of Jewish Rye Bread, pile the meat sky high with just a little over a half pound of meat (9 ounces to be exact). Squirt the horseradish mustard all over the top and close the sandwich up. That’s it. No cheese, no spreading condiments on the bread, just pastrami packed on and mustard blasted on top. Serve with a dill pickle spear, a monster-sized latke and a Dr. Browns pop.

Adam's Notes

Curing Formula

• 4159g - 21g pint salt 
• Water - 3908g
• 5% - 195g
• 3% - 117g

Jewish Rye Bread

• Adding seeds to the bread is a Midwest thing. I think it makes the bread more aromatic and visually appealing.

Pastrami Notes

• O.G. Pastrami sold at Jewish Delis were traditionally made of beef Naval, or beef belly because it was cheaper.
• The naval is cut from the carcass rib plate. It is flavorful and lean with succulent marbling and fat.
• Jewish pastrami is not actually smoked, rather it is cured, then steamed or slow-roasted until tender and sliced.
• Pastrami is not easy to slice thin without a deli slicer because it tends to shred and tear. 
• Step 1: Brine - Step 2: Dry and Rub - Step 3: Slow-Roast - Step 4: Chill - Step 5: slice and steam.

---

The Philly Cheesesteak

Yield: 3 Sandwiches

Print

The Philly Cheesesteak

Ingredients

For the Philly...

• 1/2 Yellow Onion, diced
• 3/4 pound Ribeye Steak, sliced thin
• 2 slices of Cheese (American, Provolone, or Cheese Wiz)
• Italian Long Pepper, roasted and chopped (optional)
• 1 Sesame Seed Hoagie Roll

Sesame Seed Hoagie Rolls

• 12g Instant Yeast
• 460g Bread Flour
• 275g Warm Water
• 5g Kosher Salt
• 45g Crisco
• 9g Diastatic Malt Powder
• 4.5g Soy Lecithin Powder

Instructions

For the Philly...

1. To a hot cast-iron skillet or plancha over high heat, add the onions and saute until browned.
2. Add the steak and a pinch of salt then use two spatulas to "chop" the beef into the onions. Cook until the steak is deeply caramelized and cooked through. Shape the meat and onion mixture into a hoagie roll sized long vertical rectangle, optionally add Italian Long Hot Peppers if using, then add on your cheese of choice then cover to allow the cheese to melt.
3. Slice a hoagie roll open and lay it, crumb side down right on top of the cheese and beef. Use a spatula to scrape the meat off the plancha as you press down on the bread then carefully invert the sandwich so the cheese is on the bottom. Serve hot.

Sesame Seed Hoagie Rolls

1. Mix water, yeast and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Add the salt and continue mixing on medium-high for 3 minutes then add the crisco in three increments waiting until the fat has fully worked into the dough before adding more. Continue mixing until a smooth, shiny dough ball forms, about 5-10 more minutes.
3. Shape the dough into a ball, then put in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to bulk ferment at room temperature for 1 ½ - 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500F with a baking steel situated on the center rack. Also place a baking dish in the oven to preheat, this will act as a lid to help keep the steam in the oven.
4. Using a scale or by eye, divide the dough into 3 even pieces on a clean surface then shape into a ball. Palm flat and lightly pull the dough ball until it forms a flat oval and allow it to rest for 10 minutes covered.
5. Shape each piece of dough into a roll shape, then seam side up and dip them into cornmeal to coat the bottom. Transfer each cornmeal dusted roll to a large parchment-lined baking tray then cover and allow to proof for 30-45 minutes, or until they pass the “finger dent test”.
6. Optionally spray the rolls with water, then sprinkle on sesame seeds. Score the rolls down the middle.
7. Carefully slide the rolls from the parchment onto the baking steel in the hot oven. Add 3 ice cubes next to the rolls then cover with the preheated baking dish. Bake the rolls for 12 minutes, then remove the baking dish and cook for 5 more minutes, or until golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
8. To ensure the rolls do not crack while cooling, turn the heat off, crack the oven halfway and let the rolls cool off of the hot baking steel by using a wire rack.
9. Slice the rolls on the side and hollow out 75% of the crumb to prepare for building the hoagie. The bread innards made for great breadcrumbs.

Adam's Notes

• Diastatic Malt Powder (1-3% of flour weight) is added to increase browning. It's optional, but your rolls won't be as deeply browned without it.
• Soy Lecithin powder (1% of flour weight) helps the bread stay fresh and soft longer without going stale. Soy lecithin powder is an emulsifier which helps the bread hang on to moisture from the added fat so it doesn’t stale as quickly.
• This recipe is an adaptation from Charlie Anderson's work.

---

The Italian Sub Sandwich

Yield: 3 Sandwiches

Print

Italian Sub Sandwich

Ingredients

Italian Sub Sandwich

• 1 Hoagie Roll
• 3 ounces Genoa Salami
• 3 ounces Capicola
• 3 ounces Mortadella
• 2 slices Provolone or Mozzarella Cheese
• Ice burg Lettuce, sliced thin
• Tomato, sliced thin
• Banana Peppers
• Dried Oregano, to taste
• Black Pepper, to taste
• Olive Oil, to taste
• Red Wine Vinegar, to taste

Hoagie Rolls (makes 3 rolls)

• 12g Instant Yeast
• 460g Bread Flour
• 275g Warm Water
• 5g Kosher Salt
• 45g Crisco
• 9g Diastatic Malt Powder
• 4.5g Soy Lecithin Powder

Instructions

Italian Sub Sandwich

1. Split the hoagie roll open and remove some of the crumb. Lay on the meats, followed by the cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, banana peppers. Sprinkle on a pinch of dried oregano and crack on some fresh black pepper. Finish with olive oil and oregano.
2. Wrap the sandwich tight in parchment paper and slice in half. Serve chilled.

Hoagie Rolls

1. Mix water, yeast and flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Add the salt and continue mixing on medium-high for 3 minutes then add the crisco in three increments waiting until the fat has fully worked into the dough before adding more. Continue mixing until a smooth, shiny dough ball forms, about 5-10 more minutes.
3. Shape the dough into a ball, then put in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to bulk ferment at room temperature for 1 ½ - 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500F with a baking steel situated on the center rack. Also place a baking dish in the oven to preheat, this will act as a lid to help keep the steam in the oven.
4. Using a scale or by eye, divide the dough into 3 even pieces on a clean surface then shape into a ball. Palm flat and lightly pull the dough ball until it forms a flat oval and allow it to rest for 10 minutes covered.
5. Shape each piece of dough into a roll shape, then seam side up and dip them into cornmeal to coat the bottom. Transfer each cornmeal dusted roll to a large parchment-lined baking tray then cover and allow to proof for 30-45 minutes, or until they pass the “finger dent test”.
6. Optionally spray the rolls with water, then sprinkle on sesame seeds. Score the rolls down the middle.
7. Carefully slide the rolls from the parchment onto the baking steel in the hot oven. Add 3 ice cubes next to the rolls then cover with the preheated baking dish. Bake the rolls for 12 minutes, then remove the baking dish and cook for 5 more minutes, or until golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
8. To ensure the rolls do not crack while cooling, turn the heat off, crack the oven halfway and let the rolls cool off of the hot baking steel by using a wire rack.
9. Slice the rolls on the side and hollow out 75% of the crumb to prepare for building the hoagie. The bread innards made for great breadcrumbs.

Adam's Notes

• Diastatic Malt Powder (1-3% of flour weight) is added to increase browning. It's optional, but your rolls won't be as deeply browned without it.
• Soy Lecithin powder (1% of flour weight) helps the bread stay fresh and soft longer without going stale. Soy lecithin powder is an emulsifier which helps the bread hang on to moisture from the added fat so it doesn’t stale as quickly.
• This recipe is an adaptation from Charlie Anderson's work.



---

The Pork Roll, Egg & Cheese Sandwich

Yield: 3-4 Sandwiches

Print

Pork Roll, Egg & Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients

Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese

• 1/2 pound Pork Roll, sliced
• 2 Eggs
• 2-3 slices of American Cheese

Kaiser Rolls (makes 6 rolls)

• 3/4 cup Warm Water, 105F (180g)
• 1 1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast (5.5g)
• 1 1/2 tsp Sugar (8g)
• 3 cups Bread Flour (360g)
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt (3.5g)
• 1 Whole Egg (55g)
• 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, tempered and cubed (28g)
• 3 Egg Yolks, for egg wash
• Splash of Water, for egg wash
• Poppy seeds, for garnish
• 3.5g Soy Lecithin Powder

Instructions

Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese

1. Slice the pork roll into 1/4 inch rounds then make a small cut down the size to stop the meat from curling up while it cooks.
2. In a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, add the pork roll and cook until browned, flip and repeat.
3. In the same skillet, use the leftover juices from the pork roll to cook your eggs however you'd like.
4. Build the sandwich on a kaiser roll stacking the pork roll, eggs and cheese high. Optionally, top with ketchup and/or hot sauce. Slice in half and serve hot.

Kaiser Rolls

1. Add yeast, sugar and water to the bowl of a stand mixer and let it activate for 5 minutes. Once bubbly, add in the egg then pour over the flour and add the salt. With the dough hook attached, run the machine on medium kneading until the dough is smooth. Begin dropping in the butter little by little, waiting to add more until each piece is fully incorporated into the dough. Once the butter is fully worked in and the dough passes the window test, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour, or until roughly doubled in size.
2. Transfer the dough onto a clean work surface and divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Use the tips of your fingers to roll the pieces into log shapes, then roll them out into strips about a foot long. Lightly dust the dough with flour then tie it forming a knot in the middle. Curl the dough around the knot then feed the end of the roll up through the middle of the roll. Place the each roll on a Sil-pat lined sheet tray. Mix the egg yolks together with a splash of water and brush each kaiser roll once with egg wash. Let sit uncovered for roughly 1 hour, or until doubled or nearly doubled in size.
3. Preheat the oven to 425F. Coat the rolls with a second layer of egg wash then sprinkle with each with poppy seeds. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, or until perfectly golden brown and plump.
4. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Do not store in the fridge immediately or they rolls will dry out, instead once cooled store at room temperature in a plastic bag.

Adam's Notes

• The soy lecithin powder in the bread recipe acts to keep the bread more moist for longer. You can leave it out and get the same result, but if you plan on making the rolls ahead of time, I recommend using it.

---

---

Disclaimer: I earn commission income with qualifying purchases made through Amazon’s Affiliate program and other affiliate links in this description.