Sandwich Archives - Poor Man's Gourmet Kitchen

Sandwich Compilation | Money Shots

Examples of 4 sandwiches; Meatball, Monte Cristo, Lobster Roll and a Spicy Philly Cheesesteak.

Why Sandwiches?

Several years ago, someone requested Sandwich Recipes and I thought to myself, “Seriously? Who doesn’t know how to make a sandwich…” but, at the time, I was only thinking about basic deli or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that we all grew up on as children. Also, I rarely look at a menu and think, “Gee, I think I’ll order a sandwich.” I’m more of Pasta, Steak and Potato kind of guy with lots of sauce and gravy. I want that food to stick to my ribs, if you know what I mean.

I always hated school lunch hoagies. The ham was always dried out and the cheese was terrible. French Dip Sandwiches, however, got my attention and I loved the Aju. I always drink what’s leftover, from the bottom of the dipping saucer. Thinking about that sandwich, though, is what turned my thinking around. I also realized that my wife always orders a Reuben at our favorite burger joint. A friend of mine gets the Monte Cristo, when we meet for lunch. An old boss of mine bought my welding crew Meatball subs once, as an apology for being a total douche the day before, and they were great. Plus, who doesn’t love a good grilled cheese?

So, Long story short, I decided to go to work and I started cranking out sandwich video tutorials. Everything I’ve learned, cooking over the years, has taught me to take every inch of a sandwich seriously. From the butter to the mayonnaise or secret sauce, a great sandwich is meticulously planned. In some cases, the bread has to be seasoned or it’s got to be a particular bread or sub roll. These things make all the difference and in this video compilation, you’ll see why.

14 Sandwich Recipes

In this video you’ll see recipes for a Meatball Sub, a few different versions of grilled cheese that include a Double Decker Grilled Cheese, a Waffle Iron Grilled Cheese with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, a Ham and Cheese and an Egg in a Basket Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Gravy. Also a Double Sausage Egg McMuffin, a Monte Cristo, a Lobster Roll, a Spicy and Regular Philly Cheesesteak with Onions, a Reuben, a Seafood and Crab Sandwich, a Grilled Meatloaf Mushroom and Swiss and, last but not least, a Steak and Cheese with everything.

FYI: Everyone of these recipes can be found here on my website. I titled every sandwich in the video for easy reference, using the search tab. There you’ll find a post for each recipe with the exact ingredients and a complete video tutorial for every sandwich. Please enjoy!

Shrimp Burger style Po’ boy Sandwich

The Best Shrimp Burgers

If you love shrimp and you’ve been craving big bites of it, through and through, this Shrimp Burger Recipe is for you. I show you how to make shrimp patties that have about a 1/2 pound of meat, in each one, and are 3/4 of an inch thick, once they’re cooked. I show you how to make two different styles of shrimp burgers, too; regular and/or extra crispy.

One regular Shrimp Burger with a seasoned and sautéed Shrimp patty.

Regular Shrimp Burgers

The regular Shrimp Burger is my wife’s favorite because it has more of a grilled chicken style texture to the shrimp patty, even though it isn’t actually grilled. It is made with a ground and seasoned patty with out the seasoned deep fried crispy crust around the outside and it’s delicious. It can be grilled, though, if you prefer it that way, as long as it holds it’s integrity, once it’s removed from the freezer, the patties grill just fine.

One extra crispy Shrimp burger made with a ground seasoned shrimp patty, pan fried with a panko crust.

Extra Crispy Shrimp Burgers

Personally, I do prefer the extra crispy Shrimp Burger because it’s got a pan fried, seasoned panko crust, just like fried shrimp should have. I had just a few other simple ingredients to the burger, including a few condiments you may or may not want to add but, I’m telling you, you should give this a try before you change up anything.

Shrimp Burger video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.

Shrimp Burgers Ingredients: makes 4 to 5

2 lbs Raw Shrimp, peeled & deveined
4 Hamburger buns, toasted
1 Tomato, sliced
1 cup Shredded Lettuce
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
4 tbsp Cocktail Sauce
2 tsp Crab Boil seasoning
1/4 vegetable Oil for Frying

Just follow the instructions in the Shrimp Burger style Po’ Boy Sandwich video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this burger.

Deep Fried Monte Cristo

The Best Monte Cristo

If you’re a fan of a Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwich, you’re going to love the Monte Cristo. It’s, more or less, the French version, with the addition of sliced turkey, invented in the 1930’s and it’s fried and seasoned with confectioners sugar and served with Raspberry jam. There are many different versions of this sandwich, served around the globe at different diners. Some are battered and seared like French Toast, others are battered thicker and deep fried, instead. I’m going to show you how I make a Triple-Decker with these ingredients and a fresh new take on the batter for deep frying.

Tagged and bagged Mesquite Smoked Turkey and Sweet Smoked Ham.

Monte Cristo Meat and Cheese

When it comes to deli meats, I like them sliced thin. It’s just my personal preference. I use 4 slices of each per sandwich and I recommend using only 2 if you’re using thicker cuts. I purchase Mesquite Smoked Turkey and Sweet Smoked Ham for this recipe. It generally costs me around $5 dollars per lbs for each.

The Cheese used in this recipe calls for Swiss and Cheddar Cheese. Thanks to Covid-19, my kids school continued providing school lunches and they gave us a few blocks of Swiss Cheese and I purchased medium cheddar cheese, from my grocery store. You can change it up any way you like it but that’s the basic recommended recipe.

Monte Cristo Bread

I couldn’t find much on the specific type of bread used to make a Monte Cristo but, it is my understanding that this sandwich was inspired by the French Croque Monsieur. That sandwich uses Brioche, which is similar to a highly enriched pastry, which is light and slightly puffy.

In this recipe I chose to go with Sourdough bread because it makes excellent French Toast and I think it’s best for the Batter I’m making. An Artisan White is an amazing bread to use too, however, and it is great for grilling with melted butter but, I would only use this bread for this sandwich if I was using the basic egg and milk wash when pan frying.

The typical White Round Top loaf of bread is practical, cheap and commonly used as well. Usually the crusts are cut off to make it look more luxurious but it will work for a pan or deep fry. Just use what you have, though, and it will turn out great no matter what you choose!

Deep Fried Monte Cristo Sandwich, cut and stacked on top of each other.

Serving a Monte Cristo Sandwich

Many restaurants serve the Monte Cristo as more of a savory sandwich with the addition of Sweet for garnishment. This sandwich is covered inside with Mayonnaise on ever slice of bread and Mustard on only the top and bottom pieces and, once the sandwich is battered and deep fried, confectioners sugar is sprinkled over the top and served with Raspberry Jam.

A few additional ingredients grace the batter to make this recipe top notch. Like many French Toast recipes, I felt like it was appropriate to add some cinnamon, nutmeg, a pinch of cayenne and some orange zest. A good alternative, if you’re avoiding the sweeteners, use garlic and onion powder instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Check out some of my other sandwich recipes: Grilled Ham and Cheese, Double Decker Grilled Cheese, Lobster Roll, Spicy Philly Cheesesteak, Reubon, Steak and Cheese Sandwich, Sloppy Joe.

Deep Fried Monte Cristo by PoorMansgourmet

Deep Fried Monte Cristo Ingredients:

Ingredients for 1 Sandwich
1 loaf Sour dough Bread, 3 slices per Sandwich
4 slices Smoked Ham, thinly sliced or 2 thick slices
4 slices Smoked Turkey, thinly sliced or 2 thick slices
1/4 cup Swiss Cheese, grated or 2 slices
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated or 2 slices
4 tbsp Mayonnaise
2 tsp Mustard

Batter for 2 Sandwich’s
1 cup Self Rising Flour
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder or Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Onion Powder or Nutmeg
pinch of Cayenne
Orange Zest
pinch of salt

1 inch Canoil Oil, for frying

Be sure to follow the instructions in the Deep Fried Monte Cristo video tutorial and fry the battered sandwich at 350° Fahrenheit for approximately 30 to 45 seconds, on each side, or until golden brown.