A chopped cheese sandwich can be found at bodegas across New York, especially in Hispanic neighborhoods. It is made with seasoned chopped meat, melted cheese and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and special sauce also known as bodega sauce. This New York City favorite is easy to make at home with just a few simple ingredients. Let’s dive in to this New York bodega recipe!
What is a chopped cheese?
A chopped cheese is kind of like a cheeseburger but the beef is chopped up and it’s served in a hoagie, kaiser roll or pan sobao. It is said that this bodega-style sandwich originated at Hajji’s Deli in East Harlem in the 1990s. This bodega can be found on the corner of First Avenue and 110th Street and is now called Blue Sky Deli.
The chopped cheese gained popularity when Rahim Mohamed also known as Ocky started creating uncommon versions of chopped cheese at his bodega Red Hook Food in Brooklyn, NY. Ocky makes chopped cheese sandwiches with anything from pop tarts and honey buns to mozzarella sticks and hot cheetos! Sometimes customers request even request a chopped cheese made in a Jamaican beef patty. The possibilities are endless when you get a chopped cheese “the Ocky way!”
Ingredients for making a chopped cheese sandwich:
- Ground beef
- Adobo, Healthy Rican
- Sazón, Healthy Rican
- Cebolla en polvo
- Ajo en polvo
- Ground oregano
- American cheese
- Iceberg lettuce
- Tomato
- Kaiser rolls or pan sobao
- Special sauce, see recipe below
Bodega Chopped Cheese Recipe:
Making a bodega-style chopped cheese sandwich is easy to do at home. Plus, it comes together with just a few ingredients and in under 20 minutes!
Make the special sauce
You can’t make a chopped cheese without special sauce or bodega sauce. Here is how to make bodega sauce. This is basically a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, pickle juice and spices. The full recipe is down below. Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl. Stir everything until well combined. Transfer to a squeeze bottle if you want to drizzle. Keep the sauce refrigerated until it is ready for use.
Prepare the toppings
Rinse and thinly slice the lettuce and tomatoes. Set aside.
Cook the beef
Place a skillet over medium high heat. Brown your ground beef and remove any excess fat from your skillet. Add seasonings and stir to combine. I like to use adobo, sazon, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano. I use Healthy Rican seasonings because they are free of harmful ingredients like MSG and dyes. Use my code: madewithsazon para ahorrar 10% en su Healthy Rican pedido!
Top the beef with cheese, reduce heat to low and cover until it has melted. Chop the cheese into the meat until everything is well combined.
Assemble the sandwich
Load the cheesy beef onto your bread. You can use kaiser rolls, hoagies, or pan sobao which is basically a soft baguette. French or Cuban bread works great too. Top the meat with lettuce, tomatoes, and drizzle with special sauce. Enjoy!
What to serve with a chopped cheese sandwich?
You can serve a chopped cheese sandwich with any sides you would serve with a cheeseburger: french fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, potato chips, etc. Don’t forget a cold drink like a Cola Champagne, Malta, Snapple, or can of soda to complete the bodega experience. In the words of Ocky, “can’t forget the bev… neva, neva, neva!”
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Chopped Cheese (New York Bodega Recipe)
Ingredientes
Chopped Cheese
- 1 lb carne molida 85% lean
- 1 tbsp adobo Healthy Rican
- 1 tsp sazon Healthy Rican
- 1 tsp cebolla en polvo
- 1 tsp ajo en polvo
- 1/2 tsp ground oregano
- 6 slices American cheese
- 2 tazas iceberg lettuce thinly sliced
- 1 tomato thinly sliced
- 4 kaiser rolls can use pan sobao or Cuban bread
Special sauce
- 1/2 taza mayonnaise
- 1/4 tsp pickle brine
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp onion finely diced
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cebolla en polvo
- 1/2 tsp ajo en polvo
Intrucciones
Make the special sauce
- Add all ingredients to a small bowl. Stir everything until well combined. Transfer to a squeeze bottle if you want to drizzle. Keep sauce refrigerated until ready to use.
Prep the toppings
- Rinse and thinly slice the lettuce and tomatoes. Set aside.
Cook the beef
- Place skillet over medium high heat. Brown your ground beef and remove any excess fat from your skillet.
- Add seasonings and stir to combine.
- Top the beef with cheese and cover until it has melted.
- Chop the cheese into the meat until everything is well combined.
Assemble the sandwich
- Load the cheesy beef onto your bread. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and drizzle with special sauce. Enjoy!
Video
Notas
HEALTHY RICAN DISCOUNT:
I love to use Healthy Rican seasonings because they are free of harmful ingredients like MSG and dyes. Use my code: madewithsazon para ahorrar 10% en su Healthy Rican pedido!¡Más recetas Latinas!
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