A slice of heaven: The Battle on Pork Chop Hill sandwichWilliam Wegman
The sandwich used to be so simple. These days, unless it has been stuffed well beyond the width of the average human mouth, beer battered, deep fried and served atop a funnel cake with a fried egg and a side of chocolate-covered ants, no one cares about your lunch. This over-the-top escalation is not unique to the sandwich (have you seen the ice-cream cones kids are Snapchatting lately?). And, when you think about it, the best sandwiches you've ever eaten likely took the form of an entire meal forced into a crusty baguette, so who's complaining? Certainly not Tyler Kord, whose statement sammies are the bread and butter of his New York City eateries No. 7 and No. 7 Sub. His irreverent book, A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches, features recipes – including the eggy extravaganza featured here – that work equally well casually layered in a Kaiser as they would plated, sans bun, on a piece of fine china. – Andrew Sardone
Excerpted from A Super Upsetting Cookbook About Sandwiches by Tyler Kord. Artwork by William Wegman. (Clarkson Potterm an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.), $29.99 at Indigo (www.chapters.indigo.ca) or through www.amazon.ca.
THE BATTLE ON PORK CHOP HILL
Eggs are one of the best foods. I like them for breakfast, but I love them for dinner. This sandwich is going to make your heart explode. Seriously, in all of the ways you can think of.
Servings: 4
THE SANDWICH
1 cup General Clark L. Ruffner ****’s Sauce
4 Soft-Boiled Fried Eggs
4 hamburger buns
½ cup Cucumber Muchim, drained
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
GENERAL CLARK L. RUFFNER ****’S SAUCE
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1½ garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1½ fresh long red chilies (such as cayenne peppers or red finger chilies), stems removed, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stems and seeds removed, finely chopped
½ tablespoon gochujang fermented chili and soybean paste
½ tablespoon honey
½ cup white vinegar
A few drops of sesame oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
CUCUMBER MUCHIM
2 large cucumbers, sliced into ¼-inch chips
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced against the grain, then minced
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
A few drops of sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons red chili flakes
1 cup white vinegar
2 whole scallions, thinly sliced
½ tablespoon kosher salt
SOFT-BOILED FRIED EGGS
8 eggs
Vegetable oil, for frying
3 large egg whites
½ cup cornstarch
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Kosher salt
Method
THE SANDWICH
In a medium saucepan, melt 2 chunks of the butter over low heat. Once it is completely melted, increase the heat to medium, add the garlic, and sweat it while stirring for 2 minutes, or until it just begins to brown. Add the chilies and bell peppers and continue to cook until everything is super soft and melty, but the peppers aren’t caramelized, about 10 minutes.
Pour the stew into a blender, add the gochujang, honey, vinegar, sesame oil, and salt, and puree until smooth.
If you’re going to use the sauce now, return it to the pot and add the rest of the butter over low heat, a piece at a time, stirring until it’s completely melted and incorporated. If you’re not going to use it now, cool the sauce as is, and reheat and add the butter when you are ready to use it.
GENERAL CLARK L. RUFFNER ****’S SAUCE
In a medium saucepan, melt 2 chunks of the butter over low heat. Once it is completely melted, increase the heat to medium, add the garlic, and sweat it while stirring for 2 minutes, or until it just begins to brown. Add the chilies and bell peppers and continue to cook until everything is super soft and melty, but the peppers aren’t caramelized, about 10 minutes.
Pour the stew into a blender, add the gochujang, honey, vinegar, sesame oil, and salt, and puree until smooth.
If you’re going to use the sauce now, return it to the pot and add the rest of the butter over low heat, a piece at a time, stirring until it’s completely melted and incorporated. If you’re not going to use it now, cool the sauce as is, and reheat and add the butter when you are ready to use it.
CUCUMBER MUCHIM
Stir together the garlic, ginger, shallot, sesame oil, sugar, chili flakes, vinegar, scallions, and salt until thoroughly mixed. This marinade can be used to pickle just about anything. Just soak whatever you’d like in the brine for at least an hour before using, and save it in the brine, refrigerated, for up to a couple of weeks.
SOFT-BOILED FRIED EGGS
Fill a large stockpot halfway with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Set a timer for 7 minutes, but don’t start it yet. When the water is boiling, very gently add the eggs, being careful not to drop them too hard or they will crack and they won’t look as awesome, though they’ll be just as delicious. Start the timer! When the timer goes off, cool the eggs in a bowl with some ice water.
In a large saucepan, heat 3 inches of the oil over medium heat to 400 F on a candy/frying thermometer. (If you don’t have one of those, get one. Or look and see if the oil looks really weirdly wavy and a bread crumb sizzles instantly when you drop it in. Frying things at home is like living at McDonald’s! Childhood you is winning!!)
Once the eggs are cooled, peel them, but be gentle because they’re only soft-boiled and pretty delicate. We made 8 eggs so that you would end up with 6 or so nice ones, so it’s not the end of the world if you break a couple. Let the eggs hang out and dry off on paper towels.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the egg whites and cornstarch and whisk until the cornstarch is fully dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
Dip an egg in the cornstarch/egg-white mixture and let the excess drain off. Gently toss it in the panko and then put it on a plate while you repeat the process with the rest of the eggs.
When the oil is ready, turn the heat up to medium-high and fry the eggs in two batches, flipping occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Drain on paper towels and immediately season well with salt.