Not entirely sure what spawned this idea. I hardly ever do any kind of frying or deep frying whatsoever. So why not dip an entire sandwich. Never know what you’re getting over here at ForensicBBQ.
The Prep Table
Not a lot to add as far as preparing for a monte cristo. We’re going to make a simple ham/turkey/swiss sandwich, coat it in pancake batter and fry it. So the preparation section doesn’t need much detail. But I did change some things up to see what worked best and why.
In order to make a uniform sandwich, I harkened back to grade-school and lopped off the crusts. I wanted a square (later triangles) that were as even as I could get them. I did this during lunch time, so my lunch were those scraps you see. Dinner was going to be a main event. I was going to try these two ways, on the stovetop (sorry MrsForensicBBQ) as well as the Matador. You don’t remember the RecTeq Matador?
Unfortunately, trying to deep fry on the Matador while holding my phone doesn’t work well, so you don’t get the action shot of me using it, but here it is in all the glory. And yes, that is some leftover snow from a late season shower. Midwest never fails to surprise you.
The Process
In doing the cristo research, I saw the Stacker was the way to go. When I built it, I thought it was a bit too much (I know.. uncharacteristic). So I decided to make a few sandwiches to test some theories. Left, you got your basic sandwich.. Middle I doubled the meat/cheese, and then yeah – the big ol’ three bread version. What I did was wrap these tight in some plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours. This way, they were easier to handle when throwing into the batter.
Ain’t nothing special for the pancake batter. Add water. Store-bought. Ain’t gonna say anything more about that, don’t need to.
I took the Stacker and the Mini out to the Matador to do the business. The Doubler, what I thought was going to be the best one, was going to be pan-fried. This was dunk, flip, and into the oil. Like I said earlier, didn’t get ya any Matador action shots, so you just gotta trust I did what I did. And what became of it?
The Stackers were heavy. Some beefy bastards with some heft. The mini (normal, regular, whatever) sandwiches looked definitely more presentable, but that stacker had me questioning my heart-healthy late-in-life plans.
The Result
This way didn’t impress the Mrs any. She keeps a tidy kitchen and it spit all over that. She did say the kitchen smelled delicious though, so there’s that. The basic (or mini, or reasonable sandwich – whatever terms I’ve been using) was definitely lighter and had the best overall appeal, in my opinion. Let’s get them plated.
Brought these in from the RecTeq Matador and it was time to plate. Now, if you think I ate all three of these today – I did not. I actually pan-fried one evening, then Matador’d the next day.
Powdered sugar being the necessary topping with those raspberry preserves. Having ate this one first, I thought this was going to be the champion sandwich of the three. It was very flavorful, although heavy. Pancaked sandwich was a delicious bite, but one that I couldn’t see doing on the regular. And I haven’t even gotten to the deep fried ones.
Okay, this was a special gut bomb in itself. This one had definitely a more “carnival, festival” feel. Each triangle was a meal. They’re actually a different bite, although the same ingredients. I’m thinking if you’re going to showcase, do the deep-fry. It’s a more fun bite, but the pan fry lighter and easier. Hell, I don’t know which was better.
What I’ll say, the Monte Cristo sandwich was delicious. Pancake wrapped sandwich with sugar and preserves is a weird concept until you actually try it. Then the sweet and savory combine into quite a good bite. Give this one a try, you’ll be surprised. Gotta imagine if you have little ones, they’ll enjoy it too. I guess it’s a Disney World thing, so no surprise there.
See you next week!
The Recipe
*Coming soon!*