Monday, September 20, 2021

The Smashtastic BBQ Sub Sandwich

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The Smashtastic is a hot-pressed BBQ sub loaded with smoked cheddar cheese, pulled pork, crispy bacon, sweet n spicy BBQ sauce, pepper jack cheese, burnt ends, and deep-fried pickles. 

Smashtastic hot-pressed bbq sub with brisket, pork and bacon
Brisket burnt ends, pepper jack cheese, smoked pork, smokehouse cheddar, bacon, and sweet 'n' spicy BBQ sauce on a crispy toasted sub roll...not bad for leftovers, eh? 

This is just a concept or idea post, you really don't need a recipe to make a sandwich, right? Here is the quick rundown.

  • Brush the inside face of a split 8" sub roll with olive oil and toast the cut side. I just stuck it face down on the hot panini press until they were golden and crispy.
  • Top the lower bun with
    • 3 slices Sargento Smokehouse Cheddar
    • 3-4 ounces smoked pulled pork
    • 3 sliced Smithfield Homestyle Bacon, cooked
    • 1-2 tablespoons Tabasco Jalapeno Mesquite BBQ Sauce
    • 2 slices Tillamook pepper jack cheese
    • 3-4 ounces brisket burnt ends or sliced brisket
    • 4-5 deep-fried pickles
  • Top that with the bun top, brush with oil and smash it in a hot panini press until the bread is crispy and golden brown, about 1-2 minutes

Brisket burnt ends and smoked pork from a cook back in March. We vacuum seal leftover BBQ in portion-sized bags and freeze them for things like this monster of a sandwich. Just boil in the bag for 5 minutes and you're ready to roll.

How I deep fry pickles
We started with Famous Dave's spicy pickles, dusted them in seasoned flour and deep-fried them at 375f for about 1 minute or so.

How to deep fry pickles
Normally these are an appetizer but deep-fried pickles seemed the perfect topping for this sandwich.

Thermapen IR
My sister got me a Thermapen IR for my birthday, how cool is THAT? It's like a regular Thermapen, fast and accurate. But it adds a non-contact, infra-red thermometer on the other end, so you can temp check your griddle, skillet, or panini press. Thermoworks Thermapen IR [Affiliate Link]

Toasting the inside of the roll is needed for flavor and texture, so don't skip that part. 

BBQ leftover sub - The Smashtastic
The smoked cheddar, pulled pork, bacon and BBQ sauce would have been a good enough sandwich if I had stopped right here...

Burnt ends on a bbq sandwich
But adding the pepper jack cheese and burnt ends make this sandwich epic! 

BBQ sandwich - The Smashtastic
It is a good thing we hot-press this sub because before getting smashed, this tallboy casts a long shadow.

Breville sanwich grill press TG425XL
My brother got me this Breville Sandwich Grill Press Model TG425XL for Christmas years and years ago and it still performs like a rock star. I'd highly recommend it but I don't think they make them anymore. I saw some refurbished and used ones online.

The beginning of a beautiful cheese skirt - that's the best part of a hot cheese sandwich.

Smashtastic BBQ sandwich with brisket burnt ends, pulled pork cheddar and pepper jack cheese
The things I look for to tell me that the sandwich is done is 1) is the cheese melted and 2) is the bread crispy enough to give a resounding thump if you tap it.

The Smashtastic BBQ sub
We split this Smashtastic, there's no way I could eat the whole thing by myself.

Tender, melty, stacked, cheesy, smoky, beefy, peppery, crispy, toasted, sweet and spicy!