Chopped Cheese Recipe – How to Make a Chopped Cheese New York Style

Chopped Cheese Recipe - How to Make a Chopped Cheese New York Style

A couple of weeks ago, I asked my husband and sons for some new meal suggestions. They asked if I could make a chopped cheese recipe. I had questions…

What is a chopped cheese?

Although I have lived in New York City for almost 30 years, I had never heard of a chopped cheese sandwich. After my family described a New York chopped cheese, I said, “So basically you want a chopped up cheeseburger with grilled onions on hero bread?”

What is in the sandwich?

After checking some online sources (Wikipedia, First We Feast), I realized that a chopped cheese sandwich had simple ingredients. Ground beef, onions, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise and ketchup on a toasted hero are the basic ingredients.

It’s pretty flexible though. Some people add peppers, bacon and other condiments like hot sauce or barbecue sauce. In a pinch, some people even use rolls instead of hero bread. (For our chopped cheese sandwiches, I switched out the American cheese for cheddar cheese.)

Chopped Cheese Recipe

The actual recipe is pretty straightforward.

Recipe Notes

-I just used salt and pepper to season my beef.
-“You have to make the beef into burgers,” my son insisted. It didn’t make sense to make the burger just to deconstruct it BUT he was right.
Don’t chop/mix the cheese into the meat mixture. It doesn’t make logical sense…but the cheese isn’t disturbed.
-I used my Foreman grill to quickly toast the bread. You can use your oven though.

Why is it called chopped cheese?

Since you don’t chop/mix the cheese into the meat mixture, then WHY is it called chopped cheese? Inquiring minds (mine!) wanted to know. This is what I found out…

There is speculation that the sandwich was influenced by an Arabic specialty, dagha yamneeya (دقة يمنية), which is essentially cooked chopped meat and vegetables served with Yemeni bread.

WIKIPEDIA

The chopped cheese name might not make sense but the sandwich is easy to make and tastes great!

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