Oh, I was more specifically talking about on patty melts. But I haven’t always been this way. One of my first threads, if not first, on the Dope was about putting ketchup on hot dogs and what a gross offense to humanity it is. It was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but, over the years, I have become pretty permissive on the subject, so much so that I’ve found myself defending ketchup-on-hot-dog people in local Chicago Facebook threads. I find it more a type of culinary shibboleth than anything else, but this idea that “real” Chicagoans don’t put ketchup on their hot dogs is silly. “Real” Chicagoans don’t give a damn what you think about them putting ketchup on their hot dogs. (That said, I will never voluntarily put ketchup on a Chicago dog, but I will take it with ketchup elsewhere if the local custom is to do so.)
I will also say that I did almost suffer a coronary when my cousin visiting from Poland was at a pizza place with us and asked me if I could ask the waiter for a bottle of ketchup. I was like, what? He said he liked ketchup on his pizza and that it was not unusual in Poland to put it on there. Now, I’ve been to Poland about a half dozen times and never noticed that before, but I didn’t really eat pizza out there. Being a gracious host, I did ask the waiter for a bottle of ketchup, but I was quite … bemused watching him glaze his slice with it. I’m not sure I’d do the same at a sushi place, though. (And, later, at the ethnic grocery store I go to, I did notice a Polish brand of ketchup with a flavor called “ketchup do pizzy,” or “ketchup for pizza,” so he wasn’t pulling my leg.
The idea of ketchup on pizza is bizarre, although I sometimes squirt pizza sauce around the edges of a frozen pizza before baking.
But that Polish ketchup might be interesting. A lot of great food traditions come from Poland, Ukraine, and Russia. In this area, the Sikorsky Sausage Company makes an aromatic garlic sausage that is to die for. Their “Grandpa ham” is the best I’ve ever had. Their kielbassa is also pretty good – certainly far above average – but even they can’t produce the incredible stuff I remember from ethnic Montreal delis.
Yeah, my ethnic/Polish deli has about a dozen types of smoked Polish kiełbasy, then a few different parówki (wieners) – a pork one, a veal one, a Bavarian, a pork-veal mix, and a chicken one – plus a fresh Polish (in addition to fresh mild & hot Italian, bratwurst, ane chorizo. There used to be a Lithuanian one, too, but I haven’t seen it in years.) It’s quite a lot to choose from.
First of all, taking the time to make proper sauteed mushrooms truly is commitment. I’ve done it and it’s not as easy as it sounds. But they are delicious and easily stored in a plastic container.
By me, mushroom (parts? slices?) come in small cans. Do you fry them (maybe with some black pepper and onions) or are you adding them from the can?
For a good melt, I’d want two slices of sturdy rye bread instead of a bun. It’s better when you are frying the sandwich as it’s allows even heat from side to side with the bonus that it is easier to flip. I have to admit though that frying is messy and clean-up is a pain… so some sometimes I’ll just wrap the sandwich in parchment paper and heat it with a panini press.
For fillings, other than what you have mentioned, I prefer two slices of Swiss cheese and three sliced of imported ham.
As for the sauces, if one dipping container is mustard, then they all have to be mustards. For me, mustard doesn’t play well with others. Hot sauces, on the other hand do… and one of my favorite ‘not too hot’ hot sauces is Cholula. You can stir it together with some Heinz tomato ****up and it dips well whether you are holding the sandwich or have cut it into pieces and have a bite sized piece skewered on your fork.
Hey, let’s not be too harsh on the OP. Word on the street is that he once fell into a 500-gallon vat of Hellman’s mayonnaise during a factory tour while clutching a Reuben sandwich. He wasn’t rescued for three days. No ladder. No rope. Just him… and Hellman’s mayo.
He survived solely by nibbling on that soggy Reuben, which by Day 2 had become more mayo than sandwich. It’s said that to this day, if you whisper “Hellman’s” near him, he flinches, and mutters “too creamy.”
Be gentle. Not all scars are visible… some are just slathered in emulsified egg yolk.
Has it been mentioned that mayo (real or fake) doesn’t play well with dill pickle chips?
In my stomach, they fight like ‘Sharks’ vs ‘Jets’ with unfortunate results.
Dill pickle chips!?! Blasphemy of the highest order!
Bread & butter pickle chips—now THAT’S the gold standard. Sweet, sassy, and tangy. I’ll defend their honor 'til I’m buried in a vinegar-scented coffin.
As for dill pickle chip lovers? They should be exiled to an island where every meal is just dill on dill on dill—no water, just a splash of vinegar in a shot glass. If they complain? Hand them a bread & butter chip and say, “Shhh… it’s time to heal.”
Yeah, I fell into a vat of dill pickle chips while touring the Claussen pickle factory as a child—what of it!?
Look, somebody has to eat Bread & Butter pickle chips. It would throw hundreds of people out of work if you didn’t. It’s noble of you to throw yourself on that hand grenade, but that stuff is just not my style.
I remember watching a show where making ham salad out of leftover ham was the subject and celebrity guests were making it along with the host. One of the guests, Alyson Hannigan, said that she liked her ham salad with chopped up bread & butter chips with sweet gherkins on the side…!
I thought, “Yeah, she has a pretty face, but who the hell would kiss a mouth that tasted like That !?” If you’re from California, you should probably look her up.
I wonder if @ThelmaLou eats ice cream cones or licks them. Some folks just don’t like those “ick” words. Kind of like “moist”; it roils some folks’ minds.
Nailed it. Both good, but not at all the same thing.
For diabetic me, PMs are a bit too bready / carby. Then you add the dipping ketchup to each bite and the carbs go off the scale. And there’s no practical way to reduce the bread or ketchup and still have a proper PM.
So I get them only rarely but savor them greatly when I do.
I mean there is a practical way to reduce the ketchup, at least: don’t use it, you heathen! (Uh oh, my true feelings come out.) (It’s never occurred to me to dip a patty melt. In the rare instance I do use ketchup, it’s on the melt. Is this common custom?)
I can’t say if it’s common. I learned it from my Dad (a Chicago native). Other people I know eat them that way too.
At home I use TJ’s organic ketchup on my [whatever]. I don’t care whit one about the organic part, but it’s far less sugary that Heinz or Hunts, the usual restaurant brands. So for those of you who like ketchup but prefer the way it was 50 years ago when it wasn’t ice cream topping-sweet, give TJs a try.
The oniony part is why I love them. There’s a local South Side Chicago burger called the Big Baby that is just a relatively normal double cheeseburger, but with one slice of cheese in between the patties, mustard, ketchup, dill pickle slices, and loads of grilled onions that are not quite fully caramelizes, but on their way past simply translucent. I so crave them from time to time! Just like the load of onions on a Maxwell Street Polish sausage here. Oh yeah, baby!
But, yes, if you don’t like a lot of onion, not for you.
In the pickle debate, I’m not much on sweet pickles unless they are spicy. I want a dill pickle with the acid cutting through that fat and richness. My cousin and brother are similar, but more militant and will not eat anything with sweet/bread -and-butter pickles on them.
(It’s never occurred to me to dip a patty melt. In the rare instance I do use ketchup, it’s on the melt. Is this common custom?)
