Cutlet Sandwiches

The Wikipedia List of Sandwiches, like all Wikipedia pages, is kind of a hodge-podge. We take our inspiration from the page, but we also take it with a grain of salt. Drive-by editors sometimes graffiti it with clumsy jokes, but occasionally a more sophisticated operator will drop something in there that takes a while to resolve. Still, eventually, if an entry remains on the List long enough, you can be fairly certain it’s a sandwich (or sandwich-adjacent) that is actually eaten regularly by some group of people somewhere.

Today’s case-in-point: “Cutlet sandwich, Italian.” There is no standalone Wikipedia page for this item. However, the description in the List of sandwiches is quite thorough.

Especially popular where there are large populations of immigrant Italians, these cutlet sandwiches are made with breaded veal or chicken cutlets.

Now this sentence would normally suffice to describe a sandwich for the List, but the anonymous editor who added it continued:

They can be served with provolone cheese, long hots (chili peppers) or sauteed greens (spinach or broccoli raab). Sometimes they are served Parmesan style, with tomato sauce and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

We now have a complete if not exhaustive description of the sandwich and its many variants. However, our benefactor has more to say.

Breaded cutlets (schnitzels, cotoletta, or escalope may have first appeared on the wider European culinary scene with the Napoleonic armies for conservation purposes. Napoleon offered a monetary reward to the person who developed a method to transport conserved food for a longer amount of time that then could be consumed unspoiled. Although the breading of meat concept was not the winner, it was a culinary development that was quickly adopted in northern Italy. The original Viennese schnitzel of breaded veal, pork, or chicken which originated in various forms beginning around the 17th century, was adapted to a roll sandwich in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (served with mayonnaise or mustard and lettuce). It did not transfer to American cuisine as its Italian relative did, but remains popular today throughout Central Europe.

To those dedicated folks who I know watchdog the Wikipedia List of Sandwiches: I personally love the attention to historical detail. I often go off on such tangents myself when researching a sandwich for this site. I almost feel that I don’t have to write about this one. However, if I might make a suggestion, it seems like this research could make for an interesting Wikipedia page of its own, and the List could be streamlined. It’s up to you guys–I have been hands-off on the List since the beginning.

In any case, with regard to the Italian-style cutlet sandwich as it exists in America, these seem to be more prevalent on the East Coast–New York, New Jersey, et al. Many an Italian deli or sandwich shop menu in those areas boasts multiple sandwich options featuring chicken cutlets or even veal cutlets. There is even a sandwich shop simply called “Cutlets” that features, yes, chicken cutlets combined with various other ingredients in hero sandwiches. When I search for cutlet sandwiches in Illinois, what I mostly find are the giant breaded pork tenderloins famous in Iowa and Indiana. By far the most common type of Italian-style sandwich featuring any kind of cutlet in the Chicago area is the Chicken Parmesan sandwich. Chicken Parm for short.

The Chicken Parm sandwich–at least, as it’s served in these parts–is a breaded, fried chicken cutlet, served in a French roll that may or may not be crusty, doused in tomato sauce that may or may not be seasoned, and swathed in mozzarella cheese that may or may not be melted. Occasionally you’ll find a Veal Parm sandwich on a menu as well.

Which is a veal cutlet given the same treatment.

Chicago also boasts sandwiches made with a pounded-thin piece of steak, breaded and fried, doused in tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. These are not called Steak Parm. Nor are the steaks referred to as cutlets. These sandwiches are called Breaded Steak sandwiches and they’re pretty decent, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call them the “best sandwich in the world.”

It didn’t take long though this month for the <insert meat here> Parm sandwich to wear out its welcome. In this age of carryout-only, when sandwiches are wrapped in butcher paper or foil to steam themselves to mush on your drive home, especially sandwiches with a heaping helping of tomato sauce adding to the sog factor, Chicken Parm is best eaten on the hood of your car just outside the restaurant. I will say that of the standard, tomato-sauce-laden Chicken Parm sandwiches I had this month, Frangella Italian Market in Palos Park, a localish favorite of mine, had the best one overall, though I appreciated the brightness of the sauce in the sandwich from Di Vito’s on Belmont.

Let’s concentrate on sandwiches that *aren’t* the standard chicken parm though.

I started the month with what I thought would be a good find: an Italian deli near my home featured a “lemon chicken sandwich” with lightly-breaded chicken cutlet, served with a lemon aioli, arugula, and sliced roma tomatoes on toasted Italian bread. It sounded like just the thing, and I stopped by Fratello’s in Tinley Park that very day to pick up lunch.

The sandwich was just OK. The breading was so light as to be nearly non-existent, and the lemon aioli didn’t have any evident lemon character.

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The bread was nicely toasted though, and the peppery arugula was just different enough to make this more than a standard fast food chicken sandwich. The tomatoes were in decent shape for November, and though they were sliced thicker than I’d normally like, they were a welcome addition. I’d have liked a more assertive lemon and garlic flavor in that aioli, but overall this wasn’t a bad sandwich.

After running a north-side errand after work one day earlier this month, Mindy and I asked Google to find us a cutlet sandwich in the area, and Google led us here, to a fairly nondescript Avondale “red sauce Italian” neighborhood eatery.

Apart from a section just inside the door, the dining area was blocked off, with plexiglass partitions protecting the employee working that evening from direct contact with us. We had called in our order before driving over, and had arrived just a minute or two early, so our order was just being put into a bag as we got there. They were kind enough to let me take a few quick photos before we retreated to the car to enjoy our meal.

We ordered the Chicken Parmesan sandwich, as I mentioned previously, which featured a refreshingly bright and acidic tomato sauce, not overly seasoned or cooked, just fresh-tasting and lovely.

We also ordered the Veal Cutlet sandwich. This was simply a cutlet of veal–perhaps even a patty, it was certainly tender enough–breaded and fried, with tomato, onion, and lettuce. No sauce or any other condimentation. However, the veal itself was flavorful enough not to need any extra seasoning and juicy enough that the sandwich did not seem dry without mayonnaise or oil and vinegar or similar.

It marked the first appearance of the words “cutlet sandwich” on a menu that I’d found this month, and while it was fine, it was… a bit of a letdown? It wasn’t what I expected. I guess I am not sure exactly what I did expect, but it wasn’t a simple cutlet and LTO, no other condiments.

Speaking of Chicken Parm sandwiches, though…

I did say we weren’t going to dwell on ordinary Chicken Parm sandwiches. However, a Nick Kindelsperger article in the Tribune recently profiled “13 exciting new sandwiches” in Chicago, and among those was a truly unusual-looking “Chicken Parm” sandwich from Daisies in Logan Square. I took this excuse to give the sandwich a shot.

It sure doesn’t look like any Chicken Parm sandwich I’ve ever seen! In place of the marinara sauce and melted mozz that comes standard on most Chicken Parm sandwiches, here we have 2 chicken cutlets, a layer of greens sauteed with citrus and garlic, and a drizzle of a lightly red-hued tomato vinaigrette soaking past the melted cheese and into the crusty bread and the butcher paper that encloses this feast.

This is a great, a top-tier sandwich. It is just extremely well-conceived and executed and features bright, powerful flavors that really sing together. I am, to say the least, a fan. I’d say it redeems the concept of the Chicken Parm sandwich but since it’s basically nothing like a normal Chicken Parm sandwich I’m not sure that’s the case. In any case, if you have any opportunity, I urge you to try it. I believe it’s only available on the lunch menu currently.

Closer to home down here in the south suburbs, I was able to find a little neighborhood Italian beef spot in nearby Hazel Crest that had a veal cutlet sandwich on its menu. Sadly, when I arrived, I saw this:

They were out of veal cutlets! The friendly lady running the stand told me she’d have it available again once her next order came in, and that they could either serve it as a standard sandwich with Mayo + LTO or as a Veal Parmesan. I settled instead for their chicken sandwich, which was a perfectly fine example of a fast food chicken sandwich. And isn’t a fried chicken sandwich of any type, technically, a cutlet sandwich?

I was most excited to find that they stock the near-mythical snack I’d grown up with, referred to in my hometown as “cheeseballs” but on this menu, more accurately, as “cheese cubes.” These are cubes of a processed sharp cheddar–think American cheese but with more flavor–that are coated in seasoned bread crumbs and deep fried. They come in big boxes from food supply companies and are, as I have acknowledged previously, objectively terrible. In every conceivable way, a battered and fried cheese curd is a higher-quality snack, but 10 times out of 10 I will choose these instead. They are among my favorite things on earth.

My one complaint here is that the order is too small–i.e., its actually a reasonable amount of deep-fried greasy cheesy goodness for a single human to consume in one sitting. Next time I’ll have to get 2 or 3 orders. And there will be a next time, Oasis Beef Hut. It’s better than having to drive 300 miles for them. I may or may not try that veal cutlet sandwich when I return.

I chose Barraco’s, a small pizza chain in and around the south suburbs of Chicago, not for either the Chicken Parm sandwich or the Veal Parm sandwich that are both on its menu, though they are both fine. Not spectacular, but fine. I also did not choose it because of the cheese cubes that feature on its menu as well, because sadly they are not the correct kind. They are an inferior version containing pepperjack cheese instead of my preferred processed cheddar. They are still tasty though and come in a much larger order.

What I did find at Barraco’s that seemed unique was a “Chicken Saltimbocca” sandwich that looked like it might be the elusively unique cutlet sandwich I was looking for. Saltimbocca as a dish consists of veal, wrapped in sage and prosciutto, dredged in flour and pan-fried, then served with a pan sauce. The Barraco’s menu does not describe its Chicken Saltimbocca sandwich further than to specify that it is “served with Prosciutto and Mozzarella cheese” but it seemed likely that this would be an interesting way to present a chicken cutlet.

The chicken in this sandwich sits below a layer of prosciutto that has been cooked hard, which lies under a blanket of melted mozzarella cheese, which props up a layer of haphazardly chopped romaine lettuce and a couple of tomato slices. The chicken in question is not breaded as I expected it to be, though it is grilled nicely, with some good charred flavor.

I’m describing it somewhat unenthusiastically but the truth is, I liked this sandwich the best of the three we tried from Barraco’s. That grill flavor on the chicken was great, and while cooking the prosciutto doesn’t do its texture any favors, it intensifies the prosciutto’s salty/funky/porky flavor and imbues the melted mozzarella with it. I could give or take the lettuce and tomato; though I do think some vegetable matter does belong in the sandwich, I’d rather see a finer shred and possibly a light dressing, something that integrates into the sandwich rather than just sitting on top of it looking like it doesn’t belong. But overall, this is not a bad sandwich.

Mostly though it just got me missing the Dennis.

The Dennis

Before our 2017 20th anniversary trip to NYC, Mindy and I spent some time researching places to visit and foods to try while we were there. I’d like to take credit for this find, but it was Mindy actually who initially read about a sandwich whose fans were calling it the one of the best sandwiches in New York or on the planet or simply the best sandwich they’d ever had. Parisi, the bakery on Mott St. in Little Italy that served the Dennis, was referred to as a hidden gem with the best bread ever. Another common chorus we found in online reviews of Parisi: the sandwiches were big. Really big. Maybe even “too f***ing big!”

The Dennis is no exception. Served on a nearly perfect hero roll, the Dennis includes 4 chicken cutlets, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomato, a balsamic drizzle, and a schmear of an “herb spread” that seemed very much like a basil pesto to me.

It is an enormous sandwich. But after Mindy and I split this example in a nearby park back then in May of 2017, we went back and bought two more–one to bring home with us (it kept OK, but of course the breading’s crispness had deteriorated) and another to add the optional roasted red peppers that the online review Mindy had read recommended as an add-on. If anything, that second sandwich was even more spectacular.

The last time we were in NYC, in March of 2019, we were unable to fit Parisi into our visit and missed out on another shot at this legendary sandwich. We still think about it regularly.

We clearly had to make our own.

Making chicken cutlets involves cutting a chicken breast in half the hard way, right through the thickest part of the muscle, then pounding the resulting halves flat. Breading a chicken cutlet uses the standard dry/wet/dry breading procedure, with seasoned flour, an egg wash, and seasoned bread crumbs as the three components. I shallow-fried these cutlets in peanut oil to a nice golden brown (mostly).

When you’re working with any kind of cutlets, the thinner you pound them out, the quicker they cook through and subsequently dry out. This is important to bear in mind. Additionally, when you are working with cutlets and planning to put them in multiple layers into a sandwich, you may want them to be thinner than you’d normally pound them out. This will also be important to bear in mind. The chicken breasts I used here were quite large, and I actually needed to cut each into 4 pieces to end up with cutlets sized properly for the sandwich. I thought.

We start with a bread roll acquired from a local Italian deli. This is called a “hard roll” but it is not particularly crusty. I’ve heated it briefly in the oven to give it just a bit of a crunch but of course it will not compete with the real freshly-baked rolls used at Parisi in NYC.

Still, it’s a good bread roll and makes for a solid hero sandwich. On top of this, we’re going to place a pair of chicken cutlets in such a way that they cover the bottom layer of bread. There will be a bit of overlap.

Now, on top of those 2 chicken cutlets–bear with me here–we’re going to put 2 more chicken cutlets.

That is kind of a lot of meat, yes. But it wouldn’t be the Dennis if we didn’t add some more. So on top of those 4 chicken cutlets, we put 2-3 ounces of thin-sliced Prosciutto di Parma.

On top of the prosciutto goes the fresh mozzarella. I see thinner slices in a double layer in my photo of the original sandwich so I’m trying to do something similar here.

Then some tomatoes–as good as I can find in November–dressed with a drizzle of a balsamic reduction, though I think they may have used plain balsamic vinegar squirted directly into the bread in the original.

I spent the past 3 and a half years convinced that what we’d had on the Dennis back in 2017 was a basil pesto, but the Parisi menu simply calls it an “herb spread.” I know that it had olive oil in it and that it smelled just like pesto, so I went ahead and made a homemade pesto to use here. If anybody knows the secret of the Parisi herb spread, please get in touch and tell me!

Additionally, the roasted red peppers were such a good addition on the original sandwich that, though they are not canon, we decided to use them again here.

Presenting, the Sandwich Tribunal’s 2020 rendition of Parisi Bakery’s Dennis sandwich!

Yikes. That is… enormous. Let’s get a look at that cross-section, shall we?

Obviously this is not a sandwich one can actually fit in one’s mouth to eat the way the Dennis just somehow manages to be. As I foreshadowed earlier, these cutlets needed to be pounded much thinner to be piled quite this high in a sandwich. Don’t get me wrong, this sandwich was fully consumed–it became possible to eat it as a sandwich by removing 2 of the cutlets, but just barely.

This is exactly the kind of inventive, possibly a little too indulgent sandwich that I imagined the ideal cutlet sandwich to be, though. It’s Italian-American through-and-through–the chicken provides a good solid base, with the interesting alternation of textures between firm white meat and crisp breading before the soft but powerful prosciutto and the milky fresh mozzarella take over. The tomatoes and balsamic drizzle along with that mozzarella make the sandwich plenty moist and just mildly sweet, while the sweet and pungent basil pesto is an ideal counterpoint to each other ingredient. It all just works together in a way that is no accident. As ridiculously huge as this sandwich may be, it’s well-composed. Or it would be, if I could get the damn cutlets right.

We like this sandwich too much to give up on it and will most likely try to make it at least one more time before the next opportunity we’ll have to return to New York, whenever that will be. I will take today’s lessons and make it better next time.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! What kind of a sandwich could you make with a turkey cutlet?