Harlem Chopped Cheese Sandwich | Kenji's Cooking Show
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2020
- NOTE: I said Patsy's is on 118 and Lenox in this vid. It's not, it's on 118 and 1st.
The chopped cheese is a Harlem bodega sandwich made with chopped up burger patties and cheese on a hero roll. I grew up in Morningside Heights and lived in Central Harlem up until around 6 years ago, where I'd get my chop cheese from the bodega on 135th and Lenox (I don't know if it's still around). They're originally from Hajji's Deli on 110th and 1st in Spanish Harlem. My sister who lived in Brooklyn until around the same time had never heard of them. I don't think you find them outside the Harlem and the Bronx much (except now there are some cheffy $15 versions available around the city which... kinda misses the point, I think. This is $4-5 late night drunk food.) The delis are usually run by Yemeni immigrants, who also run most of the fried chicken joints in Harlem that I knew of.
I live in the Bay Area now and we don't get NY-style hero rolls out here, but I was craving one so I made it on our local cheap sandwich bread, Dutch crunch. You can make it on any kind of soft, cheap roll. Anything you'd build a sub or hoagie or grinder or whatever-you-call-that-kinda-sandwich-where-you're-from will work. I also added Hatch chiles to mine. You can use pickled peppers if you want something more similar to what you could actually get in a Harlem bodega.
The real key to this sando is seasoning it with powdered chicken bouillon. At least, that's what the bodegas I went to used to use. Wrapping it before cutting it in half is also a good move, as that wrapping compression is what lets you get bites with a bit of everything, and keeps it from all falling apart. Also being drunk before eating. That helps.
These are usually made on a deli-style flattop griddle, and they're made with cheapo pre-formed burger patties that are chopped up with spatulas and onto a split hero roll (that may or may not be toasted in a press) with American cheese, whatever sandwich toppings you want (raw LTO, grilled onions, pickles, pickled banana peppers, mayo, ketchup, mustard - whatever you want). At home you can make it in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. I press my roll between two pre-heated pans to mimic a panini press. You want the bread to be a little crispy on the outside, but not super crusty. It's a loose sandwich so if the bread is too crusty is falls apart. 
Хобби
"buns are ready to accept this beef load"
Kenji what
"I've got the prescription for you, Doctor...another hot beef injection!"
Phrasing!!!
i mean...... he ain't wrong
You heard the man
Well, he did soften them to, "get it ready to accept what's coming to it."
“Get the bread soft so it can accept what’s coming to it...”
I’m scared and aroused.
It has to accept it's "beef load" 😳
Robert Dunn that’s the one that got me lol “ get it ready to accept the beef load “ lol
@@roblobster10 it must.
You are scaroused?
@@Chipiricuiki0083 it gets soft to accept the beef load or else it gets the hose again..
Actually laughed out loud when “this makes me wish I was drunk”
oh Kenji you are a gem!!
eating while being slightly drunk is great. everyone knows it.
thats when the video got a thumbs up from me haha
same hahahha
"accept this beef load" i tenderly whispered to my supple dutch crunch, as she lay prone on the cutting board steaming visibly
@@lc9072 every day is a 🔥 day to be a degenerate hahaha
lmaooo as she lay prone dont kill me
I don't know what this is...but I like it
🤣😭😭😭
It would’ve costed you 0$ to not say that 😁
I love how you don’t act like cooking at home is the same as in a professional kitchen, this whole use what you have at home view is so accessible and I think is missing from a lot of cooking shows. I love these so much. Anyone could do this
Nic M there are pore people out there by the way burger is trim from steak
Incidentally, this is when I knew Good Eats had jumped the shark. No Alton, I don't have time to construct a Rube Goldberg machine to make oatmeal.
@@rsybing I find Alton Brown a bit annoying for that reason. Like you're cooking at home you can do whatever you want. Just keep it simple for the sake of your sanity.
Yes, learning to use what you have and adapt recipes to suit your ingredients is an important skill.
Using what you have at home is what leads to great creativity!!
I'm really gonna miss your old kitchen. I think many of us already have it memorized hahaha
did he move?
BestDeals did you watch the first 15 seconds of the video?
Preserve it like Julia Child's!!
@@boogaloobugout7275 actually he doesn't mention it until like a minute and a half in. I actually didn't catch it when I was watching the video and when he went to his oven I was so confused
Marco Mercado I was already missing it when I saw that stove and counter space!😭😭😭😭
The first 70 seconds describing the exact block where a ground beef sandwich could be purchased in the 90s was just excruciatingly NY state of mind
@@marksommers4179 what did he get wrong
@@marksommers4179 You cared enough to comment in the first place...
@@marksommers4179 least delusional youtube commenter
@@marksommers4179 Sounds like your full of crap. Who cares? You did by commenting twice
Get over yourself
"Tomato."
"Ah, yes, of course."
"Mosquito."
"Wait."
My libido
A denial
A denial
A denial
First.
second
lmao
How are you always first?? 🤔🤔🤔
@@marcool0417 He's Kenji's biggest fan.
Excited to see your new kitchen, Kenji!
Hey so the Kennedy and Crown fried chicken spots in NYC are actually Afghan Immigrants. The delis are Yemeni or Dominican.
some are Pakistani.
145th and Amsterdam man... that chicken spot kept me ALIVE on a $4 budget DAILY!
They all Ocks and if Spanish papi
Damn bro America diverse as fuck
New york is a shit hole.
best thing about Kenji's videos is it feels like you're just hanging out with him in the kitchen
Yeah, but we don't get to eat it ...
It's nice to come back to your older videos and get to relearn some of the exciting things that have slipped my mind since the first time I watched them. Thanks for helping me become a better home cook.
THATS NOT OUR KITCHEN KENJI I FEEL WEIRD AND UNSAFE
The feeling this kitchen gives is not as warm and inviting as the old one. But it's probably just missing the lived in look of his old one.
2020 just won't stop
I don't know where anything is in the new kitchen.
Congrats Kenji on understanding wrapping sandwiches! I have been advocating this for years, albeit in weird obscure places, but any sandwich. Cold, hot, tuna, breakfast, any...wrap it up for about 5 min. Even burgers! It glues everything together and makes things more even temperature-wise. I usually use wax paper. Love your channel!
Except when you wrap it up, then eat it immediately.
Also. Some sandwiches just got soggy when wrapped.
@@thisscreensucks fax
@@thisscreensucks that’s why they’re wrapped, to keep your hands clean. ;)
Kenji, i really love your work. Im a lady with a speech impediment that makes my sentences drag on sometimes, i mumble and stumble and say um, like, uh, almost every sentence. I know it doesn't stop me from being an amazing cook, but seeing you go thru your work has really made me feel at home and welcomed. Thank you.
Glad to see you moving on but I miss the old place. You had it setup so well and your neighbors were stellar. Hope you settle in well and keep in touch with your old neighbors as well
Thanks Kenji for spreading the love. I lived above Patsy's (literally the same building on the top floor) for a number of years, and a number of years a few buildings down. The stories... Anyways... Patsy's is on 1st and 118th. If anyone makes it up there make sure your get your slice/pie extra extra extra crispy. Done that way, the best slice in NY. If they know you, or you drop some bucks in the jar before you order, the might just make the "white pie". Don't know if they still do it... but damn that garlic sauce.
2:08 YAY! YOU GOT THEM!
Mark Vasquez ruclips.net/video/_tVnPn02oOc/видео.html He asked for them in his green chile cheeseburger video. I felt bad he had to use Anaheim’s out there in CA.
Zhizza hey thanks man!
Surrogate Chile Papi
he even posted thanking post on his yt side :D
@Mark Vasquez What's wrong with that?
Hey Kenji, I don’t think you’ll see this but I wanted to say that I am very glad to have found your videos. I have always loved cooking videos, but you make it look so easy and fun that I am finally trying to cook myself-and I love it so far! I just made your Mac and Cheese today and it was the first time I’ve ever made a dish I was really proud of. I wish you all the best, and thank you for doing what you do!
And Curry makes shooting a three pointer look easy. I can hardly throw a B-ball that far let alone hit a tiny hoop. Kenji makes it look easy because he's a star.
I love watching you cook but my favorite thing is you’re knowledge on the history of the food you’re cooking.
“Makes me wish I was drunk” 😆😆
That's an easy fix.
that's a real endorsement though
Hungover rn yet still agree 😅
As a lifelong NYer, I really appreciate your knowledge and teaching of the culture. The deep cuts about the ethnicity of the bodega owners, Kennedy’s, that it’s eaten while drunk, and the fact that the chopped cheese was an uptown thing. I grew up in Brooklyn in the 90s/2000s and nobody ordered chopped cheeses at the delis. But this video got me wondering why I never tried to make this myself either lol. Love the video!
My family and I love your vids, thank you for the great content!
The first time I had ever watched a kenji video it was late night meal vid and I was admiring your kitchen and how you had everything and your knife block in the drawer! Had to get one myself when I first saw that. Loved that old kitchen. However I can't wait to see what you do with the next one 👌🏽
“Those make me wish I was drunk”. Love it Kenji, keep it up man!
I love how you’re like, “In a temporary house, still gonna make my cooking show.” Not fussy at all about not being in your usual space with your usual tools. No excuses, just cooking. Awesome.
Really loved the mini Harlem tour guide anecdotes you added along the way. 5/5!
I love these videos where you talk more much rather than the ones where you don't talk. It's always so informative and keeps me engaged even more than before
You can tell you've been in food service for a while cuz you're always moving. Keep on with the keeping on. Love to all the line cooks out there
Before he explained the new kitchen I imagined Kenji breaking into someone’s house, later leaving behind only delicious food as evidence
In the past two years I've lived in the East Village, Chelsea, Williamsburg, and work in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. My local bodegas have all had them, they've definitely spread out from Harlem and the Bronx.
He deserves way more subscribers than he already has. Love you videos thx for the great videos.
Man I wish we had chopped cheeses in Toronto. At least you are the Internet Bodega of Information. I’m gonna make this tomorrow
Same! I live in Toronto too.
From Toronto too, and will be making this and that bulgogi hoagie in his last video in the near future!
In Toronto, Pennies has a chopped cheese, and oddseoul has a bulgogi cheese steak. They're both delicious and worth trying!
Also in Toronto. Did the hoagie today. SOO good. This is next!
@@maxgreenwood6804 Will definitely check out Oddseoul, once our city isnt such a hot spot. Thanks for the tip!
It would be really cool you showed us the process of moving into your new kitchen/kitchen tour!
Its impossible to dislike you Kenji, keep up the amazing vids
As always great video! Made it tonight, so good! Thanks Kenji
I previously lived on 110 and 5th, so Hajji's was a close walk by. I've had it at other places but no place beats Hajji's taste and price.
RIP Kenji's old kitchen, where it feels like we all spent quarantine
Such a beautiful sando! Gonna try tomorrow for breakfast. Thank you Kenji!
Great job Kenji, I really love your inspired dishes
Wooooooooow, you’re incredible, Love from Brooklyn
I'd love to hear your thoughts on setting up a home kitchen, as far as layout, if you haven't already moved into your new kitchen
Glad we’re going to see the new kitchen! I’m so excited!
Man, it just so nice to just see you coock and tell these stories from real life, this detailed stuff with street names and locations coming right outta the self without glitches while you work seemlessly, so cool. Well, obviously a pro chef dooing nothing too fancy but where I would need to get my thought and concentration on one thing at a time. Would that be choppin, seasoning or anything else I couldn't tell the names of my family right having to think about the toast in the back of my mind, possibly burning if I forget it.
The old kitchen just wasn't the same after Spoony moved out.
the lone butternut squash, quietly nestled in the corner: ah, the whisper of fall😍
There's a haiku in there; it's waiting to be written. :D
Adam White Oh, no. I am having flashbacks of the English language arts CSET exam I just completed😅
@@civilizeddiva Oh Lord, I am so sorry. Here's hoping the rest of your day is bereft of similes, motifs, and anything remotely English-y!
Adam White Thanks, Adam. It’s not bad. I am student teaching today with middle school students. They are pretty 😎 cool
Quite possibly my favorite vegetable.
Kenji I love your videos not only do you teach us how to cook but you’re educational
Your videos are a great part of my day! Thanks for making them
the guy who claims to have invented the chopped cheese, he is from egypt. there is a video of it. I know this is is unrelated to what you said, I just had to get the correct word out.
Chopped cheeses are a staple here in Harlem and you recreated it perfectly! Amazing to see Harlem representation too!
"Those make me wish i was drunk!" lol. So honest, bro. Much respect.
me with like everything lmao
pausing the video at the start to comment. the amount of willpower i must use to save this video to watch during my lunch tomorrow is unreal. i cant wait!
Bro, this is it. Never thought I'd see you cook a chop cheese!!!👍🏿👍🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
“Our bun is ready to take our beef load” this new kitchen got you speaking dirty. We like it. Keep it going
Hope that it’s RUclips, Wursthall and your other ventures that are treating you well and not a Covid related situation with moving. Best of luck.
None of the above.
I moved to the upper east side a couple of weeks ago and just rewatched this video as I ate my first chopped cheese. Cheers!
omg WHAT Kenji is showing us how to make a chopped cheese??? this is awesome!!
This is so silly, but hearing you call out those street names reminded me of Big L, one of my favorite artists. He lived like 4 blocks away from your place and shouted out the corner all the time: 139 and Lenox Ave.
Big L rest in peace
Danger zone
OC “Lifestyles of the poor and dangerous”
@@uncleangie9597 where we quick to put a bullet in a strangers dome
ruclips.net/video/C-gdOEuEWJM/видео.html
J. Kenji López-Alt: This is the real trick: chicken bouillon.
*Marco Pierre White has entered the chat.*
Knorr stockpot intensifies
Stock Pot: In.
"Its no real recipe..." your choice really ...
MSG has entered the chat
This first video I’ve ever watched of yours. And I gotta say, it was so relaxing. Felt like I was there in the kitchen with you… too bad I didn’t half of the sandwich😂😂👌🏾
Thats Patsys shoutout made my day. Im from Boston but I always go out of my way to visit patsys anytime im remotely close to New York. That place is the best
The chicken bouillon should actually be Goya sazon. That’s the secret NYC bodegas use to flavor these up and give them that signature color. 👍🏻
Glad I found your comment! Do you have a online source for this as well?
Goya adobo*
@@PeaceMastah thanks for clarifying. Is it Adobo for sure?
I know that saying "goya sazon" is not helpful because there are several varieties of sazon.
@@Margar02 100% red lidded Goya Adobo! :)
“Tomato, uh Mosquito” - the great toppings of the chopped cheese
It's a nirvana referance?
@@user-ku1hn3kg6i my bad, didn’t know
@@user-ku1hn3kg6i Think "Mulatto" is the word used, lol.
Been watching your videos for years. Never knew you were originally from my neighborhood. Respect. Patsy is the best. My favorite pizza shop. It’s on first ave though. You said Lenox.
Thanks for explaining the history of the chop cheese. I work in Harlem now but from Philly. My co-workers made such a big deal out of it so I said I was going to do research before I tried it. Thanks for the video!
It's an overhyped zoomer sandwich. People go crazy about it like its a big NY staple. But really its popularity has blown out of proportion over the past 1-2 years. NYC has much better and more unique foods then a chopped cheese.
Wow i am really going to miss your old kitchen. i felt like even though i didn't live there but i knew where everything was.
I love the recognition of the roots of these dishes, much love to the Yemeni people.
@Raed Skerek thx, we are origin of Arabs and get no credit where credit is do, no victim mentality intended, but there good peeps, nyc ppl over know it’s Yemenis but outsiders don’t, look up prince naseem hamed from Yemen he is arguably the number 1 most athletically gifted boxer. I just wish Yemen was safe and good with more money. There is way more naseem Ahmed’s in Yemen and even better fighters in Yemen. They just don’t know about fighting, but so athletic good fighters. Sorry for the ramble.
@@shadowthefirst5115 I grew up watching the guy, and yeah man I know how much can come out of these talented people if they get the opportunities.
My man Kenji you have a mouth of steel this is the second video I've seen you make a sandwhich that makes my eyes water from the crunch and thinking of the roof of my mouth.
what crunch? I mean what would make this crunch?
I have to come clean with something here. I am totally and utterly addicted to Hatch Chiles. I've always been a fan of green Chile but a couple of years ago, a work colleague came back from a trip to New Mexico and gave me a jar of chopped Hatch Chiles. I had never tasted a green Chile like this before and was instantly addicted. I was putting Hatch's on everything, eggs, steak, chicken, cornbread, you name it, I put Hatch Chiles on it, so much so that I ate through an entire 5lb jar in 10 days. This was 5 years ago and I spent the next 4 years trying to find a way to get those same Hatch Chiles online but every single product I bought tasted nothing like the Chiles I had fallen in love with, come to find out that 99% of the products labelled has Hatch Chiles aren't Hatch Chiles at all, they're just green Chiles usually around the same region. This was until last year where I found Hatch Valley brand 505 Southwestern medium flame roasted Green Chiles. I finally found them. I try to keep my addiction under control by only ordering two 40oz jars every two months. For anyone that is interested in trying the real deal, this is what I order every 60 days or so. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075KNL3JL
Thanks for the link, Sean. I'm willing to try them!
@@KellyPruett You won't regret it! Get them fresh from the source if you can, but these are the closest I've found.
@@racerex340 shoot, they sell them at Costco now. Thanks for the lookout. Gonna buy one
@@feastmode123 if they're the genuine 505 southwestern, grab yourself a few!
As a lifelong New Mexico native, I can say you'd fit right in putting your green chiles on everything you can! 505 is an excellent choice for authentic chile imho. Find a good green chile sauce recipe you like and add it to potatoes and breakfast burritos!
I’m from the Bronx and lived there until I was 25. I never heard of a chopped cheese until I moved and saw someone make it on RUclips. I felt played because apparently chopped cheese is very New York and I was unaware.
Don't feel bad I grew up in NY during the70's,80's and 90's we didn't do chop cheese.
Wow 😳
Dude I’ve always loved your videos. Seeing you’re from New York is awesome. That relatability is so cool for me. Shout out to that New York baconeggncheese
this temp kitchen makes me think back to the small apartment kitchens of my past. I feel like this is going to be a very relatable few videos while Kenjis in this temp kitchen. Gonna miss the old one though.
appreciate a comprehensive analysis of the chop cheese done by an actual new yorker from uptown who understands the context and history. shout out to the yemeni deli owners! its not a cheese steak!
ruclips.net/video/zswzuxPvi8U/видео.html for more information
We have something similar to that 'Dutch crunch' roll here in the Netherlands. We call it tiger bread. The crunch is made by adding a layer of a rice flower paste, which contains no gluten so it doesn't stretch as the rest of the bread rises, causing the cracks. It's freaking amazing in anything toasted, like a grilled cheese. The added crunch is so good.
I was just thinking this looks like tiger bread which is also what we call it in the UK. I bought a baguette of it just today from the bakery
You did a great way of describing that it sounds delicious.
Im about to make some for breakfast I cant beleive this was a year ago thanks for sharing Kenji.
Can’t wait to see the kitchen in the new house in a few months, I can only imagine it will be EPIC.
It’s funny I didn’t notice he was in a different kitchen until he mentioned it 😂
Wat
Oh never mind I did the same thing ha
No way
I was one second in and was like wait what, thats not "our" kitchen floor?!
Also alot of the Bodegas use sazon and adobo lol that msg
Sazon is my secret ingredient
Why am I just finding this channel now 1 video in and I already know I’m not sleeping tonight cause imma watch all of them
Sitting here at work on a super slow day... Really wanted to eat this and then I realized I had the ingredients to make it! So good
The fact that Kenji used to live in the danger zone really adds to his lore
The danger zone? Is that an American thing or New York thing?
It’s a big L thing “cause 139 and Lennox is the danger zone.”
@@Drbigchungusmdphd ohhh, Big L was before my time but the song is good
Whats a “danger zone”? Sorry I’m not from the US.
As soon as he said that I was going to make a Big L joke glad someone did it for me
bro, kenji cultured AF.
Huh? He’s cultured as sex?
I love your videos! Thank you for sharing.
Just stumbled upon your channel. Really entertaining video. I miss New York
Kenji makes incredible food with a small stove like mine, makes me feel not so bad about my small stove n kitchen. Anything is possible :3
My stove is 80 feet long, loser. Get on my level.
Find a couple of the old Mexican abuela's cooking outside on an clay fire with a flat piece of steel over the top. There's some great ones on RUclips. I'd name a couple but I don't want to be accused of shilling. It isn't always about how fancy your tools are.
open
I love a sammy that's been tightly wrapped in foil - it sort of makes the whole thing hold together so well. YUM! I'll be trying on of those!!
Another good video! If it is your last 2023 video, congrats on a great year.
"I'm not going to call it a cheesesteak." *Philly steps down from DEFCON 1*
Exactly
"Oh man... those make me wish I was drunk."
Same, bro. Same.
in your next sandwich video can you talk a little more about the history of dutch crunch? does it really have dutch origins? my parents are from the bay area and always talk about how much they love it!
and as always great video kenji!
I love the little sous chef aka cleanup crew on the floor😊😊❤️❤️
"Get it to accept what's coming to it" not sure how I feel about Dom Kenji...
It will submit to Kenji sama's wishes and accept his hot beef load.
Still in San Mateo or moving elsewhere?
looks tasty as heck
good job Kenji thank you
Love the bit of history included here. Love NYC.
This was amazing! I've never seen a recipe video where the chef essentially wears a Go-Pro and eschews the glamorously fake food photography in favor of showing the viewer exactly how to make something in real time.
Question: what tool/utensil is Kenji using in his main pan? It looks like a wooden paint scraper, but it looks really handy.
It's a wooden spoon without the spoon shape, basically a stick of wood with one end slightly larger than the other. He's mentioned the brand several times in the past but I don't remember it.
It’s an Earlywood spatula.
Feels weird seeing you in this small kitchen lol
Weird seeing him use a kitchen that use mere mortals might inhabit
I moved out of the Bay several years ago and I miss dutch crunch so much. Such a great sandwich bread
As a East Harlem/Manhattan native I love you acknowledging the history of the sandwich.
I’ve never seen the bouillon before but I’m sure it provide that saltiness that Sazón provides.
Same amount of msg
At first I was like, why is he working on the left by the sink instead of at the normal cutting board?? 😂