Sack Lunch: Turkey and Coleslaw Sandwich
One of my favorite sandwiches is roast turkey and coleslaw on a Kaiser roll. I happened to overhear someone order it at the inauspicious looking but better-than-average deli near my first office, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m always interested to get people’s reactions to this combination because some think it sounds perfectly normal while others think coleslaw belongs in a little cup on the side and nowhere else.
Since most anonymous delis don't do this sandwich as well as that one I used to frequent, a homemade version was in order. I roasted a turkey breast and shredded a cabbage. Since I’ve never managed to track down a Kaiser roll I like outside of a deli, a hamburger bun stood in; any bread you like should do, really, and it occurred to me afterward that rye bread might have been especially excellent. Although the turkey was a little dry, this sandwich won high marks not just from me, a coleslaw fanatic, but also from Andrew, who doesn’t like coleslaw much at all. The perfect dessert for this lunch is a ripe peach.
Creamy New York Deli Coleslaw
- serves 6 to 8 -
Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
This makes a lot of coleslaw. If you want to make only enough for 4-6 sandwiches, cut this recipe in half. The recipe notes that celery seeds can be substituted for caraway.
Ingredients
1 head red or green cabbage (2 pounds), cored and shredded (12 to 14 cups)
Salt
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
Pepper
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 small onion, minced
Procedure
Toss the cabbage with 1 teaspoon salt and allow to sit in a colander for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Meanwhile, toast the caraway seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Rinse the cabbage, then pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Whisk the toasted caraway seeds, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl large enough to hold the salad. Add the cabbage, carrots, and onion and toss. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Roast Turkey for Sandwiches
- makes 8 sandwiches -
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless turkey breast, tied up like a roast
Olive oil
Coarse salt
Pepper
Procedure
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the turkey on a baking sheet, rub it all over with olive oil, and season generously and evenly with salt and pepper. When the oven is hot, roast the turkey to an internal temperature of about 160°F. This should take about 45 minutes, but start checking with a meat thermometer at 30 minutes. Allow the cooked roast to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing thinly. The turkey will be much easier to slice thinly when it has cooled completely and been refrigerated for a while.
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14 Comments:
I love coleslaw on sandwiches.
It's a total must on bbq pulled pork sandwiches-- NC-style.
Or on sliced and toasted challah, shrimp, bacon, cole slaw, thin sliced tomato, black pepper...I've been rethinking the challah bc it has a tendency to fall apart with this sandwich if the slaw is too wet.
In a pinch I will have a turkey "rueben" with slaw instead of 'kraut...but only if it's a turkey rueben, I can't sub out the kraut on a regular rueben.
OH! and there is something sublime about a hot dog, grilled til the skin just begins to blister and split, and topped only with cool cole slaw. It's a great combo of contrasts in temp and texture.
wookie at 1:43PM on 06/30/08
I eat coleslaw on pulled pork, and often substitute it in grilled reubens (with thousand island dressing crucial). I also like it on a ham sandwich with the addition of pineapple to the coleslaw. My mother always put pineapple in coleslaw. I'd be willing to try it on turkey, but my favorite turkey sandwich has mayo, cranberry sauce and stuffing. I cook turkey breasts all year long. They are great on the grill, too! Now, I'm craving coleslaw and sandwiches. It's a good thing! ;-)
PerkyMac at 2:04PM on 06/30/08
im addicted to coleslaw too, i cant have pulled pork without it! corned beef plus coleslaw plus thousand island/russian dressing is a corned beef special, and i find myself ordering it about 90% of the time i go to the deli, where if its a good deli, the corned beef will come out warm whether you order it that way or not. mmmm, i could so go for one now!
agk685 at 3:10PM on 06/30/08
i love roast beef and coleslaw sandwiches or sometimes turkey, roastbeef and coleslaw
sustarz at 4:07PM on 06/30/08
I can't believe I forgot about coleslaw on pulled pork. YUM. It's been too long since I've had that.
Robin Bellinger at 7:37PM on 06/30/08
Turkey and cole slaw is my go-to sandwich, but I add a bit of zing with first some brown mustard on the bottom bread, then turkey, then coleslaw, then some yellow hot sandwich peppers to brighten it all up a bit. Yum.
fpatrick at 11:20PM on 06/30/08
I've never heard of coleslaw on a deli sandwich before, but it sounds genius! I can't wait to try it. I never know what to order in a deli because the usual stuff looks scary, but this sounds so good.
Luisa at 8:16PM on 07/01/08
When I lived in north Jersey the delis made a sandwich called a Sloppy Joe, it is the BEST! Turkey, ham, Swiss, coleslaw, and Thousand Island dressing on rye. It's a three napkin sandwich but soooo good!
chartman at 9:52AM on 07/02/08
I always add cole slaw to my roast turkey sandwiches. I also can't eat hot dogs and corned beef sandwiches without my addition of cole slaw. I've never been to a deli in NYC that won't add (for an extra charge). And, of course, always on pulled pork sandwiches.
pebregman at 10:21AM on 07/02/08
oh, yes. always add mustard to the deli sandwiches.
pebregman at 10:22AM on 07/02/08
This is one of my favorite sandwiches.
I usually grill the rye bread and get the swiss cheese all melted, then top it with tons of turkey a squirt of thousand island and a heaping amount of cole slaw.
On occasion Ill stick some cole slaw onto a hot dog or plain hamburger as well.
Cole slaw and pineapple suit a grilled chicken breast with teriyaki sauce too, shove that all into a sandwich bun and yum!
And then of course there is pulled pork too.
Im hungry now...
amharkness at 11:42AM on 07/02/08
I like the idea of doing this with roast beef...especially if you added a little horseradish to the coleslaw...mmm
akk328 at 4:20PM on 07/02/08
Why do you let the cabbage sit in salt???
justicetassie at 4:55PM on 07/02/08
The book says salting the cabbage will draw out a lot of its water before you toss it with the dressing. That way the cabbage will not "weep" water once it's tossed, which creates a watery cole slaw. To me it seemed salting the cabbage also made it a little easier to chew, but that isn't one of the reasons author listed.
Robin Bellinger at 5:36PM on 07/10/08