Italian Sausage and Fontina Shooter's-Style Sandwich With Sun-Dried Tomato-Caper Relish Recipe

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated March 21, 2019
20140316-sausage-fennel-cheese-shooter-sandwich-recipe-final-610.jpg
Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Juicy Italian sausage bound with melted Fontina cheese is all packed into a pressed sandwich with sautéed onions, fennel, and red peppers and stopped with a rich and tangy sun-dried tomato and caper relish to balance out the fat. This is one hell of a sandwich.

Why this recipe works:

  • The rich, salty, and tangy flavors and juicy-crisp textures hit all the right notes for a sandwich that's deliciously balanced.
  • Triple-layering the sausage and cheese allows them to intersperse and marry together as the sandwich is pressed and heated.
  • We sauté the onions, fennel, and peppers in rendered sausage fat, boosting their flavor.
  • Pressing the sandwich under a heavy weight and slicing while wrapped produces neat, easy to pack and easy to eat serving portions.

Recipe Details

Italian Sausage and Fontina Shooter's-Style Sandwich With Sun-Dried Tomato-Caper Relish Recipe

Active 40 mins
Total 4 hrs 40 mins
Serves 4 to 6 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1 (8-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained with 1/4 cup oil reserved, and roughly chopped

  • 1/3 cup capers, drained and roughly chopped

  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

  • 1 small shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup)

  • 1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon oil

  • 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage, removed from casing

  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced

  • 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced

  • 1 large red pepper, thinly sliced

  • 1 loaf rustic Italian bread

  • 12 ounces grated fontina cheese

Directions

  1. Combine sun-dried tomatoes and 1/4 cup of their oil, capers, parsley, shallot, garlic, and vinegar in a small bowl and stir with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or a potato masher, until fully cooked and just starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, leaving fat in skillet.

  3. Add onions, fennel, and peppers to skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fully softened and just starting to brown, about 12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate lined with a double layer of paper towels and press with more paper towels to drain completely.

  4. Slice off the top 1 to 1 1/2-inches of the loaf of bread using a bread knife. Cut around the perimeter of the interior crumb, making sure not to break through the bottom crust, then use your hand to lift out the excess bread from the inside, leaving you with a hollow bread boat.

  5. Spread half of relish on bottom of sandwich and top with half of pepper/fennel mixture. Add 1/3 of cheese, then 1/2 of sausage, another 1/3 of cheese, remaining sausage, remaining cheese, remaining peppers and onions, and remaining relish Close sandwich.

  6. Wrap sandwich tightly in aluminum foil or burtcher's paper, then place in between two stiff cutting boards. Place a heavy weight on top (about 40 pounds), press down firmly to flatten sandwich, then let rest under the weight for at least 4 hours and up to overnight (keep an eye on the sandwich to ensure that it is pressing evenly).

  7. When ready to eat, adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 375°F. Remove weights, slice sandwich into four to six pieces through paper or foil with a bread knife, unwrap, and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet, pressing the pieces back together to form a full sandwich shape. Place in oven until hot and cheese has melted, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
816Calories
48gFat
58gCarbs
42gProtein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories816
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 48g62%
Saturated Fat 20g101%
Cholesterol 114mg38%
Sodium 1610mg70%
Total Carbohydrate 58g21%
Dietary Fiber 9g32%
Total Sugars 24g
Protein 42g
Vitamin C 91mg453%
Calcium 447mg34%
Iron 7mg39%
Potassium 1980mg42%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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