Chopped Cheese

History

The chopped cheese is a Harlem and Upper Manhattan institution, born in the bodegas of East Harlem — particularly Blue Sky Deli on 1st Avenue — where griddle cooks developed the technique of chopping ground beef patties as they cook, mixing in onions and melting American cheese directly into the meat. Served on a hero roll with lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mayo, it is the bodega answer to the cheesesteak, fiercely beloved in New York and largely unknown outside it until food media discovered it in the 2010s.

Ingredients

• Hero roll (long Italian-American bread roll)
• Ground beef (80/20)
• American cheese slices
• Onion, diced
• Lettuce, shredded
• Tomato, sliced
• Ketchup
• Mayonnaise
• Salt, black pepper and garlic powder

How to Make

1. 1Heat a griddle or cast-iron pan over high heat; add a little oil.
2. 2Add diced onion and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.
3. 3Add ground beef in a loose mound; season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
4. 4As it cooks, chop and fold the beef with a spatula, mixing it with the onions.
5. 5When nearly cooked through, lay American cheese slices over the meat and let melt.
6. 6Chop everything together into a unified, cheesy mass.
7. 7Split the hero roll, spread ketchup and mayo on both sides.
8. 8Pile the chopped cheese mixture inside, top with lettuce and tomato, and serve hot.

Known for it

• Blue Sky Deli (Hajji’s)2135 1st Ave, New York, NY 10029, USA