Destination
Rio de Janeiro
The story
The mortadela com queijo sandwich at São Paulo's Mercado Municipal (Mercadão) is the sort of thing every visitor to the city eats once and never forgets. Half a kilo of thin-sliced mortadella (that's 500 grams of pork sausage, not a typo) and a thick blanket of melted provolone, piled inside a small French-style bread roll that looks incapable of containing it, but somehow does. Ordered standing at the counter of Hocca Bar or Bar do Mané, eaten with both hands over a paper plate, washed down with a cold beer.
Method
Heat a wide dry pan or chapa over medium heat. Add the mortadella slices in a single layer (work in batches). Warm 30 to 45 seconds per side, just enough to soften the fat and release the aroma. Don't crisp them: this isn't bacon.
Split each roll horizontally, not all the way through. Spread the inside with a little mustard if using.
Divide the warmed mortadella between the 4 rolls (about 125g per sandwich, folded and tucked in). Layer the provolone on top of the mortadella so it will sit against the heat.
Heat a wide pan over medium heat with a small knob of butter. Place the open sandwiches face-down on the pan just long enough to melt the cheese and toast the top of the roll, about 90 seconds. Alternatively, close the sandwiches, press onto a hot chapa or sandwich press for 2 to 3 minutes total.
Close each sandwich and press firmly. Cut in half if you want to be civilised (nobody at the Mercadão does). Serve immediately with pickled jalapeños on the side and a cold beer.
Tips
- Real mortadella, not a supermarket knock-off. This is the whole game. A Bologna PGI or a good Italian-style artisan mortadella (with visible cubes of fat and pistachios) is what makes the sandwich a Mercadão sandwich. Ask a Portuguese or Italian deli.
- Slice it thin. Deli-paper thin, so 500g folds naturally into a small roll. Ask the deli to slice as thin as their machine allows; if slicing yourself, chill the mortadella first.
- Warm the mortadella, don't crisp it. The heat softens the fat and releases the perfume. Overcooking makes it dry and rubbery.
- Provolone, not mozzarella. The Mercadão original uses provolone for its sharper tang. Mozzarella melts into a bland puddle.
- Eat it standing up. This is a counter sandwich, not a plated meal. Ideally at a Mercadão-style marble counter with a cold beer and nobody watching how you handle it.
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