New Jersey Sloppy Joe

1. Cover a cutting board with a plastic wrap. Lay the bread slices on top.
2. Evenly spread the butter on both the sides of the slices.
3. Begin to layer the sandwich by overlapping the three slices of cheese. Spoon a layer of coleslaw over the cheese.
4. Carefully spread the Russian dressing over the coleslaw. Now place the beef tongue overlapping them to make sure that no dressing is visible. Top it with the buttered bread slice.
5. Continue building the sandwich by layering the remaining three slices of Swiss cheese over the buttered bread.
6. Spoon the coleslaw over the cheese. Spread the remaining Russian dressing over the coleslaw. Now layer the turkey slices over it. Top the filling with the last piece of the bread, buttered side down.
7. Trim off the crusts, if needed. Insert a toothpick in the centre of the sandwich to help keep the sandwich together when you are dividing it into 2 equal sections.
8. Serve right away; if you are not immediately serving the sandwich then store it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Trivia

• The Town Hall Delicatessen in South Orange, N.J claims to be the originator of New Jersey Sloppy Joe
• In parts of the northern Jersey, a Sloppy Joe is a cold deli sandwich
• It is always a double decker rye bread sandwich
• In the 1950s several Jewish delis in Newark were also selling the sandwich including places like Tabatchnicks, Kartzman’s etc

Ham is considered the standard meat for serving New Jersey Sloppy Joe. For instance, Mr. J’s Deli in Cranford, label the ham version as a regular Joe.