I love using leftover ham or turkey for sandwiches, but not just any old sandwich! This is our favorite method, and these Open-Faced Hot Broiled Sandwiches might very well be better than the original Ham or Turkey!
Hot Broiled Sandwiches
These really are one of the fave leftover meals at our house. They’re great with either leftover turkey or leftover ham, and maybe you have something else you like to add. Because these hot bubbly and delicious sandwiches on crunchy, toasted bread are gonna be better with all your favorite things tucked under that blanket of cheese.
About Hot Broiled Sandwiches:
So some of you cooks out there might be thinking, yeah, thanks food blogger Mollie, for showing us how to put stuff on bread. I have kids, and even though I know they’ve seen me make these, one at least, had no clue! So whether you’ve never made anything before (I hope this helps) or are an experienced cook (I hope you’ll gain a little inspiration at the very least!) here it is, my post on Hot Broiled Sandwiches!
I’m feeling a little snark coming out, though. If you have one of those in your family who refuses to eat leftovers, go fix yourself one, right now, then when it’s out of the oven in all it’s gooey, deliciousness, plop down on the couch next to him/her, and start to eat yours with relish. Don’t forget to say, “Gee, I would have made you one, but I know how much you hate leftovers!” For other leftover ideas, see my main leftover page, Fabulous Leftover or maybe take a peek at 12 Days of Ham or 12 Days of Turkey. I started out with a dozen recipes on each post and both have grown and grown over the years.
Make these as a casual leftover dinner, maybe with a salad or fries, or make trays of them for a game day or other party. Cut them mini for appetizers. You’ve just elevated the leftover ham/turkey from a lowly status of something sitting around your fridge that you ‘should use up’ to something divine in about 10 minutes flat.
To the left, my home sliced ham, 69 cents a pound, to the right, on rollback at Walmart, $5.00 a pound.
Making Hot Broiled Sandwiches:
The process is simple. Use leftover rolls, buns, or anything you have around the house as the base. Anything will be good, and If I have it or thought to buy it, Asiago Cheese Ciabatta (especially the kind you buy and take and bake, although that’s not the cheapest option) is fabulous. If your bread is anything soft, lay it out on the sheet tray you’ll use to broil your sammies on and toast it in the oven. A good sturdy bread can be toasted or not.
Then you just start layering things you love on your sandwich. For inspiration, you can go classic or new American, copycat a sandwich at your favorite Subway (or other) Sandwich Shop or you can think about “theming” it, maybe Italian, Mexican, etc. And of course, you can do what I do, root around in the fridge and see what calls to you. A sandwich like this is great for the turkey or ham leftovers, but maybe you have other bits of this or that to be tossed on.
Use a spread as the first layer, nothing too wet, but it’s nice to think outside the box. If you served your ham with any apricot sauce, cranberry sauce or jellies, why not? Here’s a great place to use some of that leftover chutney. Pull out the Dijon or any good grainy mustard. Don’t forget about the Horseradish sauce. Maybe you have a half a dozen or more jars of stuff in your fridge door. Plum sauce, a Sweet and Sour? Chipotle something or other? Gouchuchang? Bourbon Bacon Jam?
Hot Broiled Sandwiches
After you have down the first layer, add your protein. it protects the bread from what comes next. It’s time to think about the veggie layer. Hey, I’m no huge tomato fan (I eat them because they’re healthy) but they’re so good in this; the moisture adds something and the acidity brightens everything. Maybe there’s some leftover asparagus or other veggies or things that were on your holiday veggie tray. Black olives, pickled onions, banana peppers. Fresh spinach is always nice and for that matter, leftover greens could work. And don’t forget bacon, like I did this last time! Already cooked, of course.
Finally, the best part, the cheese! Here’s where you can use any grated or sliced cheese, but let me tell you what works best. A big handful of cheese you’ve grated yourself on the large holes of a grater. Just mound it up in your hand and slap it on there. It has the perfect consistency when melted when it’s a large grate like that and if you have a few little pieces that fall off, they cook up into little “fricos“, crusty, crunchy little bits of browned up cheese. Scrape those off the sheet tray and add it to the top of your sandwich. But then, know any cheese will do!
The kind is up to you, anything that’s going to melt well, get bubbly and brown a bit. I love white cheddar, provolone, Munster if I have them. Just use what you like and what you have. You might want to consider a cheese sauce or queso, alfredo sauce will work or a white sauce instead of cheese. And you can always top your sandwich, when it’s finished, with a fried egg if you lean that way.
I prefer to broil my sandwiches, watching them like a hawk; you can bake them at 425 degrees F. but getting any browning is iffy. You can bake them until the cheese is melty and then turn on the broiler.
Saving Money on Hot Broiled Sandwiches:
If you’re a careful shopper who took advantage of any pro-holiday sale like those before Easter or any of the Winter Holidays (follow the links to see what’s likely to be on sale and what to stock up on) you can bring these to the table for a song. You can literally pick up Ham or Turkey from anywhere from $.69 to $1,99 a pound. Taking those leftovers and putting them to good use is one of the smartest things you can do. And buying extra turkeys or hams and tossing them in the freezer is too!
I love to use a portion of my leftovers for sandwich meat; honestly, I know people who think little of picking up packages of the stuff (and don’t get me going on a rant about some of them. The sandwich meats, not my friends) for up to $6.99 a pound or more. They would just absolutely balk at paying for salmon or filet mignon, both of which can be had in my area for about the same price on a great sale, yet buy lunch meat weekly.
I highly recommend you get a kitchen slicer, a nice one if you can afford it or if not, even a rickety old fold-up model like I have. It makes such great work of leftovers and I use mine for so many things that are almost impossible or difficult with any other equipment. Slicing onions for French Onion Soup is one, cutting up cheap round roasts (almost always less expensive than round steaks you buy) for things like Swiss Steak or Chicken Fried Steak, or German Rouladen is another. Slicing homemade bread, cabbage for coleslaw, salami or cheese for relish trays, tomatoes. I’ve only scratched the surface. See Essential Equipment: Kitchen Slicer. Hey, maybe you’ll want to try one of those meals if you’re tired of leftovers.
Hot Broiled Sandwiches
Hot Broiled Sandwiches
Make this your own!! Make open-faced sandwiches, large or small or tiny appetizers
- Total Time: 15 to 20 minutes
- Yield: varies
- Category: Sandwiches
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- Bread component: bread of any kind, rolls, biscuits, leftovers or purchased
- Condiments of choice
- Thinly sliced Turkey or Ham, leftover or not
- Vegetables of choice
- Cheese of choice, something that melts well
See the body of the post for suggestions.
Instructions
Toast bread if soft, assemble sandwich in order. Line up so the sandwiches will be directly under the broiler.
Place rack so the top of the sandwich will be about 4 to 5 inches below the heating element. Broil on high until cheese is bubbly and browned in places.
Keywords: Bargain Meal of the Week, Bread, Cheese, Chicken, Ham, Kitchen Slicer, leftover Chicken, leftover ham, Leftovers, Sandwiches, Subway, Turkey, Turkey Leftovers
