Ingredients
Milanesas
- 2 slicesof topside or eye round, beaten to 5 mm (about 180 g each, cut wider than the roll)
- 2eggs
- 3garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbspparsley, chopped
- 1 tspsalt
- ½ tsppepper
- 200 gfine dry breadcrumbs
- 600 mlsunflower oil
The bread
- 2pan frances or felipe rolls, about 25 cm, crusty outside and soft within
To build
- 4 tbspmayonnaise
- 6leaves of crisp lettuce
- 2tomatoes, sliced 4 mm and salted
- 1 tspdried oregano
- pickled chilli or salsa golf, optional
Directions
- Beat each slice out between sheets of film to an even 5 mm and slightly wider than the roll; a sanguche de milanesa is expected to hang out of the bread on both sides.
- Soak the cutlets in the eggs beaten with garlic, parsley, salt and pepper for at least 2 hours in the fridge, or overnight.
- Press each cutlet firmly into the breadcrumbs on both sides, pushing with the heel of the hand so the coating sets, and rest them on a rack for 10 minutes.
- Heat the oil to 170°C (350°F) in a wide pan and fry one cutlet at a time for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until deep gold and audibly crisp. Drain on a rack and salt immediately.
- Split the rolls lengthways without cutting all the way through, and warm them cut-side down in the empty pan or on the grill for 30 seconds so the crumb toasts and resists the juices.
- Spread mayonnaise on both cut faces, right to the ends of the roll.
- Lay in the lettuce first as a barrier, then the hot milanesa folded to fit, then the salted tomato and a pinch of oregano over the top.
- Close it, press it once with the flat of the hand, wrap the bottom half in paper and eat immediately, standing up, before the crust of the milanesa gives in to the mayonnaise.
Technique
- Lettuce under the meat and tomato above it is not fussiness; it keeps the base of the roll dry and is how kiosk and rotiseria cooks build it.
- Frying at 170°C (350°F) in enough oil to float the cutlet is what makes a shatteringly crisp milanesa. Shallow frying in a thin film gives a pale, greasy coating.
- This is the classic bus-station and late-night sandwich of Argentina and Tucuman claims it especially loudly. It is deliberately oversized: the meat is supposed to overhang the bread.
Substitutions
- Chicken breast, butterflied and beaten, makes the equally common sanguche de milanesa de pollo; aubergine slices work for a meatless version.
Variations
- Completo adds a fried egg, cheese and roasted pepper to the build.
- In Tucuman the sandwich is often dressed with salsa golf, the local ketchup-and-mayonnaise sauce credited to Luis Federico Leloir.
History
Sold from bars and kiosks everywhere; the milanesa itself arrived with Italian immigrants.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sánguche de milanesa?
Sánguche de milanesa is a street food from Argentina: breaded steak in a crusty roll with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Sold from bars and kiosks everywhere; the milanesa itself arrived with Italian immigrants.
How long does Sánguche de milanesa take to make?
Sánguche de milanesa takes 25 min plus 2 hr marinating of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 large sandwiches. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Sánguche de milanesa?
Yes, within limits. Chicken breast, butterflied and beaten, makes the equally common sanguche de milanesa de pollo; aubergine slices work for a meatless version.
