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Close up square image of sandwich cut showing layers on plate.
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TikTok Grinder Sandwich

This popular meat and cheese packed TikTok Grinder Sandwich is a must with the tomato, lettuce, and spices, all ready to go in a half hour!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time13 minutes
Total Time28 minutes
Course: Sandwiches
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 809kcal
Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

For the sandwich:

  • 16 ounce Italian loaf of bread
  • ½ pound medium sliced deli provolone cheese
  • ½ pound thinly sliced deli boiled ham
  • ¼ pound thinly sliced deli Soppressata
  • ¼ pound thinly sliced deli Genoa salami
  • 6 thinly sliced deli pepperoni

For the Grinder Salad:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup sliced pepperoncini
  • ¼ medium red onion thinly sliced
  • 1 head iceberg lettuce shredded

For assembly:

  • 2 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 1 beefsteak tomato sliced
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and cut the bread in half and place it on a sheet tray cut side up. Then, remove most of the inside of the bread leaving about ½ inch of the bread. Add half of the provolone to each side and place in the oven until melted, or for about 5 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and layer the ham over one half of the sub, and layer the soppressata on the other side.
  • Top the ham with the salami and the soppressata with the pepperoni.
  • Place the sandwich back in the oven to heat the meats through and toast the bread for 5 minutes.
  • While the sandwich is baking, make the grinder salad. Whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, garlic, pepper, oregano, chili flakes, and salt together until combined.
  • Add the pepperoncini and red onion to the mix, and stir around in the dressing until coated.
  • Add the lettuce to the mixture, and use tongs to toss it in the dressing to coat and set it aside.
  • Sprinkle the sub with ¼ of the parmesan cheese.
  • Next, add tomato slices.
  • Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add some of the grinder salad to the sandwich. Top with the remaining parmesan cheese.
  • Add the top half of the sandwich over the bottom half. Gently press down.
  • Cut into wedges and serve with more of the grinder salad on the side with chips for dipping, if desired.

Notes

  1. Feel free to switch out meats and cheeses to your liking, some great suggestions are shared above. I do recommend thinly slicing the meat and layering it in a “fluffy” way as described in the video, it is more enjoyable to eat that way instead of just layers of meat packed on each other.
  2. I always use fresh-cut Boar’s Head meat and cheese for my sandwiches and anything calling for deli meat but use whatever you like
  3. The rest of the recipe that is not the salad is a basic way to build an Italian sub for a crowd. We love to go all out with our party subs and use a lot of meat and different varieties. If you don’t want as much meat, then use half from the recipe.
  4. If you want more bread, you don't have to remove as much in the beginning, it just makes it easier to pile everything in without feeling like it's too hard to take a bite.
  5. I love using a crusty large Italian bread topped with sesame seeds for an extra layer of flavor, again use whatever bread you like. Foccacia or plain Italian bread works too.
  6. The grinder salad is definitely the star of this sub. If you don’t like pepperoncini you can sub with banana peppers or another pickled vegetable, this is what really gives a pop to the salad.
  7. The salad portion can also be used as a dip or salad on its own.
  8. You can also sub the sweet onion for red onion.
  9. I don't recommend freezing this but you can refrigerate the leftovers. 
  10.  

Nutrition

Calories: 809kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 62g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1839mg | Potassium: 587mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 1068IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 330mg | Iron: 3mg