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Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe

Danno 17 July 2005 Recipes 29,757 views 32 CommentsPrint This Post Print This Post Email This Post Email This Post
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In my humble opinion, the Central Grocery’s Muffuletta is the best. It’s the standard that all other Muffulettas should strive to emulate! There are a lot of bad ones in the city. The one at Napoleon House is pretty good, it’s a heated version with a more finely chopped olive salad. They use Pastrami on their version, I’m not crazy about that part, but it’s pretty good. Pretty good, but like all others, it’s no Central Grocery.
I watched Emeril Live the other night, Mario Batali was a guest, and Emeril made a Muffuletta. Now, the meats and cheeses he used looked phenomenal, his olive salad looked great, but then he came to the bread. He used a nice looking loaf of bread, but it was obviously too much of a rustic loaf for a Muffuletta, I like something a little lighter for the Muffuletta (with sesame seeds of course), but I guess I can live with that part. But then… he cuts the bread, right, and out of nowhere (dramatic pause) he plunges his meat hooks into it and digs out all of the wonderful center of the bread on both sides and discards it! I almost fell out of my chair! My skin is crawling just thinking about it. The moral of the story is this:

Don’t do that. It makes my skin crawl. Unless of course you like it that way, then to hell with me.

Back to the recipe, I make a pretty good Muffuletta, but I’ll be honest, it’s no Central Grocery, but it’s pretty darned good. The quality bread, as I just emphasized is important, you need about a 10 inch round loaf with a good coarse texture, and a nice crust (not too hard) and sesame seeds. Here is my recipe, with a deep, humble bow to Central Grocery:

My Muffuletta



1 10″ round loaf Italian bread with Sesame seeds My Recipe
1 Recipe Olive Salad
1/4 lb Genoa Salami (Oldani is the best, and I’m relatively certain it’s what CG uses)
1/4 lb Hot Capicola (this is my spin, you can use regular Ham.)
1/4 lb Mortadella (I use San Danielle)
1/8 lb Sliced Mozzarella
1/8 lb Provolone

Assembly:
Cut the bread in half length wise.
Brush both sides with the oil from your 1 week old Olive Salad, go a little heavier on the bottom.
Layer half of the Oldani on the bottom half of the bread. Then the Mortadella. Then the Mozzarella, then the Capicola, Provolone, and the remainder of Oldani. Top this with the olive salad. Put the lid on and press it down without smashing the bread. Quarter it. You’ve just created pure heaven.

Serves: 4 light eaters, 2 hungry hangovers or one bad to the bone eating machine!

From Nola Cuisine

My Other New Orleans Sandwich Recipes:

Roast Beef Po’ Boy with Debris Gravy Recipe

Related Posts:

Central Grocery

32 Comments »

  1. now ya went and did it. . . muffs are my fave sandwich, (next to a sloppy roast beast po-boy, of course). and you are dead on about central’s sammies, they are still the best in town. they do ‘em all great.
    we’re gonna have to try this out next week while s.a. is laid up and off of work, a muff is too much for her to handle and make work the next day.
    oh, and the new site looks very clean, sorta like a very good resturant’s kitchen.

  2. Thanks M.A., Still working out some bugs and the facelift. The sloppy roast beef Po’ Boys are great, with pan debris, I like the one at Mother’s.

  3. I had my first experience with the muffuletta this weekend when I visited my Friend in New Orleans. One of our firsts stops was to Central’s Grocery to try a muff. Man, I mean what can I say?? It was amazing. We were going to stop back by on monday before we left to grab some for the road, but they were closed. They did tell us that they are very short-handed and that may have been why they were closed, but yeah…. CG is hiring if anyone needs a job… haha…. and thanks for the recipe bc i’m dying for another and it broke my heart that they were closed.

  4. Danno,
    Absolutely love your website, my new one is under construction right now, should be done shortly. Drop me an address and I’ll send you a copy of one of my cookbooks. Who should I sign it for? Keep up the great work. Thanks – Chef Joe!

  5. I saw Rachel Ray eating a muffuletta from central grocery on $40 a Day last week. Came across your blog and made your recipe this weekend. Fabulous! The bread turned out perfect and the olive salad was incredible. Thanks.

  6. My absolute pleasure Kathy! Nice work, it looks absolutely gorgeous! Now I am just starving for a Muffuletta.

    Here is the link:

    http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/2006/09/11/muffuletta/

  7. I’m from New Orlean’s and have eaten many Muffs. Central Grocery’s Muffuletta may be the original, but by far it is NOT the best. The bread is very good, that is always important to a great sandwich, but their olive salad is very weak in taste. I’m sure the meats and cheeses are good, but Central’s stinginess will leave you tasting mostly bread.

    On a scale from 1 to 10, I give Central’s Muff a low 5.

  8. I grew up in Slidell and I will have to admit that the Central grocery was first with the muff, but (in my opinion) not the best. I have lived in Atlanta since I was 18 and have not been back to Central since I was 12 years old. Our local pizza place in Slidell delivered quality muffs to your front door. Imagine if Domino’s Pizza did that? It would probably suck, but imagine if it was as good as Central’s muff.
    Pre-Katrina I would always go to Frank’s place next door. This has been my wife’s, friends’ and my destination on every trip. I usually eat a muff there twice in every visit.
    I really need to figure out the bread. That is the real key to this sandwich (also the PoBoy). It is the one thing I have yet to get correct.

    BTW: This site awesome! PLEASE, keep up the good work!

  9. Your Muffuletta Look’s great!
    I’m going to have a look around on you site.
    See what dish is going to make my table in the near future.
    Thanks.
    Kazer
    food.kntnetworks.com

  10. Wow, Danno. What can I say? I expected your recipe to be good, but I was floored by how well it tasted like Central Grocery’s. The olive salad tastes like I picked it up in the French Quarter this morning. Here’s my success with your recipe — I still can’t believe how well it came out. Thank you, thank you!

  11. w/out question my all-time favorite sammich, it sits alone atop all others
    and the Central Grocery is the only place I long to head back to every year for a sammich…the sights, sounds of New Orleans are a second thought to that sammich

  12. Two Questions
    1. When marinating olive salad for a week, in the fridge or out?
    2. How long does the olive salad last after it marinates for 1 week?

  13. Wow! I’m currently living in Japan and the thought of Central Grocery brings tears to my eyes. I beg stole and borrowed for a jar of olive relish from Central Grocery and with your bread recipe and suggested meats, I am on cloud nine. Thanks!

  14. I actually went to central grocery and ate that EXACT sandwich four years ago, before i went vegetarian. and to this day it remains the BEST sandwich i have EVER had.

    thumbs up!!

  15. I like mine made with a focaccia type bread rather than something more rustic, and fo sho don’t dig out the soft middles.
    Yum!

  16. [...] the Muffuletta, you don’t hear as much about the Italian and Sicilian immigrant contribution to Creole [...]

  17. Found your recipe and brought the awesomeness to my Water Melon Festival party in Carytown, Richmond Virginia. I have been missing these so. I do, however, have a great time saving tip. If you’re lucky enough to have a Jason’s Deli in your part of the world Jason’s will sell you the bread, for pretty cheap too. Jason’s has the bread brought in from New Orleans and it’s the real deal. Pick up some Boscoli olive mix on your next trip down south to keep on hand and you’re good to go.

  18. Help Me! (760 ) — 646 — 9997.

  19. I have tried to find a muffaloto recipe and till now have not found one. This is complete with the bread. Thank you so much. It is hard to be away from Louisiana and the good food I love so much. You say some of the names and the people look at you like you’ve lost your mind.with these recipes I can make my own , and if others want to partake great, if not there loss. Thank again now I found this web sight I know where to look. myrna

  20. I was born and raised in Louisiana. One of my favorite childhood memories is of sharing a Muff with my family after Sunday service at least once a month.
    Alas, I have unfortunate news to pass along – the Muffuletta has become extinct in SWLA!
    THANK GAWD for your recipe!!
    I do prefer to have my bread slightly toasted on the inside so the olive mixture doesn’t make the bread soggy. I also much prefer pastrami, but BOTH pastrami and salami make it DELICIOUS. I also put the completed sandwich (only a quarter of the sandwich will fit…LOL!) in a sandwich press just for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese and heat the olive salad a bit. For those of you that prefer the nuke machine – microwave for about 10-15 seconds.
    Merci beaucoup pour la recette! Bon appétit!

  21. [...] Muffulettas ~ Muffuletta Sandwich [...]

  22. [...] Beef Po Boy with Debris Gravy Recipe Shrimp Po Boy Recipe Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe Domilise’s Po Boy & [...]

  23. [...] to confirm, they are in fact open for business. Central Grocery is, of course, famous for their Muffuletta, which IMHO, is the best one in the city. Very good [...]

  24. I lived in New Orleans for eight years in the eighties. My mouth has been watering for a Napolean House Muffuletta for years. I wish there was some way to have them just ship it to me here in Minnesota. If not, I will pursue making it as close as I can with the help of your fabulous recipe. Thanks!

  25. [...] a great Muffuletta should, a great mix of Genoa Salami, Mortadella, Ham, Mozzarella, Provolone (my Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe), a wonderful chunky Olive Salad made with Sicilian Olives just crushed, not chopped, Gardiniera, [...]

  26. Best muffuletta ever and I made it! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  27. I worked at USCG Base New Orleans on the Industrial Canal from 1969 until 1972. I used to get my muffuletta at a place right across Decatur from the Market (i.e. Cafe Dumont & Morning Call). I could see the huge cooking vat for the olive sauce in the window. It was very good, and I could only eat about a half a sandwich. Anyway, I went back to NOLA before Katrina, and it was still there.

    Where St. Claude Ave. becomes Rampart, there is (or was) a place where you could get some delicious po boys. They made the best Roast Beef & Gravy PoBoy. It was called “The Hole In The Wall.” And that is exactly what it was, very small, but they knew what they were doing.

  28. [...] adapted from Nola Cuisine [...]

  29. All this nonsense about the Central Grocery; Was there last week. First place was not busy. Second, trying to get a sandwich was a chore. Third, the bread was dryed out, if there was 25% of the meat and cheese on my sandiwich that is shown in the picture, I might have been happy, but there wasn’t. The only good thing I can say about CG is it smelled pretty good.
    Bill
    PS: Want a great Mufalletta? GO TO JOHNNY’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  30. Umm.. I’m kinda sad.. I spent all week looking forward to making this sandwich on the weekend.. and.. it’s not that great! :( i followed the recipe exactly, but.. I don’t know why it was a disappointment.

  31. a great place to get a muffuletta on the westbank is cheateau po-boys they rock it!!!!!

  32. I loved this sandwich – but I ran into a problem. I made the olive salad (which was heaven!) but I had trouble baking the bread. I’ve made bread and rolls before so I didn’t think I’d have a problem. Trouble is I couldn’t get the bread to rise enough. The finished product was flaky and tasty but not high enough to slice open for a sandwich. What am I doing wrong?

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