How To Cook With A Sandwich Press: Tips And Easy Recipes
While we all love a toastie, the humble sandwich press can do so much more.
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The toastie is an Australian icon; two pieces of bread, buttered on the outside, gently grilled to crusty, golden perfection, filled with cheese and an infinite roster of changeable additional fillings.
Few home kitchens, work kitchens and cafes in the country don’t have an overworked jaffle maker or sandwich press tucked somewhere toward the front of the cupboard, within close enough to reach to grab whenever the urge for a toasted ham, cheese and tomato sandwich strikes.
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The toastie, too, has become a symbol for our national culinary inventiveness, with every kitchen boasting their own house specialty: maybe leftover sausages with cheese and chutney, tinned spaghetti with a good shave of parmesan, or slices of turkey breast with camembert and cranberry sauce.
And while, as a nation, we’ve already explored the flexibility of the toasted sandwich, the device we use to cook it on is just as versatile. The flat, easy to clean, non-stick cooking surface with its gentle, even heat can be used for so much more than toasties.
Whether you’re at work, at a campsite, or anywhere else without a stove, or you just don’t want to get the whole kitchen dirty, these are a few of our favourite recipes that work just as well – if not even better – on a sandwich press than they do on a frying pan.
All recipes were made using the Breville Toast & Melt 2 Slice Sandwich Press, $65, from Amazon.
Sandwich Press Pancakes Recipe Perfect For Kids
Making pancakes as a family is a delightful way to start a weekend, the joy of watching those bubbles appear in the surface of the batter as they cook almost as enjoyable as that first maple syrup-drowned bite.
Finding and holding the right temperature to cook a batch of pancakes on the stove can be tricky, so it’s fortuitous that we’ve already got a device in the kitchen that cooks perfect pancakes every time, no matter how tall the stack.
‘Just add water’ shakers of pancake mix are quick and easy, but for those who prefer making them from scratch, here’s our favourite recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup warm (not hot) milk
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 egg
Method
Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones and combine well, but don’t over-mix (stirring too much will result in flat pancakes).
Let the batter sit for two minutes, then switch on the sandwich press. Fill a ¼ cup measuring cup with batter and pour onto the press. Cook the pancakes 1-3 at a time, depending on the size of your sandwich press.
Once the top of the pancakes are covered in holes and the batter no longer looks wet – about 4 minutes – use a plastic, wood or rubber spatula (not metal) to flip the pancake. Cook for another 90 seconds, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, and serve with butter, maple syrup, fruit, bacon or however you like your pancakes.
Easy Sandwich Press Breakfast Muffins Recipe
Thanks to a certain golden-arched American burger chain, the breakfast muffin has become an Australian favourite; the combination of either bacon or pork sausage, egg and cheese stuffed into the tidy, grilled muffin making it the perfect handheld brekkie indulgence.
This stacked muffin can be whipped up in minutes, using nothing but your sandwich press, and can be customised to include bacon, sausage or both!
Ingredients
- 2 English muffins, split in half
- 2 plain pork BBQ sausages
- 4 rashers of bacon, cut into 8cm lengths
- 2 slices burger cheese
- Tomato sauce, tomato relish or BBQ sauce
Method
Place the 4 muffin halves face down on the sandwich press, leaving the lid open, and toast for 4-5 minutes or until browned on one side. You won’t need to flip them and toast the other side, as they should be soft on top and warm throughout.
Squeeze the meat from the sausage casings and roll it into two balls. Flatten the meat into patties slightly larger than the muffins (they will shrink when cooked) then place them on the hot sandwich press and fry until a brown crust forms on one side. Flip the patties using a wooden or rubber spatula, then place a slice of burger cheese on the cooked side of each patty as the other side browns so it begins to melt slightly.
Spread one half of the muffin with your chosen sauce or relish, then place a sausage and cheese patty on each. Wipe any sausage grease from the sandwich with paper towel, then
fry the bacon.
Divide the bacon between the two patty-topped muffins, then cook the egg in a well-greased egg ring, flipping once the top has set.
Add the egg to the muffin, top with the lid and enjoy!
Simple Sandwich Press Zucchini Fritter Recipe
These light, savoury fritters packed with grated zucchini make it easy (and delicious) to get an extra daily veggie hit, and are cooked up very quickly and easily on the sandwich press.
Perfect for breakfast or lunch, and just as delicious cold as they are hot, these fritters are versatile and delicious.
Ingredients
- 400g grated zucchini (approx. 2 large zucchinis)
- ½ brown onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup plain flour
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 2 tsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Optional: 2 rashers middle bacon, diced
Method
Combine the ingredients very well in a large bowl. Preheat the sandwich press and use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to pour two dollops of the mix onto the press at a time (or more for larger sandwich presses.
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Cook the fritters for 4-5 minutes, or until browned, then flip using a plastic, wood or silicon spatula and heat the other side for another 4 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a grind of black pepper and a sprinkling of chopped chives. Add a poached egg for a delicious brunch dish.
Tristan Lutze is a recipe creator, restaurant reviewer, and food and travel writer. As well as News.com.au, he contributes to Delicious, Qantas magazine, Gourmet Traveller and Broadsheet, and is a regular guest on ABC Radio. He shares his farming and culinary adventures on Instagram at @tristancooksandeats.
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