Philadelphia, Pennsylvania not Tennessee, is my home town, this is where the hoagie was born. It is not a sub neither a hero, nor a Po-boy. This is a sandwich inspired by blue-collar lunch eaters who typically had Italian salumi, usually prosciutto ham, Genoa salami, and capicolla (or gabagool) with the standard sandwich veggies along with some olive oil and vinegar. To me, salt, pepper, and oregano are also important components of this sandwich. More information about the hoagie can be found here.

In a space in time, a lifetime ago, I used to walk Zorba, our gorgeous black Great Dane to the pizza shop down the street from our house in Germantown. I was forbidden to work there by my mom. I actually think she used the word verboten! But I needed some cash even at 14; you know, for all the important things that 14 year old young men need: sneakers, movie trips, sneakers, khakis, sneakers, and lots and lots of vinyl. I was an aspiring DJ then, now semi-retired.

Anyways…

I would sneak to the shop and chain Zorba in the back to the market shopping cart that temporarily held the soda (or pop) prior to moving it to the cases out front. While Zorba would be content with some Italian sausage graciously provide by Eric, the owner, I began my youthful food business career by dicing the onions. I could peel and dice a 20 pound bag of onions in about enough time it took to walk the dog. That’s right, a 20 pound bag of onions in 20 minutes. I really only had to peel and halve them as the dicing was done by a machine.

I thought I was fooling mom. But, um… I was cutting ONIONS! She caught on to me due to the smell (wouldn’t you have) and just she just let it go. I mean, why not. Here was her boy, willing to lie to work! She let me be. I found out 10 years later that she knew all along.

So here we have one of our famous sandwiches: the Italian hoagie. In my opinion, a sandwich is made (or lost) with the bread. The largest hurdle for anyone not in the Philadelphia area attempting to make a cheesesteak or a hoagie is that they don’t have an Amoroso roll. There is more information I will bring to you later when I post about cheesesteaks, but in the meantime, let’s construct an Italian hoagie, shall we?

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Since I don’t have an Amoroso roll, and I refuse to pay for them to be shipped as they spoil really quickly, I used a soft deli roll from my local supermarket, Publix. A wheat roll, no less. These are okay for substitutions. A good soft roll is what you want.

What you’ll need for this sandwich:

Deli sandwich roll
Mayonnaise (don’t know how much, that’s up to you)
Italian Dressing
Smoked ham
Genoa salami
Capicolla (or gabagool - I used Boar’s Head hot cappy)
Provolone cheese
Ripe tomato
Shredded lettuce
Red onion
salt, pepper, oregano to your taste.

Start by slicing the bread almost in half. Then pinch and roll some of the internal bread (called “gutting the roll").

Spread mayonnaise and layer the cheese, 3 slices.

Layer the ham, salami, and gabagool.

Add the onions. I also like to use hot banana peppers, but that is up to you.

Add thinly sliced tomatoes and dust with salt, pepper and oregano.

Top with shredded lettuce and another dusting of salt, pepper, and oregano. Drizzle with the dressing.

Slice in half, add chips, and turn on the football playoffs. That’s what we did!