Chef notes
My friend's mom made these sandwiches famous in my hometown. Her name was Lucy, and so they are known in my kitchen as "Lucy's Ham Sandwiches." Lucy passed away far too young from Alzheimer's, but she lives on in a million ways — this delicious, crowd-pleasing sandwich being one of them. It's truly the perfect game-day snack.
Prep tip: I like to use disposable baking dishes for easy clean up, and for the fact that I am almost always transporting these sandwiches to some sort of football tailgate.
Technique tip: Sweet Hawaiian buns are easy to slice all at once as long as you use a long serrated knife and you don't pull them apart before cutting.
Swap option: If you're not a fan of Swiss cheese, really any alternative would work well. You can also experiment with sliced turkey or roast beef.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 package small sweet Hawaiian buns
- 1 pound sliced ham
- 1 pound sliced Swiss cheese
Preparation
1.In a medium saucepan, bring butter, dry mustard, Worcestershire, brown sugar and poppy seeds to a boil in a saucepan. Lower heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Set aside.
2.Slice buns in half and assemble sandwiches by adding desired amounts of ham and cheese. Place in a small baking dish (it helps if they fit snugly in there) and pour sauce all over, using a spatula to make sure they are all coated. Cover with foil and let marinate in fridge for at least one hour, or overnight.
3.When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325ºF.
4.Bake sandwiches for 10 minutes covered and another 10 minutes uncovered.
