The Best Fried-Eggplant Sandwich

Rather than frying the eggplant, bake per Cook's Illustrated Parmesan recipe. After salting & blotting dry, dredge in seasoned flour, then egg, then fresh breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese. Bake on oiled baking sheets at 425 for 30 minutes, flipping and rotating as needed. Crispy, crunchy and eggplanty, without being greasy. Approx. 3 tbs. oil per baking sheet is enough.

You'll have leftover beaten egg. Add some bread crumbs to it (and anything else you might like, like more cheese, cut up leftover veggies, bits of ham) and fry it in a pan with a little of that oil you cooked the eggplant in: frittata.

Broiling the eggplant is easier and much less fatty. Place slices on a cookie sheet and brush the slices, both sides, with olive oil. Broil until soft.

I'm a mayo freak so 2-3 tbl for 4 people isn't nearly enough. For this, I'd go with olive oil drizzle and a touch of balsamic vinegar. when I do eggplant (my Italian Aunts used to do this) I grill or bake first, lightly brushed w/ oil, then oven fry it (flour, egg, breadcrumb) on a cookie sheet, spraying it w/ olive oil from my atomizer. It gets just as crisp without it being a blotter for too much oil. Or , "erl" as an uncle used to say.

I took a look at the recipe and fell in love. Then, after pigging out, I decided to read the comments by others. I've never seen so many wannabe food cops. If you can't cook things so they taste good, then I'll cook for you. Just come to my house the next time you get all scared about something to do with a recipe, or change it up a bit. Just stop with the self appointed, holier than thou food policing. It just shows your ignorance. This was the best eggplant sandwich ever.

Yes easier and less fatty, but c'mon, this is about cooking the BEST fried-eggplant sandwich -- and not about skimping.

nix the beef for anchovies

Listen to Steve not this recipe:
" bake per Cook's Illustrated Parmesan recipe. After salting & blotting dry, dredge in seasoned flour, then egg, then fresh breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese. Bake on oiled baking sheets at 425 for 30 minutes, flipping and rotating as needed. Crispy, crunchy and eggplanty, without being greasy."

Thanks Steve.

Try provolone next time! Adds a nice smokiness to the sandwich.

For an authentic Italian touch swap out the roast beef for proscuto and drop the mayo dressing, use a olive oil and wine vinegar mix. Garnish with some basil leaves.

On the West Coast, away from the delis in metropolitan areas, it can be hard to find the hot cherry peppers. Instead, look for small cans of sliced, red jalapenos in escabeche. Not as hot as the green, with nice hint of sweetness and bite from the escabeche.

One should never fry using extra-virgin olive oil, as it has a very low smoke point, which is unhealthy. Much better to fry in vegetable, canola, or grapeseed oil!

Great recipe for eggplant Sam. Only surpassed by Gabrielle Hamilton's Sicilian mother in law's technique of dredging the raw slices in a mix of half bread crumbs and half flour before dipping in beaten egg and frying. The light and crispy, not greasy vegetable is great in both.

I've made great fried eggplant for years. Why did I follow this recipe? The eggplant was so oily, it was inedible. Recipe testers for Sam Sifton? Writer or chef? I wasted time and money on this recipe. It tasted like grease, with cherry peppers mixed in. Yuk!

I havent prepared this recipe but I do use eggplant frequently. I found a great hack where you slice the eggplant salt them and blot them - and then dip them in either beaten egg white or beaten whole egg ( your preference ) it is amazing how much less oil it absorb.
It gives it one extra layer of flavor and your recipes come out lovely with the great cooked soft luscious taste of eggplant with all without all that greasy over oiliness.