What Makes a Perfect Muffuletta?
As is true of any beloved regional specialty, the muffuletta inspires fierce debate. The New Orleans–born sandwich, usually comprising a thick stack of cold cuts, cheese, and chopped olive salad, has inspired numerous variations, both in its hometown and beyond.
People tend to be provincial and particular about their muffuletta preferences. Chef David Guas, a Louisiana native who operates Bayou Bakery in Arlington, Virginia and hosts the Travel Channel show “American Grilled,” rarely eats versions made by other shops. “I’m very critical of other sandwiches,” Guas told us. “Ninety percent of the time I’m disappointed.”
He walked us through the renditions out there that he thinks are worth knowing (including, of course, his own) here.
The muffuletta at Central Grocery. Photo credit: thepumpernickel/Instagram
The Original. Sicilian immigrant Salvatore Lupo, owner of a modest Italian goods shop called Central Grocery, invented the muffuletta in 1906.
Lupo’s shop still sits in the French Quarter, a block from the muddy Mississippi River, where one can buy fat, frisbee-sized sandwiches stuffed with slices of Genoa salami, mortadella, ham, Emmentaler, and a coarsely-chopped salad of green olives, celery, cauliflower, carrots, onions, peppers, capers, olive oil, vinegar, spices, and garlic. (Phew!) The sandwich, which is made with a flat, round loaf covered in sesame seeds, is made ahead of time, sliced into quarters, and served at room temperature.
Liuzza’s “Frenchuletta.” Photo credit: elanafarley/Flickr
The “Frenchuletta.” A few miles from Central Grocery is Liuzza’s Restaurant and Bar, which serves up a different, so-called “French” take on the classic. French bread replaces the traditional Italian round, and the whole thing is served piping hot.
The muffuletta at Cochon Butcher. Photo credit: Alex Van Buren.
The Artisanal Sandwich. "I have two problems with most muffulettas," Donald Link, the chef at Cochon Butcher in New Orleans, told Garden and Gun last year. ”They have too much bread, and the meat is cheap.”
That’s why the muffuletta at Cochon comes stuffed with house-cured capicola, mortadella, and salami, and the bread—a round loaf covered in sesame seeds—is light and fluffy. The olive salad is a briny mix of an astonishing 15 ingredients including onions, celery, green onions, cauliflower, and garlic. Like the Frenchuletta, Cochon’s version arrives at the table hot. (Take a look at the recipe here.)
Photo credit: thepumpernickel/Tumblr
The Out-of-Towner. David Guas’s own Bayou Bakery muffuletta is a cross between the original Central Grocery version and the Frenchuletta, although it’s scaled down to a more manageable size.
Like the Frenchuletta, Bayou Bakery’s muffuletta is toasted and served hot. A local Latino bakery makes the Italian sesame seed roll, and the meat is a traditional mix of salami, mortadella, and smoked ham. Guas swaps out the traditional Emmenthaler for a sharp provolone, and finely grinds his olive salad using Kalamata and Spanish queen olives, red onions, carrots, parsley, and red wine vinegar—making it more like a tapenade.
One trick Guas always uses? He makes his bread a day in advance. “That really is the important part because [the bread] absorbs the oil from the olive salad,” he explained.
One can also locate muffuletta in cities from New York City to San Francisco, which are home to more variations than we can count, and although folks like Guas tend to pick a favorite and stick to it, we see no reason to take sides.
Why not start with a traditional recipe—and then riff on it? The consequences could be delicious.
