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Smoked Sausage Sandwiches with Beer-Braised Onions

Source of Recipe

From "Emeril's Kicked-Up Sandwiches" by Emeril Lagasse


Recipe Introduction

"Ante up, folks. This is *the* sandwich for poker night at your place. You get your cards in one hand and a sandwich in the other...and bet on the beer-braised onions — they're smokin'."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 4 tablespoons (½ stick), at room temperature
â—¦ 8 cups thinly sliced onion
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon salt
â—¦ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ One 12-ounce bottle American-style lager
â—¦ 1 pound smoked sausage
â—¦ 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
â—¦ 8 slices Muenster cheese
â—¦ 1 loaf French bread, about 22 inches long, cut into four 5 ½-inch sections, each split horizontally
â—¦ Mayonnaise, homemade or store-bought
â—¦ Whole-grain mustard
â—¦ Spicy dill pickles


Recipe

Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Mound the onion in the skillet and add the salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring as needed, for 10 minutes, or until the onion is softened and lightly caramelized around the edges. Add the beer and cook for 25 minutes longer, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the onion is very soft and flavorful. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the onion to cool slightly.

Cut the smoked sausage in lengths to fit the bread; then halve the sausage pieces lengthwise. Oil a grill pan with the vegetable oil and heat it over high heat. Add the sausages and grill until the casings are blistered and crisp and the sausages are heated through. Transfer the sausages to a plate and immediately lay the cheese slices on top, so that the cheese softens.

Butter the insides of the bread, using 1 tablespoon of the softened butter for each sandwich. In batches, add the bread to the grill pan, buttered side down, and cook until crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and spread mayonnaise on one side and mustard on the other. Add the sausages and cheese, mound with the onion, and garnish with pickles. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 sandwiches