If you’ve been following me for awhile, you are well aware that I have a sandwich named after me in San Francisco (and now several other cities) at the sandwich shop Ike’s Place. It’s the Jaymee Sirewich. It’s messy, it’s fatty, it’s probably your full caloric intake for the day, and it is glorious.
I need to give my friend Adam Littlefield major props for this even coming to fruition. One day after a Giants day game back in 2011, I was having lunch with him and our other friend Mandy. The subject of the beloved sandwich shop came up in conversation, and he said “You should have a sandwich at Ike’s.” I scoffed at the idea, but Adam followed up by tweeting at Ike from one of our work Twitter accounts. Ike immediately responded, and the beginnings of the Sirewich was born. (You can read more about the process for selecting my sandwich ingredients here.)
Fast forward to 2020 and the global pandemic we are all experiencing. I have been hosting various IG Live cooking demos most nights, and Justin and I have lots of time on our hands. One follower made the Sirewich at home, and it got me thinking… why don’t WE make it as well? I can attest that yesterday’s recipe testing was one of the most delicious ones in recent memory. We made almost every component of this sandwich from scratch. If I wrote out everything, it would be the longest recipe of all time. Instead, I’m simply providing all of the components with links to corresponding recipes and also ideas for shortcuts in case you don’t have the same patience or ambition as we do.
BREAD: When ordering a sandwich at Ike’s, you have the choice of several different types of bread. I would say the most popular is “Dutch Crunch,” which is also known as Tiger Bread. It’s essentially just regular bread with this crispy topping that is made from rice flour, sugar, yeast and oil. We used this recipe and I also found this one, which is similar. For the bread itself, Justin just used the milk bread recipe he’s been perfecting during quarantine and topped it with the Dutch Crunch topping. So if you have a bread recipe you love, just top it with the rice flour/yeast mixture and bake!
SHORTCUT: Just go buy some rolls at the store or a local bakery! If you can’t find Dutch Crunch, sourdough is also a very popular option at Ike’s. However, any sandwich roll will probably do!
FRIED CHICKEN: Homemade fried chicken really elevates this at-home version of the Sirewich. I recommend my fried chicken strip recipe, minus the honey. We kept ours in a 200 degree oven to keep them warm during the frying process. Tonight, I plan to re-heat them in the air fryer before our IG Live.
SHORTCUT: Frozen chicken strips would totally work here!
DIRTY SAUCE: If you’ve been to Ike’s, you know that his signature “dirty sauce” comes standard on all sandwiches, and it’s highly top secret. I do not expect Ike to share this with me, so I’m just riffing here. I do know it’s some sort of garlic aioli, so I just mixed together mayo, garlic granules, cayenne, a splash of pickle juice and a squeeze of Mike’s Hot Honey. The other thing they do at Ike’s is spread this on the bread and run it through the broiler BEFORE building the sandwich. I recommend the air fryer, but you could just run it under your oven broiler for a little bit if you don’t have one.
SHORTCUT: No major shortcut here, but if you could always just use plain mayo.
GOLDEN BBQ SAUCE: While picking out ingredients for my sandwich, Ike had just received a new product: Golden BBQ Sauce (essentially a Carolina-style mustard based BBQ sauce.) Mine was the first at Ike’s to feature this tangy sauce. You can recreate at home by combining yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey, brown sugar, and spices. I’m including the recipe below if you want to try your hand at it! (You likely have most of these ingredients already.)
SHORTCUT: Just buy some! I can personally attest that New Primal has a great mustard BBQ product that’s actually made with no added sugars, so it’s on the healthier side. (If you order this or the ranch dressing from their website, make sure to use code JAYMEE for 15% off!)
RANCH DRESSING: Ike’s sandwiches are famously messy, so it’s no surprise the Sirewich features not one, but TWO sauces. I love this new product: New Primal Classic Ranch Dressing. (Again, use code JAYMEE for 15% off.)
CHEESE: Any sandwich with my name on it MUST include cheese, and in this case, pepper jack cheese! Any pepper jack will do, but if you want to get extra spicy, check out the habanero cheddar (called Wickedly Habanero) from Cabot to kick it up a notch. After toasting the dirty sauce into the bread, add the chicken and top it with cheese. Then, return it to the air fryer to melt the cheese onto the chicken before adding the sauces and lettuce. (Again, this can be done under your oven broiler or in a toaster oven if you don’t have an air fryer.)
LETTUCE: All Ike’s sandwiches come with lettuce and tomato (but I always get no tomato on mine.) Of course, add it if you like tomatoes on your sandwich! You can also add red onions, jalapeños, pickles or banana peppers.
From there, slice in half and enjoy! (Preferably with some kettle chips and a caramel apple sucker like you get at Ike’s!) If you try making the Jaymee Sirewich, please comment below or tag me on social media so I can see!
Bring the addicting flavors of the famous Ike's Place Jaymee Sirewich home to your own kitchen. FOR JAYMEE SIREWICH Split roll in half lengthwise. Spread with dirty sauce. Broil or air fry for 1-2 minutes, or until dirty sauce has "baked into bread." Top bottom of roll with fried chicken and pepper jack cheese. Place back in air fryer or toaster oven or under oven broiler until cheese is melted. Drizzle with golden BBQ sauce and ranch dressing and top with shredded lettuce and any other sandwich toppings you like. Add top of the roll and cut in half. Enjoy! FOR IKE'S DIRTY SAUCE Mix all ingredients and adjust for taste. Refrigerate until ready to use. FOR GOLDEN BBQ SAUCE Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat over medium until sugars are dissolved and mixture has reduced slightly. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.Ike's Place Jaymee Sirewich
(21 votes, average: 3.71 out of 5)
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