Sandwichitos de Mezcla (Puerto Rican Party Sandwiches)
Servings: 40 servings (2 triangles each)
Calories: 80kcal
Sandwichitos de Mezcla (Puerto Rican Party Sandwiches) are crustless tea sandwiches with a creamy cheese and meat filling. They are the perfect party food and a staple at any Puerto Rican party, shower, celebration, or gathering.Inactive prep time includes chilling the filling and sandwiches for 1 1/2 hours, which is recommended but not required.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 12 ounce can (340 grams) canned ham
- 15 ounce jar (425 grams) cheese dip (cheez whiz)
- 8 ounce (226 grams) cream cheese at room temperature
- 6 ounces (190 grams) roasted red peppers a 12-ounce (340 grams) jar, drained, liquid reserved, and rough chopped if you purchased whole, jarred peppers
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) granulated garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon adobo optional
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper optional
- 40 slices (2 20-ounce or 1.1 kilograms) white sandwich bread
Optional Garnish
- whole manzanilla olives
Instructions
Make the Mezcla Filling (Begin at least 1 hour and 45 minutes before serving)
- Add luncheon meat cubes to a food processor (or blender) and pulse it 5 times (10 in a blender). Stop the food processor and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Pulse the ham 5 more times or until it resembles crumbles.
- Next, add the drained red peppers to the food processor, room-temperature cream cheese, cheese sauce, granulated garlic powder, adobo, and black pepper to the food processor.Blend the ingredients in the food processor for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl again. Blend the mixture for another 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes or until it is fluffy and resembles a thick dip.
Chill the Mezcla for 30 Minutes
- Scrape the filling into a medium bowl to make using it easier. The filling is ready to use immediately after you make it, but I recommend refrigerating it to allow the flavors to meld together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 minutes.
Assemble the Sandwichitos
- Place a slice of sandwich bread on a flat surface. Use an offset spatula to spread about 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling mixture onto a slice of bread.
- Lay the top slice of bread to complete the sandwich. Press down lightly to ensure it's sticking. Continue making the sandwiches until you use up all of the slices.
Cut the Sandwichitos and Chill, Then Serve
- Assemble the sandwichitos de mezcla about an hour before you plan to serve them.
- Use a chef's knife to remove just the brown crusts from each sandwich. Use your knife to cut each sandwich into four triangles by making a diagonal cut across the square and a second cut across the first.
- Wipe the knife blade off after each sandwich so you don't have orange filling on your sandwiches. Continue cutting the sandwiches until all are triangular.
- Arrange the sandwiches on a platter or serving tray and cover them lightly but completely in plastic film. Store sandwichitos de mezcla covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve them.
- Remove the sandwichitos de mezcla from the fridge about 15 minutes before serving to warm up slightly. Serve as is or garnished with whole manzanilla olives attached with a toothpick.
Notes
Swaps and Substitutions:
- You can replace regular canned ham with a low-sodium version, turkey luncheon meat, or beef luncheon meat.
- Replace the cheese sauce with pimiento cheese, jarred queso or a similar cheese spread.
- You can make sandwichitos de mezcla with wheat bread, Texas toast (and add more filling) or scoop the filling with crackers and forgo making sandwiches altogether.
- Leave the crusts on the sandwiches if you prefer.
Tips and Techniques:
- Roasted red peppers (or pimiento peppers) are not interchangeable with fresh red bell peppers because they're more bitter.
- Cheese in the can (that you squirt out) is not interchangable with the jarred cheese sauce.
- Add a tablespoon or two of the reserved pepper juice if the mixture is thick, like peanut butter.
- To use the heels (or butts) of the loaf: spread the filling on the brown side, making the white side the outside of the sandwich.
- You can leave your sandwichitos de mezcla whole if you want to eat them as a meal.
- Freezing sandwichitos de mezcla is not recommended because the filling develops ice crystals that make the bread soggy upon thawing and causes the bread to taste stale.
Storage Instructions:
- You can make the filling for sandwichitos de mezcla up to 3 days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator as well. Be sure to give the filling a good stir before using it.
- If you have leftover filling, you can serve it as a dip with crackers, or make more sandwiches with it.
- Sandwichitos de mezcla that have been left at room temperature for over 3 hours should be discarded.
Nutrition
Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 375mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 167IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 0.2mg