Over the past year, I’ve been a bit more interested in covering sandwiches on this sandwich blog that I’ve found on restaurant menus. Sometimes those happen to be discontinued fast food items, other times the inspiration comes simply from a name on a menu, and then others—as in the sandwich you’re reading about now—are a solid sandwich from a chain restaurant that has a fun cooking technique.
This particular sandwich is quick to make once all the ingredients are prepared, and you can easily change up the concept to swap around the meats and cheeses while still using the sandwich cooking process.
What is this sandwich?
This sandwich is my attempt to create a soft sub sandwich roll recipe that is packed with two fairly quick-to-make condiments, and combine those with a strategy to recreate what is currently a new sandwich from a national sandwich chain called Jersey Mike’s Subs.
What is Jersey Mike’s?
Jersey Mike’s Subs is a sub sandwich franchise with 3,500 locations that was founded in 1956. It wasn’t until much later, in 1975, that the small restaurant chain—which at that time consisted of 2 locations and was known as Mike’s Giant Submarine Shop—was purchased for $125,000 by then 17-year-old Peter Cancro, who had been working at the original location since he was 14.
As of November 2024, Cancro sold his position as majority shareholder to an investment management firm known as Blackstone, Inc., for 8 billion, and then a new CEO took Cancro’s place a few months later in 2025.
This is not the first Jersey Mike’s sub I have attempted to replicate in some way. I was also inspired by their portabella chicken cheese steak to create my own recipe for one.
My area of Chicago really only has 3 of the large sub sandwich chains: Subway, Jimmy John’s, and Jersey Mike’s, and of those three, there’s no question that I prefer sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s. In my experience, Jersey Mike’s seems like they offer more meat and cheese in each sandwich, the ingredients seem fresher, and they offer hot subs like cheesesteaks or chicken cheesesteaks cooked on a flattop grill, as well as cold subs.
Will Jersey Mike’s decline in quality now that Private Equity is involved? I just had one of their subs during the testing process for this sandwich last week, and my experience was pretty good, but time will tell whether they will start cutting corners to meet shareholder demand or begin pinching pennies to hit economic goals.
Mike’s Hot Italian
The Jersey Mike’s Hot Italian is a sub sandwich that they released near the end of 2025. It has three meats—ham, salami, and sandwich-sized pepperoni—that’s cooked on a flat top griddle along with some thinly sliced onion. Once the meat is lightly seared and a little bit crispy, and the onions are starting to soften, they are all chopped up, arranged in a pile, and topped with slices of provolone until the cheese becomes melty. The rest of the sandwich contains shredded lettuce, slices of tomato, and a smear of Jersey Mike’s hot chopped pepper relish.
I got a chance to try this sandwich recently, and it’s good. I’ve already clarified that I do generally enjoy Jersey Mike’s sandwiches, and the combination of ingredients in this one works pretty well. The meat and cheese ratio seems to be balanced with the amount of lettuce and tomato, and the red pepper relish brings a hint of spice that is nicely balanced by the bread and cheese. It’s not really a hot sandwich in terms of spice, so don’t worry about that.
In my opinion, this is a pretty good sandwich to order, but more importantly, it’s a sandwich that we can fairly easily grab ingredients for at our local grocery store. There are two condiments that we’ll need to make, but you can create this sandwich without them if you want.
I did alter my order of the Jersey Mike’s Hot Italian with their chipotle mayonnaise because a guy on the internet told me to.
When you’re a dialed-in internet sandwich person, you end up consuming a lot of sandwich content. I’ve been watching ThatCrazySubGuy’s Instagram and YouTube videos for a couple of years now. If you’ve never heard of him, he’s a Jersey Mike’s employee/Area Manager who has an influencer partnership with the company, so he’s permitted to shoot video and create content inside the kitchen of the restaurants.
ThatCrazySubGuy’s real name is Donnie Otero, and he is the reason that I know exactly how this sub is created, and he has shared a short video on his YouTube account where he’s explaining to a new hire at one of his Jersey Mike’s restaruants on the exact steps to take to create a Hot Italian sub.
If you watch this video, you’ll hear Donnie explain that the one addition he would suggest to the default Hot Italian sandwich build is Jersey Mike’s chipotle mayonnaise. So that’s what I ordered, and then that is also how I made my version of this sandwich for the recipes I have shared below.
There’s also at least one other Jersey Mike’s employed content creator named Joel Morales or @subdude2025. Check them out if you need more food-focused sub sandwich content creators in your feed.
Mayonnaise on an Italian sub?
Is it ok to put mayo on an Italian sub? This is a hotly contested question online that will bring out the best or worst in some really passionate sandwich enthusiasts. I personally do not think mayonnaise is needed in a sandwich that has oil and vinegar, but I’m not against it either. Eat what you like.
Some people are passionately anti-mayo on Italian sangwiches.
Now that we know what sub we’re making, we’re going to need some sandwich rolls.
Italian herb and cheese sub rolls
This sub sandwich roll recipe is not meant to replicate anything I’ve eaten at Jersey Mike’s. This is actually my attempt to recreate one of the roll options that you might be asked to choose from at Subway. This is my version of an Italian herb and cheese roll, which is actually just a regular, soft white bread roll that has seasonings and cheese on the top. This means that Subway only has to have one dough that works with both their regular sub roll and the Italian herb and cheese.
In other words, this is the same roll that I’ve been making and sharing at least 14 times on this website, so I knew going in that it was going to be a good roll. I make this style of roll enough that I purchased and use a silicone baking mold. The mold rolls up into a small size, and it fits on a regular-sized baking sheet. It provides structure to the rolls as they rise and gives the finished bread a bit of consistency. When I’m baking rolls that are approximating Subway rolls, I think this mold is a requirement for me. But you can still bake these rolls without it.
I make this blend of seasoning for the top of the rolls with a store-bought Italian seasoning mix, garlic powder, grated parmesan, and then I sprinkle a little bit of shredded cheddar, which gives you the dark colored cheese on top. If you do not have Italian seasoning or if you just want to use what you have in your pantry already, you can make an Italian seasoning blend by combining dried basil, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried marjoram, dried thyme, and red pepper flakes. Or you can just buy pre-blended Italian seasoning as I did.
I use a spray bottle to fully wet the tops of the rolls, which helps the seasonings and cheese stick to the top of each roll. If you do not have a spray bottle, you can paint with water or very carefully add water to the tops with a spoon. The goal is to make the surface wet, not to drown the dough, though. So keep a light touch with the water.
Here’s my best attempt to recreate a Subway classic. I can confirm that these rolls will 100% smell like Subway because my kitchen has had that aroma every single time I’ve opened and sliced one of my homemade rolls. The flavor is pretty spot on, too, because my wife has even enjoyed these, which is the ultimate checkmark on quality.
Italian herb and cheese sub rolls (Subway copycat)
Add a bit of Italian herbs and cheese to a standard soft sub roll with this recipe, meant to be very similar to the ones you can find at Subway. Note: the topping ingredients are listed in amounts per roll you're making since this recipe is available in our bun calculator, which will convert the recipe for you to make any number of rolls.
Get RecipeThe hot stuff
This is one of Jersey Mike’s hot sub offerings. Much like the cheesesteaks, this is cooked on a flat top griddle with the hot ingredients added to the sliced sub roll along with cold veggies and condiments. The bread roll is also split and then lightly toasted face down on the hot surface.
The meat is cooked until it’s warmed and slightly browned, and then it’s chopped on the griddle, topped with grilled onions and provolone cheese slices. Once the cheese is melted, the sandwich is ready to be assembled.
Grilled onion
These onions are not caramelized or even cooked until they are browned. They are lightly grilled on the griddle or pan while the bread toasts and the meat caramelizes. Then the onions are added on top of the meat, and everything gets chopped up and tossed around to incorporate.
For the onions, you simply need to slice them into thin rings or half rings as I did. Jersey Mike’s uses full rings of onion.
If you’re fully recreating the sandwich using my recipes, you will need half of an onion for the red pepper relish (down below), and then, while you’re prepping that, you can do what I did and slice the other half of the onion into thin half rings and keep them in the fridge for your griddling in your hot Italian sandwiches.
Ham, salami, and pepperoni
The three meats in this sandwich are all cold cuts that might be in an American-style Italian sub sandwich. In my opinion, deli ham is not typically in an Italian sub, but salami, especially Genoa salami and pepperoni, are definitely popular for this sort of sandwich.
Whether or not these are Italian sub meat options, I will go on record to say that I think these three meat components work really well together.
If you watched that Jersey Mike’s YouTube video above, you’ll see that they keep their meats pre-layered on parchment paper. This is for their convenience because an employee who is opening up the restaurant can go ahead and prep pre-assembled packages for each type of sandwich. You don’t have to do that in your own kitchen, but I did it for ease of moving the meat to the griddle.
Provolone
For this particular sandwich, you could use whatever cheese you have on hand. The Jersey Mike’s recipe says go with provolone, so that’s what I did, but I think the same sandwich concept would work just fine with cheddar or Monterey Jack slices if that’s what you have available.
The cheese is added on top of the hot, chopped meat and onion at the end of the grilling process, which means it gets a head start on getting melty. You could use another type of cheese if you wanted, but I think the light flavor of provolone works really well in this sandwich.
The cold stuff
The cold part of this Hot Italian sub is comprised of the cold condiments and the vegetables that don’t include the grilled onion.
Red pepper relish
Jersey Mike’s will sell you a container of their hot chopped pepper relish for less than 10 bucks if you are serious about getting their ingredients exactly perfect.
But my version of a red pepper relish is pretty easy as long as you have a food processor. Basically, you put most of the ingredients directly in the food processor and pulse them until everything is in fairly small pieces, much like a salsa.
Then you move everything to a pan and add sugar, salt, MSG, and a little bit of vinegar while simmering until most of the liquid has reduced and the veggies have softened.
My red pepper relish recipe is quite a bit sweeter than Jersey Mike’s. But you can just reduce or remove the sugar entirely if all you want is a relish that is fully focused on red pepper flavor. I bought some of Jersey Mike’s relish and compared it with mine, and I still prefer how mine works in the sandwich, but again, if you’re going for 100% authenticity, you can buy some relish or just remove some of the sweetness in my recipe.
Here’s my red pepper relish recipe. It’s great in this sandwich and works well on a hot dog or pretty much any deli meat sandwich that can use a bit of sweetness and pickly-tartness.
Red pepper relish
This sweet and tangy red pepper relish is a great addition to any deli-style sandwich or salad. Add a couple of spoonfuls to your next BLT to level things up.
Get RecipeChipotle mayonnaise
Chipotle mayonnaise could be made entirely from scratch if you want to make your own mayo, but in this particular instance, my recipe starts with store-bought mayonnaise and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
Chopping up the pepper will add just a little bit of texture to the mayonnaise, and the whole condiment adds some smokiness that is a fun addition to this Hot Italian sandwich.
I don’t think it would be a great addition to this particular sandwich, but I also have a cranberry chipotle mayonnaise recipe that’s killer to have in the fridge around Thanksgiving.
Here’s my chipotle mayo recipe, and it’s super easy because it starts with store-bought mayonnaise. It also tastes really similar to Jersey Mike’s version.
Chipotle mayonnaise
A slightly spicy and smoky addition to mayonnaise creates a sandwich sauce or dip that will bring a whole new component to a sandwich.
Get RecipeTomato slices and shredded lettuce
These are some of the more boring ingredients to write about, but they are pretty important to the final sandwich. The tomato brings moisture, and the lettuce adds just a bit of texture and freshness.
Just buy the reddest tomatoes that you can buy and cut them into fairly thin slices. As for the lettuce, my wife picked up a bag of shredded iceberg, which made things super simple for me, but if she hadn’t done that, I would have bought a head of iceberg and thinly sliced it into fine shreds.
Don’t forget to salt your tomatoes when you add them to the sandwich!
Cooking process
Just below, I’ve documented the cooking process and pretty much the main sandwich recipe in 9 photos and one animated GIF.
But first, I want to discuss the tools that the cooks at Jersey Mike’s use to create this sandwich. They are working on a stainless steel flat top griddle, which means they can use metal tools without scratching the surfaces. If you’re cooking a sandwich like this in a pan that might get scratched, you’ll likely need some plastic or silicone tools. But if you use a cast-iron or steel griddle, I use a large metal spatula and a metal bench scraper. If you want to see what they’re mostly used for, there’s an animated GIF down below.
Below is a 9-image photo gallery, so you can either just scroll through or you can click on an image and swipe to the next one. These images will basically tell you all you need to know to cook this sandwich.
Hot Italian recipe and photos
Here are some photos of the Hot Italians I made this week. Just a bit further down is the fairly simple recipe you can share with your Mom.
Hot Italian sub with chipotle mayo and red pepper relish (Jersey Mike's copycat)
Looking for a hot sub sandwich that's not a cheesesteak? This one takes Italian cold cuts that have been crisped up in a pan and tucked under melty provolone, spicy pepper relish, and fresh lettuce and tomato to create a warm version of a familiar cold sandwich.
Ingredients:
Meat and cheese cook- 1 six to seven inch soft bread roll, split and opened like a book
- 1 thinly sliced ring of onion
- 3 slices of ham
- 4 slices of salami
- 5 sandwich-sized slices of pepperoni
- 2 to 3 slices of provolone cheese
- 1 to 2 tablespoons red pepper relish (my recipe here)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle mayonnaise (optional - my recipe here)
- 2 to 3 slices of tomato
- salt and black pepper
- shredded lettuce
Directions:
Preheat a griddle or large pan over medium heat.
Split open your sub roll by cutting it halfway through, and open it up like a book. Place it open side down on the pan or griddle and give it a nice light toast.
Add some thinly sliced onion to the griddle while the bread toasts. When the bread is just lightly toasted, add slices of pepperoni, topped with slices of salami and ham. Cook the meat for 3 minutes, and then flip the stacked meat over and move the onions on top of the meat.
With a spatula or bench scraper, chop up the meat and onions and arrange in a pile on the griddle that's about the same size as your sub roll. Top with the slices of provolone and cook until the provolone is melty.
While the provolone is melting, spread red pepper relish on the top of the toasted roll and chipotle mayo on the bottom (if using).
Add two or three slices of tomato on top of the pepper relish, and then season the tomatoes with salt and pepper.
With a spatula, move the pile of meat and cheese into the bread roll on top of the mayo. Add a handful of shredded lettuce and close the sandwich.
If you want the true experience that's as close as you can get to the sub sandwich shops, you should wrap it in parchment paper or foil and let the sandwich rest for 2 or 3 minutes before serving.
Check back next week
Next week’s sandwich blog will be covering a fun film franchise, where the main character never actually eats throughout all 5 movies that they’re featured in (so far). So, how do we know what sandwich they might like? Subscribe and wait for Monday’s email to find out.
