The

milanesa The milanesa is a variation of the Lombard veal Milanese, or the Austrian Wiener schnitzel, where generic types of meat breaded cutlet preparations are known as a ''milanesa''. The milanesa was brought to the Southern Cone by Italian immig ...

sandwich (In Spanish "Sándwich de milanesa") is a type of

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

eaten in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. The bread is usually a white baton or short baguette type, cut in half and filled with a large (beef)

schnitzel A schnitzel is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, chicken, mutt ...

, “milanesa” being the name schnitzels have in the region, plus sliced tomato, lettuce. It might also include other ingredients, such as sliced onions, ham, cheese and egg (sliced boiled egg, or fried). The "milanesa de pollo" variant replaces the beef schnitzel with breaded

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, ...

. “Milanesa de pollo” is the same as a chicken escalope sandwich in Britain.

Variations

In the province of Tucumán, Argentina, it enjoys great popularity. This sandwich is called "sánguche de milanesa" or "milanga" in Tucumán, and is sold in "sangucherías" and

food carts A food cart is a mobile kitchen set up on the street to prepare and sell street food to passers-by. Food carts are often found in cities worldwide selling food of every kind. Food carts come in two basic styles. One allows the vendor to sit o ...

. Sangucherías are a type of

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically ...

that sells milanesa sandwiches, along with other types of sandwich such as "lomito"(which is almost identical to the Milanesa sandwich, but replaces the milanesa with a thin rib steak fillet, hence the name "lomito", which is the name of that cut in Spanish). Sangucherías do not usually form fast food chains, although there are a few exceptions. They are mostly family owned. The main difference between this variety of the sandwich and others prepared in the country is that it is always eaten warm. The sandwich is prepared in the presence of its consumer, who can oversee its preparation. The lettuce is always shredded in small bits, and the addition of onions(cooked or raw, soaked in vinegar) and ají(hot chili pepper sauce) is usually encouraged. The bread used is soft but usually toasted for a few seconds before being eaten, making it a bit crunchy in the outside. The milanesas are always fried, and might be accompanied with ham, cheese and fried eggs for a higher price. Sándwich de milanesa tucumano

So big is the popularity of these sandwiches in

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentina, ...

, that a monument to this food was built in 2013, by local artist Sandro Pereira. Sandwicherías have been the main competitors to foreign fast food chains such as

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

, Burger King or Subway in Tucumán, with some of them selling as much as 500 sandwiches per night. There is also an annual "Expo Milanga", which is celebrated every 18 March, commemorating the death of José "Chacho" Leguizamón, founder of one of the most traditional sandwicherías in the city."En Tucumán, la 5ta. Expo Milanga sale “completa, con ají”"
''Tucumán Turismo'', Tucumán, 28 March 2010.

Variations

See also

References

Further reading