One bite and we had to admit it. We took on the viral mortadella skewer trend half-expecting a gimmick… and got a sandwich so good it felt like we’d paid for a ticket to a café in France. The kind where you sit down for lunch, don’t need dinner, and debate never returning home. It’s the simple act of folding the slices of mortadella into a thick ribbon on the skewers and charring the edges that gives the meat a texture that has no business coming from something you bought at the deli counter.
Being GirlCarnivore, we couldn’t just make a grilled mortadella sandwich… We wanted it to be next level. Burrata goes on while the mortadella is still hot – a whole ball, pressed open to cover the whole mountain of meat. The cream runs into every char pocket. A layer of pesto on both sides of the bun, with Calabrian chili oil drizzled on top to cut through it all.
It’s lunch meat, and the whole thing takes fifteen minutes. Yet somehow, it’s the best thing you’ll make all summer.
🔪 Ingredients for Grilled Mortadella Sandwich
For the Mortadella Skewers
- Mortadella, deli-sliced thin: standard deli slices work here; the tester used 24 slices for two sandwiches. Fold each into quarters; the layering and tight packing on the skewer are what build the thickness in your sandwich.
- Olive oil
For the Sandwich
- Ciabatta
- Pesto
- Burrata: one 4 oz ball per sandwich
- Arugula
- Calabrian chili oil: Tutto Calabria is a personal fav
- Flaky salt: a small pinch over the burrata right before serving.
Equipment
A cast iron skillet of a grill. You need a surface that holds screaming-high heat without flinching so the mortadella fat renders fast and the edges char before the interior overcooks. We include notes for a gas and charcoal grill in the recipe card below.
You also need flat metal skewers – not round. Round skewers let the folded slices spin and slide; flat skewers lock them in place so the entire stack sears as one unit.
📝 How to Make a Grilled Mortadella Sandwich
- Pull the burrata from the fridge and let it come to room temperature, at least 20 minutes before you start cooking.
- Fold each mortadella slice in half, then in half again so you have a thick, layered quarter. Thread the folded slices onto a flat metal skewer one at a time, pushing them tightly together. Fill the skewer, leaving 1.5 to 2 inches of bare metal on each end for handling. For 2 sandwiches, you’ll use 2 skewers with 12 slices each.
- Dress the arugula with a light drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Set aside.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add a thin film of olive oil. Lay the skewer flat in the pan. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes without moving – you want deep char at the fold edges and visible blistering on the fat pockets.
- Flip the skewer and sear the second side for 2 to 3 minutes until a char develops.
- Remove the skewer. Immediately place the split ciabatta, cut-side down, in the same pan and toast for 1 to 2 minutes, until golden and crisping at the edges from the rendered mortadella fat.
- Spread the pesto across the bottom half of the toasted ciabatta. Layer the dressed arugula over the pesto. Set the full skewer directly on top of the arugula. Hold the bread steady and slide the rod out cleanly in one smooth motion, parallel to the sandwich; the folded mortadella stays in place as a single, thick, intact layer.
- Place the room-temperature burrata ball directly on the hot mortadella. Press it open firmly with both hands and smear it heavily across the entire surface so the cream runs into the char pockets and the folds.
- Spoon Calabrian chili oil over the broken burrata. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt. Close the sandwich and serve immediately.
🔄 Substitutions
- Pesto → basil olive oil: loses the body and the pine nut richness, but keeps the basil note. Don’t sub sun-dried tomato pesto; it fights the Calabrian chili oil.
- Burrata → fresh mozzarella: totally works if you can’t find burrata.
- Arugula → watercress: more peppery bite, holds up the same way to the heat.
💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- The skewer removal technique matters. Hold the bread firmly with one hand. Grip the rod with the other hand and pull in one smooth motion parallel to the sandwich. This fills your bread with a mountain of meat.
- The burrata temperature is not optional. Cold burrata straight from the fridge doesn’t press cleanly – it tears instead of smearing. Twenty minutes at room temperature is the minimum. Thirty is better for that mouthwatering burrata pull.
🍽️ What to Serve with a Mortadella Sandwich
- Kettle chips or a lightly dressed arugula salad. The sandwich is rich enough that the side just needs to reset the palate, not compete with it.
- A cold sparkling water or a crisp Italian lager; carbonation cuts through the burrata fat in a way nothing still quite manages.
- A smear of onion bacon jam under the pesto and skip the chili oil.
- Hot Italian Sub Sliders if you’re building a full Italian spread – or use the same concept and turn these into sliders.
🧊 Leftovers and Storage
- This sandwich does not store assembled. The burrata releases liquid within 15 minutes and the ciabatta goes soft fast. Build and serve immediately.
- Keep the Calabrian chili oil, dressed arugula, pesto, and burrata separate until the moment of assembly. Sear the mortadella fresh every time the craving hits.
Have you tried this recipe? Do us a favor and rate the recipe card with the ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ and drop a comment to help out the next reader.
Grilled Mortadella Sandwich with Burrata and Calabrian Chili Oil
Recommended Equipment
- Wire rack + sheet pan
Ingredients
For the Mortadella Skewers
- 24 slices mortadella deli-sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Kosher salt to taste
For the Sandwich
- 1 ciabatta loaf split
- 2 tablespoons pesto jarred or homemade
- 8 oz burrata room temperature (each ball of burrata should weigh about 4oz)
- 2 handfuls arugula
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 2 tablespoons Calabrian chili oil jarred
- Flaky salt to finish
Instructions
Bring Burrata to Room Temperature
- Pull burrata from the fridge at least 20 minutes before cooking. 30 minutes is better.
Skewer the Mortadella
- Fold each mortadella slice in half, then in half again. Thread 12 folded slices tightly onto each flat metal skewer, leaving 1.5 to 2 inches of bare metal on each end. Repeat for the second skewer.
Dress the Arugula
- Toss arugula with olive oil and lemon juice. Set aside.
Sear the Skewers
- Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add a thin film of olive oil. Lay one skewer flat in the pan and sear 2 to 3 minutes undisturbed until the edges char and the fat blisters. Flip and sear 2 to 3 more minutes on the second side. Hold on a wire rack in an oven preheated to warm (around 200°F or as low as it will go) and repeat with the second skewer.
Toast the Ciabatta
- Remove the skewers. Place the split ciabatta cut-side down in the same pan and toast 1 to 2 minutes until golden and crisping at the edges.
Build the Sandwich
- Spread pesto across the bottom ciabatta half. Layer dressed arugula over the pesto. Set the mortadella skewer directly on top. Hold the bread steady and slide the rod out cleanly in one smooth motion parallel to the sandwich.
Break the Burrata
- Place the room-temperature burrata ball directly on the hot mortadella. Press it open firmly and smear heavily over the entire surface so the cream runs into the pockets and folds.
Finish and Serve
- Spoon Calabrian chili oil over the broken burrata. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt. Close the sandwich and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Use flat metal skewers, not round – round skewers let folded slices spin during searing
- Cold burrata tears, not smearing; room temperature is non-negotiable.
- Don’t crowd two skewers in one pan if they don’t fit — sear one at a time if needed and hold them in an oven preheated to 200°F to keep them warm.
For a Gas Grill
Preheat to high and close the lid for 10 minutes to bring the grates up to temperature. You want a cast iron skillet or flat griddle pan set directly on the grates — the open flame and grill grates alone won’t give you the flat, even surface contact you need for the fat to blister properly. Set the skillet over direct high heat, add the oil, and sear exactly as you would on the stovetop. The char will develop slightly faster from the radiant heat above and below — watch the fold edges at the 2-minute mark.For a Charcoal Grill
Bank coals for direct high heat. A cast iron skillet over a full chimney of lit coals runs hotter than most stovetops — if the skillet is smoking hard within 30 seconds of the oil going in, you’re there. Sear 90 seconds per side rather than 2 to 3 minutes; charcoal heat is more aggressive and the edges will go from char to burnt faster than you expect. The payoff: the smokiness that bleeds into the fat pockets is genuinely better than stovetop.Nutrition
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Quick Summary
This grilled mortadella sandwich is what happens when a viral skewer trend gets a proper finish. Deli-sliced mortadella folded to quarters, skewered tight, and char-seared in cast iron — then the rod pulls out clean onto pesto-smeared ciabatta and a whole burrata ball gets pressed and smeared over the still-hot meat while the Calabrian chili oil goes on last. The whole thing takes 15 minutes and one skillet.
❓ FAQs
Yes — pre-packaged thin slices work. The tester used exactly that. You’ll fold each slice into quarters just the same; the key is packing them tightly on the skewer so you get a thick, unified mass that sears as one unit rather than flopping around individually.
Flat skewers are worth picking up – they’re inexpensive, and the difference is real. Round skewers let the folded slices spin and slide during the sear, giving you uneven char and a stack that falls apart on removal. If you’re in a pinch, use two round skewers side by side to create a flat plane and lock the meat in place.
A thin film of olive oil in a properly preheated cast iron is enough. The key word is preheated — the pan needs to be smoking before the skewer goes in. If you lay the skewer into a pan that isn’t hot enough, the fat sweats instead of searing, and you’ll get sticking. Let it hit that smoke point first.
Given you’re not really cooking anything, there’s no need to pregame the recipe. The only things that change if you don’t sear the mortadella are the texture and a little heat.
