Ross's Moist Maker Sandwich
A towering Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich with an extra gravy-soaked slice of bread hidden in the middle, Ross's prized recipe in Friends.
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total
- 20 min
- serves
- 1
- level
- easy
Ross becomes famously, almost unreasonably possessive over this exact sandwich in Friends, treating its disappearance from the office fridge as a genuine personal tragedy and tracking down the coworker responsible.
The whole trick is the extra slice of bread soaked in gravy and hidden in the middle, which keeps a tall stack of Thanksgiving leftovers moist all the way through instead of drying out by the last bite.
Part of our 60 famous foods from movies and TV list.
method
Dip one slice of bread briefly in the warm gravy, coating both sides, until thoroughly moistened but not falling apart. This is the "moist maker," the extra middle layer.
Lay out the other two slices.
Build the first layer: one slice of regular bread, turkey, stuffing, a little gravy.
Place the gravy-soaked moist maker slice on top.
Add another layer: more turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potato if using.
Top with the final slice of bread.
Press down gently to compact the sandwich, and slice in half.
Serve immediately, while everything is still warm.
chef's tips
- The extra gravy-soaked slice in the middle is the entire point of this sandwich; it adds moisture through the center of a tall sandwich that would otherwise dry out well before you reach the bottom.
- In Friends, Ross becomes famously possessive over this exact sandwich, going to extreme lengths after a coworker eats it from the office fridge, treating the loss as a genuine personal tragedy.
- This only works with real Thanksgiving leftovers: actual roast turkey, real stuffing and gravy rather than deli-sliced turkey, which doesn't have the same richness.
- Don't skip dipping the bread in gravy ahead of building the sandwich; adding gravy on top afterward doesn't distribute it the same way through the layers.