I came across this recipe while looking for dishes to make for the Super Bowl. But, seeing as how this year's game featured Philadelphia rather than Pittsburgh, I thought better of it and decided to wait a bit.

As the title suggests, this sandwich is attributed to a Pittsburgh dairy/meat market called Isalys that offered a product called "chipped chopped ham". "Chopped ham", also called "ham loaf", is made of assorted chopped up bits of ham (think trimmings, scraps from larger cuts, etc.) shaped and pressed into a rectangular loaf; I've seen this pre-sliced and sold in packages as lunch meat. The ham is then "chipped" from the loaf, which essentially is slicing it very thin so that it falls apart, making the meat very tender. Islay's published a recipe for a barbecue sauce to pair up with it (which they later offered for sale in bottles), and a regional favorite was born. Isalys no longer owns any brick-and-mortar locations, but they do continue to sell their products online and through some local retailers.

There are many variations available, from making your own sauce (as in this recipe) to purchasing and using your own favorite sauce. If chopped ham isn't available at your deli, a good substitute is to get shaved ham instead. Mix them together and warm them up, and you're all set.

Adapted from Hearth and Vine