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4.5 from 6 votes

Panes con Pavo (Pan Con Chumpe)

Panes con pavo is a popular traditional Salvadoran sandwich prepared with roasted turkey and its sauce, as well as raw and pickled vegetables.

Prep Time
1 hr 15 mins
Cook Time
3 hrs 15 mins
Rest Time
6 hrs 30 mins
Total Time
5 hrs
Servings: 20 sandwiches
Course: Main Course , Lunch
Cuisine: South American , Salvadoran

Ingredients

For the turkey
  • 1 turkey (about 10-12 lb / 5-6 kg)
  • 3 limes
  • 5 tablespoons butter , melted
  • 3 tablespoons sweet mustard
  • ½ cup Worcestershire sauce 
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the pickled vegetables
  • ½ cabbage , shredded
  • 1 onion , thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot , cut into thin julienne
  • ½ cup white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 green hot pepper cut into julienne
  • 1 green bell pepper cut into julienne
  • salt
  • pepper
For the turkey sauce
  • 2 teaspoons salvadoreño relajo (Salvadoran spice blend)
  • 12 tomatoes
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 (5 oz) can tomato paste
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 8 tablespoons butter , melted
  • ½ cup corn starch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the sandwiches
  • 20 French bread rolls
  • lettuce , finely chopped
  • tomatoes , sliced
  • radish , sliced
  • pickled gherkins
  • Watercress
Required equipment
  • Chompipera (oval roasting pot)

Instructions

Pickled vegetables
    Cup of Yum
  1. Boil a large amount of salt water in a pot.
  2. When the water begins to boil, add the cabbage, onion, carrot and blanch for just 30 seconds.
  3. Immediately drain and place the vegetables in a large bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water to stop the cooking.
  4. When the vegetables are cold, drain again and place in a jar. Add the vinegar, water, bell pepper, hot pepper and oregano. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Refrigerate for 6 hours.
Turkey sauce
  1. Preheat the oven to 250 F / 120 C.
  2. On the baking sheet, place the tomatoes, green bell pepper, onion and garlic with their skin.
  3. Roast in the oven until the skin of the tomatoes and green pepper is blistered. This can take about an hour.
  4. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  5. Peel the garlic and the onion.
  6. Peel and seed the tomatoes and green pepper.
  7. Mix everything with the tomato paste until obtaining a homogeneous mixture.
  8. Pour this sauce into a large saucepan and mix with the chicken broth.
  9. Add the Salvadoreño relajo (Salvadoran spice blend) and corn starch dissolved in the hot melted butter. Season with black pepper and mix well.
  10. Cook the sauce over low heat for 15 minutes. Set aside.
Cooking of the turkey
  1. Wash the turkey well with clean water. Then, pat dry with a cloth or paper towel and sprinkle it with lime juice, making sure to cover the whole turkey.
  2. Spread the lime juice all over the turkey with both hands.
  3. Wait 2 minutes and pat dry the turkey again.
  4. Mix the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and butter and spread with a brush over the entire turkey, inside and out. Season with pepper.
  5. To cook the turkey in the oven, the ideal is to use a "chompipera", a special oven pot with a rack at the bottom typical in El Salvador. If you do not have one, you can use an oval roasting pot with a lid.
  6. Pour 2 ladles of sauce at the bottom of the pot.
  7. Place the turkey on the rack and pour two more ladles on the turkey.
  8. Marinate for 30 minutes.
  9. Turn on the oven at 350 F / 175 C (without preheating).
  10. Bake the turkey for 2h30, drizzling with the remaining sauce every 30 to 40 minutes, until the turkey is tender.
  11. If the sauce reduces too much, add boiling water during cooking if necessary. There must be some remaining sauce at the end of cooking.
Assembly of the sandwiches
  1. Cut the rolls.
  2. Slice the turkey into medium sized pieces and place some pieces inside the bun.
  3. Pour a tablespoon of sauce over the turkey and add the lettuce, watercress, gherkin, radish, and tomato. Also add a few pickled vegetables.
  4. Add a tablespoon of sauce again on top.