The sandwich remains, by far, the favourite lunch dish in the Western Hemisphere. And whether we brown-bag it from home or buy it pre-made, there remain some eternal verities defining the most successful sandwiches…
It may not have occurred to you… But there are definite DOs and DON’Ts when it comes to con-structing the ‘best’, most comforting, most satisfying sandwiches. Some are common sense. Others may take you by surprise – until you think them through.
A vexed issue
There are as many opinions our there on what makes the prefect sandwich as there are folks who consider themselves experts. And that’s just about everybody…
According to Sandwich magazine, Evert successful sandwich must have 6 qualities: “When you take hot, cold, sweet, sour, crunchy, soft together, you have the secret of deliciousness. It ticks every box that your body and brain is looking for. It’s a sandwich mantra.”
Gold Medal Flour offers 12 tips for producing the the ‘perfect’ sandwich. Among their less-obvious recommendations: Get creative with bread and cheese options, use thinly sliced meats, layer ‘inten-tionally’, don’t over-stuff, and consider grilling the final product.
Bon Appétit offers a literal A to Z of rules for superior sandwiches. Among the more obscure: ‘D’ is for diagonal – always cut your sandwiches diagonally. ‘K’ is for knife – always use a proper serrated bread knife to cut your sandwiches. ‘U’ is for upgrade – Always upgrade just one ingredient to make your version of even the most common sandwich ‘remarkable’. And ‘X’ is for ‘X Factor’ – that little touch the best chefs add to their sandwiches to raise them above the everyday…
Miscellaneous wisdom…
My own most critical rule for achieving the perfect sandwich is to make sure you use no over-moist ingredients. That doesn’t mean, no sauerkraut; it just means thoroughly drain your kraut before as-sembling the sandwich.
Next comes never use any ingredient that’s too smooshy. Your filling must never squeeze or ooze out of the stack when you bite down. (This rule goes hand-in-hand with ‘never over-stuff’.)
Likewise, ‘dry’ ingredients must never tumble out of your sandwich when you apply compressive force. I always stack chopped lettuce (for example) next to a schmear of mayo, mustard or other spread.
I place a premium not only on choosing the right bread for every sandwich, but on always using the freshest bread I can get.
Finally, always enjoy your sandwich. no matter how simple or ornate. Kassandra Stewart reminds us, writing at LitLinks: “The first rule of sandwich making is to appreciate that sandwiches are [truly] a loaf-changing experience.”
~ Maggie J.