Sandwich Making Tips

A really good sandwich is greater than the sum of its parts. Somehow, it's possible to take the exact same ingredients used in an okay sandwich—meat, cheese, vegetables, condiments, bread—and rearrange them into something that's transcendent. But it's not just some kind of sandwich mysticism that separates the great sandwiches from the mediocre. You can avoid stumbling into bad sandwich territory by strategically layering, cutting, and toasting. The facts: a properly-layered sandwich holds together better, prevents the bread from getting soggy, and achieves optimal texture. And it's as simple as considering which ingredients go where.

First, a sound sandwich relies on a sound structure, just like a building. If you try to construct it without a proper foundation, there’s a good chance that the whole thing might just fall to the ground. In general, construct a sandwich in this order.

1. Meats should always be on the bottom, since they’re generally the weightiest.
2. For cold sandwiches, cheese comes next (if it’s a hot sandwich, however, put it on top, so it has a chance to melt).
3. The center layer should be the lettuce or leafy greens, which act like a net that helps everything stay in place.
4. On top of that go your pickles, tomatoes, and other assorted vegetables, which should be carefully layered over the contours of everything beneath.
5. Then spread your sauces or condiments onto the underside of the top layer of bread and let gravity help them work their way into everything beneath. You can spread condiments on the bottom, too, although sometimes this can make things a little slippery for the meat.
6. Include a variety of textures. Tender meat and creamy cheese and crisp lettuce (or red onion) are sandwich staples for a reason.

1. Use the Right Bread

The best bread for sandwiches depends on the fillings. Choose bread appropriate to the sandwich you’re making, and one that is sturdy enough to stand up to the ingredients.

• Pair moist fillings with soft, fluffy breads and you’ve got a recipe for a sponge, not a sandwich. White bread might be great for a grilled cheese, but quickly turns soggy for a sandwich with oil, fat or a lot of sauce, such as burgers and pulled pork.
• Crusty breads and baguettes are generally great for sopping up oils and sauces. Look for anything with nooks and crannies and an outer crust that can serve as a barrier.
• The other thing to take into account is the hardness or crustiness of the bread. The harder the bread, the harder the bite required and the more likely the inside ingredients are going to slip out under pressure.
• As a general rule, the moister the filling the drier and denser the bread should be. A good, thick crust helps, too. Yet, if the bread is hearty and crusty, with a big chomp needed to cut through, soft fillings like tuna or chicken salad may not be the best pairing unless you don’t mind them spilling out.
• Also, the bread's flavor and texture alter the sandwich's taste. Rye bread pairs nicely with ham, corned beef, and liverwurst, for instance. Italian bread and hoagie rolls are intregral to Italian deli sandwiches such as hoagies, meatball, sausage or chicken cutlet sandwiches. Some breads, like classic white, are considered “neutral” or “mild” flavors that can pair well with most anything and won’t overpower the flavor of the fillings.

Breads:

• Sliced white sandwich bread: A sandwich bread from a throwback era, prepackaged white bread still plays a noble role in the sandwich pantheon. Some traditonal sandwiches made on white sandwich bread are peanut butter and jelly, fresh tomato and mayonnaise, ham and Swiss cheese, and egg salad.
• Sliced wheat sandwich bread: Packaged wheat bread is a little sweet, a little hearty, and not so over-the-top that it would drown out anything you put on top of it. Try it for a turkey club or grilled cheese.
• Whole Grain and Multi-grain bread: Whole grain bread is a nutritious and hearty option for sandwiches, packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Made with whole grains like whole wheat, oats, and seeds, these grain bread provides a nutty flavor and a dense, satisfying texture that pairs well with a variety of fillings, from savory meats and cheeses to fresh vegetables and spreads. 
• Rye and pumpernickel bread: Rye bread is a classic choice for sandwiches, known for its unique flavor and dense texture. Made with a combination of rye flour and wheat flour, rye bread has a dark and slightly sour taste that pairs well with savory and salty fillings. Pastrami, corned beef, or a little fried ham are best friends with rye caraway bread. Its sweet-and-sour flavor brings out the savoriness in every topping, and when you find yourself in a Jewish deli, accept no substitutes.
• Hamburger, Potato, and the newer Brioche rolls: Burgers, fried chicken, pulled pork, and more would be nothing without these heavenly, delicate-textured rolls.
• Lobster roll rolls: Unlike a traditional hot dog roll, a lobster roll roll is sliced down the center in order to pack in as much juicy, mayo-drenched, chive-topped lobster as humanly possible. One of the particular highlights of the lobster roll bun is the fact that it’s toasted in butter to add a little something extra. Dry sandwich breads, take note.
• Kaiser rolls: Best known for their storied appearance in New York City deli breakfast sandwiches, Kaiser rolls have the advantage of being light and airy on the inside and crusty on the outside. Poppy and sesame seeds add intrigue, further enhancing the Kaiser’s perfection as a companion to crispy bacon and melty American cheese. Weck rolls used for Beef on Weck are basically Kaiser rolls with caraway seeds and pretzel salt on top.
• Hoagie/sub rolls: Whether you call it a hoagie, hero, or sub, the long, football-shaped roll that encloses quadruple-meat and cheese sandwiches, with tomato and shredded lettuce, and herby banh mi is only as good as its ratio of crusty exterior to light interior. Expect the outside of a hoagie roll to shatter when chomped into; if it doesn’t, you’re dealing with a poor imitation.
• Baguettes: For centuries, baguettes have dominated the fancy sandwich game with their crispy crusts, a soft, chewy interior and sandwich-friendly shape. They are perfect for creating traditional French-style sandwiches. Going big? Layer everything on one baguette — the national bread of France — or cut it in half to make a sandwich to share. Do as the French do and use butter as your base layer.
• Sourdough bread: Sourdough bread has a unique quality that makes it stand out among other types of bread. Sourdough is light but quite dense, with a distinctly tangy (sour) taste. That means it’s ideal for savory and salty sandwiches.
• Ciabatta: Ciabatta is Italy’s answer to baguettes. It has a similarly crunchy exterior and chewy interior. However, ciabatta is much softer than its French counterpart. It has a porous structure, making it light and airy, but still thick enough so fillings don’t soak through the bread until it disintegrates. Grilled ciabatta sandwiches are commonly known as paninis, which may contain anything from roasted veggies to deli meats.
• Pita bread: In a category all its own, pita is celebrated for its accommodating pocket and the fun activity of tearing it open while it’s still hot. Find a hearty enough pita and there’s no limit to the number of ingredients you can stuff it with; shawarma and falafel are only the beginning.
• Tortillias for wraps: The wrap gives you a different look and taste to classic sandwiches. Some may argue that wraps are not sandwiches, but they basically function in the same way as sandwiches. They can be eaten out of hand on the go and make nutritious lunches.
• English muffins: For a breakfast sandwich, you can hardly do better than a toasted English muffin, but they work equally well for hamburgers. Always best toasted.
• Croissants:

2. Ingredient Combinations

• There are some foods that just go together because they compliment each other. Ham and cheese, liverwurst and onion, shredded barbeque pork with coleslaw, sausages and mustard, etc. These are some of the classical pairings, but new sandwiches pairings are are being made all the time.
• Balance is key: you don't want to add too many condiments and have them fall off in giant globs, for example. Too much of one thing makes it taste just like that one thing. Balance and layer your fillings so that you can taste them all not just the one dominant flavor.
• Make sure you have a balanced range of textures (silky, crunchy, dense, creamy) and flavors (fatty, fresh, spicy, tart). We love lettuce and tomato in sandwiches. They lend moisture, crunch and freshness and provide a wonderful foil for heavy, rich ingredients.
• If using cold cuts or other meats, slice them thinly. As you’re eating your sandwich, the meat will break down with each bite, and is able to mix in with either the condiments or the vegetables. Hoagies, Beef on Weck, and corned beef sandwiches are made with thin slices of meats and pulled pork sandwiches are made with shredded pork, for instance. There is a reason for this. Some exceptions this rule are Meatloaf sandwiches where the meat would fall apart if sliced too thin and Chicken cutlets sandwiches which are thicker due to the type of meat it is.

Sandwich Additions

1. Alfalfa Sprouts - great alternative to lettuce
2. Arugula - an aromatic, peppery salad green which is a great alternative to lettuce
3. Watercress - another great alternative to lettuce
4. Raw or fried onion
5. French Fried Onions - adds crunch beside flavor
6. Thinly Sliced Cucumber
7. Sliced Avocado - the trend toward sandwiches
8. Fresh Basil
9. Giardiniera - popular additions to Italian sandwiches
10. Sauerkraut - especially good on sausage sandwiches
11. Pickles
12. Potato chips - some people like to add potato chips to burgers for their crunch factor

3. Choice of Spreads and Condiments

• Sandwich spreads add flavor but also perform the essential task of lending moisture and sometimes creaminess to sandwiches. Mustard and mayo are the familiar standbys, but don’t stop there. It’s well worth experimenting with the following: vinaigrettes, pestos, BBQ sauces, chutneys, and salsas. Some sandwiches serve the condiment or sauce on the side—like the French Dip, which is made for dunking or like serving the horseradish on the side for a the Beef on Weck so diners can add as much as they like.

  See Sandwich Condiments

• Tip: Take the Edge Off Onions
  Onions can give sandwiches a welcome bite but often must be tamed a bit to be enjoyed raw. There are two effective ways to take some of the edge off sliced onions: Either soak thinly sliced onions in ice water for 20 minutes or so. Then drain and blot dry. (This method adds crispness.) Or toss sliced onions with a generous sprinkling of kosher salt. Wait a few minutes. Rub salt into the onions, rinse, drain.
  Fried onions, which tames the bite of onion, are also a welcome addition to Hot Italian Sausage sandwiches and Hamburgers giving them a different taste profile.

4. Stave Off Sogginess

• Spread a thin layer of mayo, butter or cream cheese all the way to the edges of each slice of bread to create a seal against wet sandwich fillings. An oil-based condiment like mayonnaise, which has water-repelling molecules that can prevent moisture from soaking into the sandwich.
• Or spread the interior of your bread with a thin layer of olive oil or softened butter for a similar effect. In general, opt for thicker condiments to prevent excess moisture, such as coarse-ground mustard rather than regular yellow mustard.
• Lettuce can also act as a barrier between the bread and other ingredients.
• Water-based condiments like ketchup or mustard can all cause sogginess Toasting helps to make the bread dry and that dryness can't absorb moisture that well.
• Also, try packing high moisture ingredients, like tomatoes, pickles, and cucumbers, separately. Just add them to the sandwich when you’re ready to eat. Toasting the bread can help, too.
• Lettuce and tomato are almost entirely water, and thus over extended periods are prone to wilting and, worse, making bread soggy. Luckily there are plenty of vegetables that offer all the benefits of lettuce and tomato without the drawbacks. In place of sliced tomatoes, for instance, try using roasted peppers. (It helps if you first blot the peppers dry with a paper towel). Instead of lettuce, experiment with other vegetables, like sliced fennel, spinach, shredded cabbage, or cucumber.

5. Order of Ingredients

• Have you ever bitten into a sandwich only to have all of the fillings slide out? Overlapping of hard or crisp or crunchy ingredients in a layer introduces potential for slippage under the pressure of biting into the sandwich. To avoid this, make sure all fillings are easy to bite through—thinly-sliced meats, cheeses, and vegetables, such as shredded lettuce, work better than thick ones, for instance. Use of shredded cheeses may be an alternative to the use of sliced cheeses that reject cohesion with adjacent ingredients.
• One of the best tips, when you've got ingredients that can slip out of your sandwich, is to create more friction. For slippery components like sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and avocados, separate them with thin layers of greens in between to create friction. When you make your sandwich, think about what ingredients are “grippy” (like cheese) and which are slippery (like lettuce). Arrange it so your slippery and grippy ingredients are back to back so that the sandwich doesn’t fall apart.
• Next, pair off your sandwich fillings into tasty combos. Mustard and cheese taste great together. So do mayonnaise and tomatoes. So why would you put them on the opposite ends of your sandwich? Other sandwich layer pairings to consider: Meat and pickled vegetables. Lettuce and vinaigrette, such used in hoagies. Any fresh vegetable and salt, pepper, or other seasonings.

6. Tips for Building a Better Sandwich

• If toasting the bread or roll, toast it just before composing the sandwich so it doesn’t get cold or dried out. A BLT tastes so much better when the bread is still warm, and a Beef on Weck and Hot Italian Sausage sandwich demands that hot, crispy weck or hoagie roll.
• Build your sandwich that is to be eaten cold with cold, dry ingredients. The condensation from warm ingredients can cause a soggy sandwich — but it also feels right. If you’re going to eat a sandwich cold, why not just build it cold.
• If you’re washing anything such as lettuce or arugula make sure to thoroughly dry it in a salad spinner. Pat dry any ingredients that are wet like pickles to ensure the juice doesn’t seep into your sandwich.