My favourite sandwich has gotta be mayo chicken in a bagel with crunchy lettuce, satisfying in both taste and the crunchy texture of chopped iceberg lettuce from the shops.
Another one would be sausage and egg with some cheeky brown sauce (British lemmy users know what I mean)
What is YOUR favourite sandwich? Fillings or sauces to go with it, maybe your favourite type of bread?
Reuben. It is, for my preferences, the perfect sandwich. Even a cheap, poorly made Reuben is as good as most other sandwiches.
The best one I've ever had is my own, but it was modeled after the way a local deli does it, then tweaked via choice of brands and proportions to get it down to my idea of perfect. I can say that I'm also proud of how many people that enjoy Reubens have said that mine kid the best they've had too. It isn't everyone, nor a majority, but I've never had anyone dislike it at all.
Back in the day, my school had a trip to DC, and Joe Namath had a restaurant there. Their Reuben was phenomenal, and the third best I've ever had. The problem is that I've never had one from a new York deli, which is supposedly the absolute best place to get them. So they may blow mine out of the water.
Good sourdough rye bread (I make my own), good corned beef (my cousin makes the stuff I like best, but any decent deli brand will do), good swiss (boars head is my go-to), home made thousand island, and as much butter as necessary. The kraut I'll get to in a second.
Optional is some gulden's mustard lightly applied to the meat side. This is not standard Reuben protocol, but it's damn nice
Kraut though, that's what makes a Reuben more than just a corned beef (or pastrami) sandwich.
My top pick is obviously home made, but I don't have the ability to do that any more. I favor either Bavarian seeded kraut, usually Silver Floss brand; or something like Bubbies or Kühne. But the kraut is where you'll have the biggest difference in final results. As long as you're using decent corned beef, any brand works fine, there just isn't much difference once you get past buddig types of cold cuts.
So, finding your ideal kraut is the real key to tweaking the perfect personalized Reuben. The rest is easier to sub in a different brand.
Tomato sandwich, it sounds simple but it kicks fucking ass. This sandwich lives or dies on having good flavorful tomatoes so its only for in-season times of year.
You want to make it with plain white sandwich bread - toast it lightly. Apply a light layer of real (not miracle whip) mayonnaise - preferably full fat. Then slice a beefsteak tomato into slices that let you retain all the guts of the tomato but are otherwise relatively thin. Make sure to cut out the stem joint (I usually do this after slicing because it's easier). Assemble your sandwich with a reasonable amount of tomato but as you put slices on salt your tomato. A modest size tomato is usually large enough to make 2-3 sandwiches.
It's got to be ham and cheese. No matter where you go, usually two out the three will be excellent, so a good sandwich is easily available
France - Amazing bread, amazing cheese, good ham
Spain - Crap bread, reasonable cheese, world class ham
UK - crap bread, world class cheese, good ham
Germany - world class bread, good cheese, amazing ham
America - bread that has to be called cake in other countries because of the sugar content, homogenised dairy product, and chlorine-washed minced pork-amalgam
Doesn’t help that those low-quality ingredients are the ones that line the freedom section in foreign supermarkets fueling the stereotype… not that it isn’t a warranted stereotype since this is what they feed the folks in public schools
A Dutch delicacy is Ossenworst, a raw lean beef sausage. It's delicious with diced onions, pickles and a drop of balsamic vinegar and a light coating of remoulade.
The key is in stacking it high without it all falling over and then squishing it all down to hold it's shape. Traditionally for my family it's the most commercial, crappy supermarket white sliced bread you can find, but I have had it with some pretty yummy sourdough. The bread is important because with all the greasy mushy sauces, it needs a tight crumb structure so you don't get bits of sauce coming through the holes as you bite. You want something soft because you don't want to be chewing and tearing hard crusts whilst trying to keep the delicate sandwich all together, but if it's too soft then it tends to fall apart from all the moisture in the gravy and bread sauce. Sometimes toasting just the inner faces of the bread can work, but it has to be lightly toasted to make sure the bread retains some flexibility during the squish down step.
We all like the sandwiches even more than the actual Christmas dinner, which is already awesome.
BLAT. Bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato. Best with a hearty or sweet bread type. My preferred is sweet rye. No condiments needed…just spread the avocado for the texture and added flavor. Husband prefers the bread toasted, but I like it pan fried in butter.
I’ve seen a bunch that are really good, but I’ll add a couple:
BLT. Simple and so so good.
Toastie, or grilled cheese. Couple of ways to punch the is up. Use a thick cut crusty bread. Include some Branson Pickle. I learned about this in London, and it’s amazing. My mom used to make a grilled cheese with tomato and bacon. Either way, or just a plain old grilled cheese is pretty good.
The best sandwich I ever had was a panini I randomly threw together for a snack at three in the morning. The next day I went to make it again since it was so delicious, but realized I'd forgotten some of the ingredients I used. I was in the middle of a sandwich-making phase at the time so I had like a dozen types of bread, meat, and cheese to pick from.
This was a decade ago and I've never been able to recreate that perfect sandwich despite several attempts. It's my culinary white whale. The only ingredients I am sure of are the spread (light mayo in one side, applewood-smoked bacon mustard on the other) and the meat (honey-smoked turkey), and that it was only a simple meat-and-cheese. The bread and cheese continue to elude me.
Anything Indian or Ethiopian put between two slices of bread is absolutely amazing. The next time you order in Indian make a sandwich of some saag, vindaloo, korma, whatever and fucking enjoy.
Ploughman's, easily. Thick slices of sharp cheddar, a tangy onion chutney, thin slices of apple, and some greens. More properly a ploughman's lunch that is not in sandwich form, but it comes with bread anyway so literally the only difference is how you arrange the components
Also if there's banh mi on offer I might just about bite your hand off to get at it
A sandwich I used to make when I worked at a deli. Pastrami, turkey, and provolone, melted, on a toasted onion roll with coleslaw and Russian dressing.
Right now its the second sandwich in This video. I've made it at least a dozen times in the past month or two. Avocado and blk olives + humus + roasted red pepper/onion/zucchini + balsamic vinegar glaze(I do extra of this)
Baguette from our local bakery in Schinnen, they do the original French method. Tick sliced tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, home made mayo (whisked, no stickblender stuff), salt and pepper. Delicious.