With the new school year well under way, and the repeated task of packing
of kids lunches again, got me thinking about sandwiches. When you make
sandwiches (or even burgers for that matter), do you fly by the seat of your
pants? Simply throwing together ingredients haphazardly between bread/buns, or
is there an artform about it? A mapped-out procedure, if you will? No, I don’t
work as a sandwich artist for the popular submarine sandwich chain. This is
just something I have learned over the years.
This technique I am about to share with you has been
tried, tested and true. I have experimented many times over with numerous
ingredients, in different combinations, and my steadfast rules are accurate.
These steps will have you making sandwiches and burgers better than you have
ever done before. Now these rules won’t apply to simple kids’ sandwiches (like
peanut butter & jelly, and such), they are meant for more ‘complete’
sandwiches. Read along and you will understand. If you are vegetarian or vegan,
I will apologize in advance that I have not included your preferences in this
scientific breakdown of layering ingredients.
Most sandwiches and burgers consist of a bread top and
bottom with a meat protein in-between. The
My unwavering criteria for perfection are simple:
strong tasting ingredients should be placed below the protein, while light and
creamy ingredients should be placed above the protein. But why, and how does
that make a difference? Isn’t everything just chewed up in our mouths anyway
and make for the same intermingling of flavours regardless of how it was
assembled beforehand? Not exactly. We have a myriad of taste-buds located on
different areas of our tongues and they do not all pick up the same flavours.
That’s the best way I can describe it from a chef’s perspective.
Now when I say ‘strong tasting ingredients’ I mean
stuff like ketchup, relish, mustard, barbecue sauce, onions, pickles, hot
peppers, etc. Anything that has a strong, overpowering, or pungent flavour.
These should be placed below the protein.
‘Light and creamy ingredients’ would include lettuce,
tomato, cheese, mayonnaise, etc. and should be placed above the protein.
I know I have only included handful of examples of
each type of strong, or light and creamy ingredients, but I think you get the
point. With anything you are wanting to place inside a sandwich or burger, I
simply want you to decipher it into these two simple categories and place it as
stated. Trust me, it will make a huge difference.
Not a believer? Then put it to the test: build your
sandwich or burger as I have suggested and take a bite. Then cleanse your
palate with a drink of water, turn the sandwich upside down and take another
bite. You will find that the first bite just tastes better.
I also have one more important tip for you: if you are
adding lettuce and tomato, make sure you season with salt and pepper – it makes
a world of difference as well. This is not the time for table salt however; I
want you to use a pure salt (kosher, sea, Himalayan pink, etc.) because in raw
applications like this, table salt will taste too chemically directly on your
tongue.
Until next time... Happy Cooking!
