How do YOU like to kick up a sandwich?
How do YOU like to kick up a sandwich?
I normally have pretty basic tastes when it comes to sandwiches: meat, cheese, mayo, a spread of some kind and/or lettuce if I have some on hand. But it's nice to throw in something different now and then.
Sticking to one or two ingredients (this is the dull men's club after all) how do you all like to kick up your sandwiches a bit?
I'll start-- it's nothing crazy, but Aldi sells a Bavarian sweet mustard that's a really nice step up from regular yellow mustard for a ham & swiss.
There are very few sandwiches not immediately improved by the addition of crisps..
I'm not a man, can I still share?
Pickles. Specifically pickled onions and peppers. They make every sandwich so much better!
I do spinach in lieu of lettuce. It's something.
I presume this is a very well-understood fact, but l also find that a sandwich prepared the day prior and given a night in the fridge before being carted to work is superior to one prepped and eaten immediately or only left in a lunchbox for a handful of hours from that morning. The bread softens up nicely as it passively takes on moisture from the spread and toppings.
I don't often do sandwiches, but a pickle is classic. Or maybe some crisps, or like a lot of lettuce.
For me the crunch is the juice
Balsamic vinegarette does wonders to even something as simple as a bologna and cheese. It soaks into the bread nicely giving it a zesty flavor.
My go to "spices" that almost never fail are ketchup and/or Sriracha
I need pickles on all my classic sandwiches, including burgers and fries chicken
Two things. On many sandwiches add a little hummus.
On grilled cheese sandwiches I like to put a little garlic salt on the outside.
I've done the garlic salt on grilled cheese before as well, but it's been awhile!
Related... one thing my wife taught me is to use mayo in place of butter on the outside of the bread. It doesn't change the flavor much but it browns nicely and helps crisp up the bread.
This isn't a "one extra ingredient" but this is as close an outlet that I'll have for this sandwich I made for the first time over the summer.
Sear a ribeye on both sides, cut into strips and cook again in Japanese BBQ sauce.
Take some white bread, preferably milk bread, spread some Kewpie mayo on both pieces
Add kimchi to the bread that will be your sandwiches crown
Add the steak to the sandwiches heel
Close sandwich and enjoy
I have been taking more or less the same sandwich to work for about ten years now. Whole grain bread, mayo, two slices of cheese (different kinds), and a bunch of lunch meat (usually turkey or chicken). Rarely, I'll sub a good mustard in for the mayo. Or I'll add tomato slices or avocado. A while back, my wife pickled some cucumbers so I had homemade pickles on my sandwiches. For a good while now since then, she's been pickling jalapenos for me to put on the sandwiches.
If I didn't have that, I'd probably reach for my spicy BBQ sauce or Sriracha from Underwood Ranch. They're not paying me, but I really want them to succeed so I can keep buying their sauces. They got fucked over by that green cap rooster brand that makes Sriracha, so now instead of supplying their peppers to them, they just make their own shit and it's amazing. They have a garlic pepper sauce that I blew through really quickly. That shit would probably slap on my sandwiches too, but it didn't last long enough to try lol. It was good in mac and cheese though. And stir fry.
Is it weird that I try to make sure to say fuck somewhere whenever I recommend any specific product just to avoid any accusations of it being an ad? This isn't an ad. Fuck Disney. Cum on a Big Mac. Shit on a Bugs Bunny plushie. There, now no corporation would want to be associated with this comment.
Warner Bros hate is a deep cut.
I’m a sandwich fiend too, with tastes similar to yours. In the pursuit of ever-increasing dullness, I’ve been trying to get away from eating nitrates every single day, and damned if all the grocery store brands of lunch meat aren’t packed with ‘em. Even the ones that say “no nitrates added” have an asterisk where they explain that yes, they do have added nitrates, but they’re produced the natural way, by putting celery sticks in particle accelerators.
Costco has deli-sliced turkey that fits the bill, but the sandwich doesn’t come out the same. It’s a different sandwich, really.
I may have to give up on nitrate avoidance. One person can only be expected to do so much.
It's not too difficult to buy a pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts, prep them, throw them into the oven, cool them, and slice them up. That's an option if you want a new little project to master which is also serving your function of healthier, fresher lunch meat.
Easy rundown: trim off and discard fat. Butterfly the breasts. Spray a sheet pan and put them on there. Either put Italian dressing or custom seasonings and white wine on the chicken. Throw the pan into the oven at 325°F until it hits 160°F (165 is food safe but residual heat will get it across the finish line). I'd set a timer for like 20 minutes and then temp and assess. It's easier to slice up without tearing if the chicken has had a chance to cool down.
Roast beef, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato, olives, pickles, sometimes mushrooms, on practically any kind of sandwich bread or burger bun.
I'm not usually into wheat bread though, but given all the other flavors combined, wheat bread works too.
Edit: I totally forgot the mayo, extra mayo for me. Failing any mayo, ranch dressing works for me too. But hey, to each their own..
Sometimes, when I feel like treating myself, I'll toast the bread.
That's when I'm really fancy
Throw some doritos on it. Or a few jalapeños
I've done potato chips but not doritos before. Honestly sounds pretty good!
Cool ranch doritos on my sandwich is my favorite one.
Grill it!
I've grown with years of a frozen bread/salami slice/bread sandwich for school break and later work lunch break. In winter it didn't even thaw fully so eating frozen sandwich (I was preparing them in bulk). When told this to my wife she was appaled. Now I have my own (sourdough of course) wholemeal bread, some cured meat, homemade kimchi or sirarcha (or just mayo sometimes). Maybe roasted peppers or something similar if at hand (but it's rare).
I like to add some chunks of brie cheese to my BLT. I make my PBJ with blueberry preserves instead of jelly.
I'm not a big tomato fan, but I've always felt BLTs need something in the cheese family. Brie sounds like a pretty solid option... definitely taking a note on that one!
Just be judicious in pruning the rind - ammonia flavor lurks there. Another great sammie - thin sliced beef, brie and horseradish on a baguette (sprinkled with capers) served cold. Argh, this is now becoming much less dull.
Horseradish sauce will spice up pretty much any meat based sandwich that normally has mayo.
Roast beef, provolone and creamy horseradish sauce is so simple but so tasty
I always use horseradish Mustard on my sandwiches, but my "kick it up a notch" is putting cool ranch doritos on em. Many different chips and doritos make a sandwich awesome better, including just salted potato chips, but cool ranch is my favorite.
Cool ranch is definitely the kickiest, but many chips go well on sandwiches. Sandwich chip eaters unite!
That's 2 mentions of cool ranch doritos so far, definitely going to try that soon!
I will sometimes stir fry mushrooms and add to any sandwich with cheese and ham for some extra juice and flavor. Or slice a boiled egg. Also cherry tomatoes. Or a slice of a larger tomato. Or grilled vegetables…. So many variations you can make. For a break from the yellow cheese and ham I will sometimes get some smoked salmon or whatever fish I can with some creamy cheese and lettuce. Avocado too goes well with… well… all of the above.
Yeah, avocado is great when you just need to add some fatty/creamy texture without competing on flavor. Especially on something toasted.
While in England last year, wife and I stopped in this pub for beers and rest. We were tired from walking all day. When we smelled a grilled cheese being cooked, we both were about salivating! I went up to the bar, and asked the guy if he could make another. He did, and when he brought it out, he said, “I added a little pickle in case you want it.” I just nodded at first, but pretty quickly realized there was not a pickle anywhere on the plate. Or in the sandwich. Instead, he meant Branston Pickle in a little portion cup next to the sandwich. I smelled some, and tried a little on my half of the toastie. SO. GOOD. I had ordered some on Amazon before we left for home.
U can really step up a sandwich with a nice "fresh" style mozzarella. Also a little bit of tomato paste adds a great kick of umami.
I'm a simple man. Toast, mayo, tomatoes, salt.
Hot sauce. For instance a simple peanut butter or cheese sandwich and hot sauce. Omelet of two eggs whisked with hot sauce.
I love adding German Hot Mustard on the bottom slice of bread, veg, cheese, and meat, followed by a normal creamy mayo. That gives my sandwiches a kick of flavor. Sometimes, I’ll season my mayo with hot sauce, cumin, cilantro, and everything seasoning. That also elevates a sandwich for me.
Forgot to mention in my original post, but hummus is fantastic on a chicken or turkey sandwich! Slather it on in place of mayo to add moisture and a nice garlic kick.
Branston Pickles is one way. Or a slice of pickled cucumber from "Spice Girl" in Rotterdam - they pickle their cucumbers with habaneros.
Pepper butter is another way to improve a sandwich. Or tomato butter made from blended dried tomato in oil mixed with butter. The addition of oil makes it an easier spread, too, but don't use olive oil here, it easily gets bitter in the blender.
Not necessarily all at once, but a few minutes in the toaster oven, thinly sliced onions, sauerkraut, sriracha mayo, and most importantly that fancy diagonal cut will turn my sandwiches up a notch