How To Build a Sandwich

What could be easier than making a sandwich? I know, right? Just spread some mayo on two pieces of bread, add ham and cheese, perhaps some veggies, and you are done.

Not quite…at least not if you want to create a culinary piece of art that will be remembered for nights to come.

Shall we proceed?

Let’s get toasty

We must start, of course, with the bread. Choose your favorite one: typical sliced bread — white or whole-grain —, or maybe you want to use ciabatta, rye… Perhaps you are doing keto and decide to pick one made of almond flour.

Whatever the case might be, a sandwich will always taste better if the bread is toasted. Always.

The level of toastiness is up to you but, yes, you should definitely toast the bread.

Spread it

Now it’s time for some mayo. Personally, I prefer one that’s made from organic avocado oil, but, in the end, this comes to your choices. Bear in mind that, even if you do everything else right, choosing the wrong kind of mayo will literally leave a bad taste in your mouth.

So, experiment! Luckily, there are plenty of brands out there, so you’ll likely find one to satisfy your taste.

Once you have decided which one you want to use, spread it generously. Not only will this give your sandwich a tangy, delicious taste, it will also protect the bread from excess moisture.

Seriously, you need to protect the bread

Few things are as bad as a sandwich that becomes all soggy and disintegrates in your hand as you eat it. Yikes!

As we mentioned above, the mayo will protect the bread thanks to its oily origins. However, you can take further protective measures smartly using cheese and protein.

Now pay attention here: you want to make sure the cheese is in direct contact with the bread. This way, if you add veggies such as lettuce, the bread will be protected from their moisture. Sogginess won’t dare ruin your sandwich!

As an additional precaution, your next layer should be your protein, such as ham or your favorite roast beef, some leftover roasted chicken; go wild here. After that, yes, please, feel free to add some lettuce, spinach, tomato, onion…This is also the moment to add some mustard or any other kind of dressing you prefer.

A quick note for the vegetarians in the crowd: I assume you will use your favorite vegan-friendly cheese and that you will skip all animal protein. Still, the point remains: do no let veggies directly touch the bread.

In summary, this is the order of the ingredients:

Remember to think in thin slices

To achieve structural integrity, everything must be sliced as slim as possible. If your ham is too thick, or your tomato chunks are oversized, you will find that every bite becomes a struggle and that half of the contents in your sandwich end up on the plate.

So, please, be careful. Keep in mind that a second advantage of slicing everything is that this will allow you to distribute the flavor.

Go diagonal

Sandwiches taste better when you cut them diagonally. There, I said it. It is a fact of life, and the sooner we all accept it, the faster we can move on and fix everything around us.

Some still argue that, maybe, sandwiches can be cut in rectangles. Poor fools…

Here’s the thing: when you cut your sandwich diagonally, it is easier to eat it. You can make your way through all of the deliciousness. And if you do small triangles?

Chef kiss!

Never let it go

Now, after you have gone through all of the trouble to make the perfect sandwich, show some respect, and do not let it go. Like, ever.

Think about it for a moment: you grab half of your diagonally cut sandwich, you take a savory bite, and then you put it down on your plate. What happens when you pick it up again?

That’s right! The whole thing might be in disarray.

Therefore, to keep things tide, once you grab a triangle, hold on to it for dear life until you are done with it.

Pro tip: the same advice applies to burgers.

Live the sandwich life

There you have it then. This is how we do sandwiches. Hope you enjoy it and, shall you have additional tips, please, kindly let me know.

In the meantime, go out there and experiment so you can make me proud. Oh, and you can also have some sandwiches 😉.

Originally published by me on Kitchen Tales.