I pack a lunch to work every day. It’s tasty and saves money. As I don’t have the energy to find something unique, I usually end up taking a sandwich. Looking for ways to elevate my game and/or save money. The sandwich I usually have is a pretty basic ham & cheese, but discussion of all types encouraged!
Bread: I am fond of sub bread over white, and fresh is superior. The bakery sub rolls from walmart are my current winners. I’ve considered buying a fancy breadmaker - it’s cheaper (eventually) and it doesn’t get fresher. But I’m not sure if fresh white bread would be better than sub bread.
Ham: I’ve taken to buying the whole hams that you cook yourself. They’re way cheaper per pound than deli ham and great quality. Plus you can flavor to taste. I typically use a pretty basic brown sugar glaze. Cook about one a month depending on size, portion into week sized bags, and freeze.
Cheese: Due to being lactose intolerant, I find myself limited in exploring the wonderful world of cheese. I use cabot brand, which is made nearly lactose free by their process. I enjoy the white and yellow cheddar.
Sauce: I enjoy sauces with a mayo base, but don’t love mayo on its own. My current sauce of choice is boar’s head honey mustard from Publix. Every other honey mustard I’ve tried is either too sweet or too mustard-y. I suspect this is because they aren’t formulated for sandwiches. I bet I’d love the honey mustard from other delis like subway. And I’d love to find some new sauces that I can make myself and adjust the flavor to my liking!
Extras: Personally, I’ve never liked many toppings - tomatoes, pickles, olives, raw onion, peppers, etc. Lettuce and spinach offer a nice crunch and some refreshment.
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My favourite sandwich ingredient would have to be avacado. Though I realise its unobtainable for most people, Im lucky to grow 2 fruiting tree’s so get em for free.
fresh baked bread with a drizzle of olive oil. Toped with avacado, homegrown olives tomato and lettuce (and some very old Edam if you feel like it). But don’t forget to add some homemade Rocoto chilli sauce somewhere along the way, adding some sweet tropical spice.
Unfortunately avacados are seasonal. We get them for about half the year. For the other half I must sit and wait, patiently biding my time. Waiting for the sun to rise on a day when the avacados will ripen once more.
Hummus, shredded chicken, peas, corn and curry powder.
Peas and corn like to escape.
I have always called those escapeas
Just about everything matters for a sandwich. I mean, I could get by with a slice of bologna and some super cheap plastic squares that masquerade as cheese and that’s… Fine.
But I would rather have some kind of toasted Italian herb and pamesean sub roll with good lettuce (green leaf, not iceberg), real cheese, fresh veggies, a solid finishing oil, condiments, salt, pepper… I don’t even need meat on a sandwich at that point.
I like sub rolls, but we have AC sub rolls here, the best kind. So a sub roll with roast beef, some mustard, some tomatoes, some cheese (pepper Jack? Cheddar?) and some homemade candied jalapeños. Yum yum.
Aldi has little shakers of bagel seasoning. Regular, jalapeno, asiago cheese. They make anything taste better. Buttered toast? Bagel seasoning. Salad? Bagel seasoning. Eggs? Bagel seasoning. Sandwich? Motherfucking bagel seasoning.
I love me a little horseradish sauce on ham and roast beef sandwiches. Not an overpowering amount, just a little to add to the flavor. The bottled stuff I get does not have dairy ingredients, but a lot of the recepies I see have sour cream in them.
Doing two or three different meats can help with making the flavors and textures more complex if you don’t have many vegetables.
Sliced tomato, hard boiled egg, salt and pepper and mayo on a French baguette.
I personally don’t like many condiments or dressings so I often spread a nice layer of hummus on my sandwiches.
Not a fan of any veggies that will make a sandwich soggy, but fresh, raw green beans, lined up so you bite them properly give nice crunch and add moisture and freshness without any sog.
Also butter (or butter substitute) your bread before adding other spreads.
The live lettuce sold with the roots in a puck of dirt is great. It stays crisp and fresh for weeks.
Shredded lettuce, not leaf. Very important distinction. Sliced onion if that’s your thing. Oil and vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper.
Here’s a way to step up a pretty basic sandwich:
- Add some uncured salami or pepperoni.
- A hoagie spread (basically just pepper spread) or Giardinera will give it a bit of kick
- Actual Italian deli sandwiches use both mustard and mayo
- Salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of oregano on top of the veggies (if any)
- If you like a little extra crunch, try some thinly sliced radish
