Advice in the dark art of sandwichcraft?

[Narmondur]

Hello everyone!

I just signed up literally a couple of moments ago and I hope to gain a lot of tips, tricks and recipes from here!

Now onto business:

I've a mind of making a sandwich, but not your bland tasteless icky sandwich. A proper one! I'm thinking of using couple of slices of rye bread, between which I would deposit the following:

- meat (probably a slice of smoked beef)
- cheese (thinking something like emmental)
- tomato
- lettuce and/or arugola
- onion, sliced into rings
- maybe sliced bell pepper, not sure

I would also use a butter based spread (it's like butter but technically it's not because it has a small amount of vegetable oils in it to help it to spread nicer) on the slices

First of all, how does all of this sound? Is there too much stuff going on between the bread slices or do you think everything would stay together?

Secondly, how would you construct a monstrosity such as this to avoid the ingredients slipping and sliding all over the place?

Thirdly, I'd like to use a vinaigrette of sorts to add into the flavour, but I have no clue how I should go about making one and if I should sprinkle it on both slices before or after the spread is applied, or just sprinkle it over the toppings before slapping on the lid... oh boy. There's a lot to consider.

Finally I'm planning to squish the finished product by hand into a more condensed form, wrap it in clingfilm and deposit into the fridge in a box to wait for consumption within a couple of days.

How does all of this sound? Any tips or tricks, advice, criticism, recipes for the vinaigrette? I've a vague recollection of something that involved salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and olive oil but I don't know...

Hoping for speedy replies. Thanks in advance guys and gals!

EDIT:

Completely forgot to mention this, but I'm most comfortable with metric measurements. Teaspoons and tablespoons as volume units are also fine. I also own a kitchen scale so any measurements provided by weight are also adored! Not so good with cups and ounces, though I guess that's what the internet is for, huh? Don't know if any of this is relevant but decided to write this down in case someone is wondering which units to use when replying to this.

 

[CraigC]

The Muffeletta may give you some guidence in your efforts.

Real N'awlins Muffuletta Recipe - Allrecipes.com

BTW, Welcome to DC!

 

[jabbur]

The only thing I see wrong is putting the whole thing together and waiting a few days to eat it. I'd be worried about the bread getting soggy with the vinaigrette sitting around for days. You'd have to use a pretty hearty bread that could stand up to that and I'm not sure rye would do that. You could put everything else together and then the day of consumption sprinkle on the vinaigrette though.

 

[Narmondur]

The only thing I see wrong is putting the whole thing together and waiting a few days to eat it. I'd be worried about the bread getting soggy with the vinaigrette sitting around for days. You'd have to use a pretty hearty bread that could stand up to that and I'm not sure rye would do that. You could put everything else together and then the day of consumption sprinkle on the vinaigrette though.

Would it be better if the fridge time was kept to overnight region? Basically the idea is to have a sandwich I could make the previous night and grab from the fridge in the morning to eat for lunch or so during the days when I've no time whatsoever to at least get home, much less think of cooking. Or would the sogginess still be an issue? Also, do you mean removing the lid on the day of consumption to sprinkle the vinaigrette, then replace the lid and rewrap the big boy? You don't suppose the layer of spread wouldn't work as a barrier to keep the bread from becoming soggy?

 

[blissful]

I agree with CraigC--get a round loaf, like a Muffuletta, hollow out the hearty bread a little leaving some of the soft white interior and all the hearty crust, build the sandwich in the hollow of the bread. That will reduce any slipping and sliding.

Butter makes a pretty good sealer for the bread. When I'm making a sandwich that needs to be kept wrapped for a few hours, I put a slice of lettuce next to the buttered bread, both sides.

That muffuletta sandwich is SO good, one of my favorites. I make an olive relish like in that recipe and keep it jarred in the refrigerator for sandwiches and salads. It is good mixed with cream cheese for a spread on bagels and crackers.

 

[Narmondur]

I agree with CraigC--get a round loaf, like a Muffuletta, hollow out the hearty bread a little leaving some of the soft white interior and all the hearty crust, build the sandwich in the hollow of the bread. That will reduce any slipping and sliding.

Muffuletta seems rather huge... suppose something like a bagnat works, if I can find any? Something kind of a sub shaped? Would also have the added benefit of several large sandwiches from one loaf yes? What do you think, if I used one of those submarine shaped loafs, could I make one, wrap it, refrigerate for a few hours, cut into manageable sandwiches and rewrap and fridge them again to wait for the morning and the trip in a lunch box?

Butter makes a pretty good sealer for the bread. When I'm making a sandwich that needs to be kept wrapped for a few hours, I put a slice of lettuce next to the buttered bread, both sides.

Suppose you were making one with the ingredients above, how would you continue with the assembly? I suppose meat goes on top of lettuce, then comes something like the onions, cheese and tomato?

Also, since the vinaigrette seems to be something that makes this impossible for presliced rye bread to deal with, do you think you guys would have any pointers on boosting the flavour if I left the vinaigratte out and used rye bread instead of the more hardy white bread?

 

[GotGarlic]

This is a variation of the muffuletta made with French bread (not a baguette - the thicker type) that's just what you're talking about. You can use whatever you want for the filling. I like grilled chicken, Havarti cheese, lettuce and tomato.

The vinaigrette doesn't make it soggy and the mustard and vinegar make it tangy. You could add caraway seeds for that rye flavor Cut it into individual servings and refrigerate; no need to do that twice.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-bagnat-recipe.html

 

[blissful]

You could use a hard roll or a rye roll, or anything you like, and still hollow it out a little to make room for the fillings.

It is an art to know how long you can keep a sandwich wrapped and refrigerated, before the sandwich starts to be less than optimum.

If you want to keep the bread dry, use the butter and lettuce on both sides. If your bread is hearty enough and crusty enough, and you want to let the marinade or dressing to soak into the soft insides, then go for that.

Small containers of vinaigrette or marinade, separate from the sandwich, to be used when eating, is always an option.

This reminds me of when my oldest boy was in high school. He took a class at the local county extension and college. The course was on 'Sandwich Making'. He entered a local competition and came home with a 'Sandwich Making' Trophy. Who knew there were such things. That kid could and did Rock and Roll the best sub sandwiches ever! We later entertained guests at a camping site and him and his brother assembled in assembly line fashion some 20 sandwiches, all of them fabulous. He later started working at local shop with the main menu item of sub sandwiches. It's a skill that is helpful for the rest of your life.

 

[Narmondur]

This is a variation of the muffuletta made with French bread (not a baguette - the thicker type) that's just what you're talking about. You can use whatever you want for the filling. I like grilled chicken, Havarti cheese, lettuce and tomato.

That's exactly the Good Eats episode/recipe that got me excited and thinking about these things! In fact, Good Eats got me interested in cooking, period. The only problem is, what if I don't find a bagnet :S (but what if I do? I could make brosciutto base - mix of chopped onions, tomatoes and fresh basil, maybe garlic, mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper, put sliced mozzarella as cheese and a good salami or proschiutto as meat... yum...)

You could add caraway seeds for that rye flavor

The thing is, as of right now I'm not using rye bread for the flavour (although I really like the flavour, don't get me wrong) but because that's what I have in my freezer at the moment XD Granted, I'd still have to go shopping for toppings so I have no excuse to look for that sweet delicious bagnat~

If you want to keep the bread dry, use the butter and lettuce on both sides. If your bread is hearty enough and crusty enough, and you want to let the marinade or dressing to soak into the soft insides, then go for that.

The thing is, I'm not exactly sure if it is crusty enough. Vaasan there's a link where you can see the packaging and a bit of what the bread in question looks like. You can't exactly whack someone over the head with one but maybe it could tolerate a bit of vinaigrette, I don't know?

Small containers of vinaigrette or marinade, separate from the sandwich, to be used when eating, is always an option.

For the purposes of this particular situation, less contaiiners I have, the better. Though I will surely keep that tip in mind for future reference. Thank you!

This reminds me of when my oldest boy was in high school. He took a class at the local county extension and college. The course was on 'Sandwich Making'. He entered a local competition and came home with a 'Sandwich Making' Trophy. Who knew there were such things. That kid could and did Rock and Roll the best sub sandwiches ever! We later entertained guests at a camping site and him and his brother assembled in assembly line fashion some 20 sandwiches, all of them fabulous. He later started working at local shop with the main menu item of sub sandwiches. It's a skill that is helpful for the rest of your life.

That's sounds glorious! Getting hungry just thinking about all of those subs, and I just ate! Must've been delicious!!

 

[RPCookin]

Sounds like a really good sandwich, but I don't think I'd add the tomato or vinaigrette until I was ready to eat it. The rest of it should do okay in the refrigerator.

 

[GotGarlic]

That's exactly the Good Eats episode/recipe that got me excited and thinking about these things! In fact, Good Eats got me interested in cooking, period. The only problem is, what if I don't find a bagnet :S (but what if I do? I could make brosciutto base - mix of chopped onions, tomatoes and fresh basil, maybe garlic, mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper, put sliced mozzarella as cheese and a good salami or proschiutto as meat... yum...)

The thing is, as of right now I'm not using rye bread for the flavour (although I really like the flavour, don't get me wrong) but because that's what I have in my freezer at the moment XD Granted, I'd still have to go shopping for toppings so I have no excuse to look for that sweet delicious bagnat~

The thing is, I'm not exactly sure if it is crusty enough. Vaasan there's a link where you can see the packaging and a bit of what the bread in question looks like. You can't exactly whack someone over the head with one but maybe it could tolerate a bit of vinaigrette, I don't know?

Kewl Alton has some great ideas

I think putting the lettuce between the bread and the other ingredients will keep it from getting soggy. But - there's only one way to find out!

 

[RPCookin]

Kewl Alton has some great ideas

I think putting the lettuce between the bread and the other ingredients will keep it from getting soggy. But - there's only one way to find out!

Unless you have a perfect, unbroken sheet of lettuce, vinaigrette and tomato juices will find their way to the bread after a couple of days in the fridge.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Pickled Banana Peppers, add that vinegar flavor without all the liquid.

 

[GotGarlic]

Unless you have a perfect, unbroken sheet of lettuce, vinaigrette and tomato juices will find their way to the bread after a couple of days in the fridge.

Yeah, I don't think it will work for more than a day.

 

[Narmondur]

I'll make the sandwhich tonight and am going to eat it tomorrow afternoon so realistically it's going to stay unconsumed for under 24 hours. If this experiment works, I might try to push the time I can have it sit in the fridge.

It actually turns out that I don't have red wine vinegar. Do you think I could replace it with white wine vinegar (which is a more recent acquasition and has been sitting in the pantry for only a short while) or cider vinegar (which has probably been sitting in the back of my fridge for like a year now). Neither of the bottles is full.

 

[GotGarlic]

Sure, I think either one will work.

 

[GilliAnne]

Secondly, how would you construct a monstrosity such as this to avoid the ingredients slipping and sliding all over the place?

The ingredients in my sandwiches fall out all the time, especially the salad veg I usually add. When that happens I just pick them up and put them in my soup instead - not beetroot as yet, though. Sometimes I put them straight into the soup and bypass trying to keep them in the sandwich.

Gillian