There was a time when
I didn't make sandwiches because, well, they
just weren't very good. It took years before I figured out why. I didn't understand that there's more to sandwiches
than putting a couple things between two slices of bread. So, in this video,
rather than teaching you how to make one or two sandwiches I like, I'll give you the concepts you can use to improve the sandwiches
you're already making. (upbeat music) Obviously, there are all
sorts of sandwiches out there. Knife and fork sandwiches
like croque monsieur. Sandwiches usually left to the pros like the Philly cheese steak. Sandwiches that are best when freshly made like grilled cheese. These aren't the ones I
want to focus on today. I wanna look at the simpler ones where there's a primary ingredient like a deli meat or egg salad, and it's slipped between
two slices of bread. When I'm making this style of sandwich, there are three concepts I consider. First, the treatment of the bread, second, contrasting flavors and textures, and third, the assembly. Let's take a look at Andrew Janjigian's pan bagnat
(upbeat music) to see how these concepts
take a tuna sandwich to the next level. He starts by removing the
interior from the bottom half of a baguette before toasting it and brushing it with a layer
of extra virgin olive oil. After that, he lays down
a layer of chopped salad made with nicoise olives, red onions, capers, anchovies,
Dijon mustard and herbs. On top of that salad, there's some really nice oil-packed tuna. After that, we shingle
on drained tomato slices. On top of the tomatoes, our
slices of hard-cooked egg. Then the rest of that olive
salad goes right on top before it gets capped with
the rest of the bread. Finally, it gets wrapped and
pressed for at least an hour. (upbeat music) I've pressed this sandwich
for about an hour now. Let's unwrap it and give it a try. First up, isn't it nice that nothing falls out
when you pick it up? There was a lot of stuff in there and that pressing really helped. But, enough talk. The sandwich has all of
my favorite ingredients from a nicoise salad, the tuna, the egg, the capers and herbs, the olives. It's pungent, it's punchy, it's rich. There's this nice chew from
the bread, it's amazing. (upbeat music) Pan bagnat teaches us a couple things about how to handle the
bread for a sandwich. Generally, you're gonna want your bread to make up about a
quarter of your sandwich. That's enough bread for
structure and stability, but not so much that the filling gets lost or the sandwich becomes tricky to eat. If you're working with something like a bagel or a baguette, consider removing some of the interior. This gets you a less bready sandwich, and it forms a trough for
containing the filling. The other consideration is
to toast or not to toast. It's not necessary, and
I often skip toasting, especially if I'm using fresh bread or sliced bread that's
got seeds or whole grains. On the other hand, it adds
lovely texture by drying out and browning the surface of the bread. That, in turn, lets the bread absorb moisture without falling apart. If you've got an especially stale bread, consider taking an extra couple of minutes to griddle the slices. Simply spread the thinnest layer of oil or butter on the bread and cook the slice in a
skillet over medium-high heat until it's crisp and brown. Griddling does two things for
bread that toast and can't. It crisps the surface really quickly, minimizing how much the bread dries out, and it adds a touch of richness. By the way, it's up to
you whether you griddle one side or both sides. After you've got your bread ready to go, it's time to think about the filling. (upbeat music) There's a lot to learn from the filling of Andrew's pan bagnat. First, it's well-seasoned. Andrew uses salt and
vinegar to great effect. Second, the combination of ingredients offers a lot of contrast. What do I mean by contrast? Well, when it comes to texture, we've got chewiness from the bread and tenderness from the egg. Then there's the crispness of the crust against the
juiciness of the tomatoes. On the flavor front, we've got savory tuna versus pungent onions and sweet tomatoes next to the heat of the mustard. Applying these principles is easy. When you're using a raw ingredient like sliced tomatoes or avocado, help them with a sprinkle
of salt or a touch of acid, or get creative and use
a splash of pickle brine or scattering of capers to season. As for contrast, start by figuring out the qualities the bread and
your star ingredient bring. Then pick complimentary
flavors and textures. And remember, there are a
number of ingredients out there that bring more than one quality. Now, this is all very general, so let's take a look at some examples. (upbeat music) Here I have some Turkey
and toasted ciabatta, and that bread is gonna
bring a dry crunch. And the turkey is tender and lean. I've got some contrast there
already, crunch and tenderness. So what I'm looking for is
juiciness to counter the dry and some richness to offset the lean. Now I could add tomato and
mayo or tomato and cheese, but let's try something else. How about kimchi and avocado? The kimchi is juicy and
it brings some bonus heat and acidity to punch up the flavors, and the avocado is rich and creamy. So here's my ciabatta, and this is looking like a
little bit too much bread for the amount of filling I have. So I'm gonna ditch a
little bit of the interior. First up is the avocado. I want to flatten it out a little bit. I wanna give it a little bit of salt, and I like these slices on the
very bottom of the sandwich. Avocado slices slip when
they're shingled like this, and the holes in the ciabatta
will be nice and grippy. So that looks good. And then we've got our turkey. And last up, the kimchi. Now, this kimchi, it's looking like it came
from the top of the container. It's not loaded with juices. If this kimchi came from
the bottom of the jar where all the juices are, I would blot it first.
(upbeat music) This is what I want in a sandwich. I want it to hold
together, not fall apart. Nothing's dripping out
and it tastes great. The kimchi is spicy, it's juicy. Avocado's rich. That turkey flavor is still there. Great sandwich. (upbeat music) So what about a rich
filling and a soft bread? I've got egg salad here and rye, and to compliment them, I need something with crunch and acidity. I like radishes for peppery crunch and some sort of pickle would be nice. Now, you could use
store-bought giardiniera. You'd probably wanna chop that up first because those pieces can be large. Pickled peppers would be nice, but I really like the sweetness that bread and butter pickles bring. I'm gonna start with the radishes. And it's actually kind of
nice that they're this small. The larger ones you kind
of have to bite through or you risk kind of pulling them out. These smaller pieces are less problematic. And then we've got a nice,
generous amount of egg salad. And I don't feel like I
need pickle in every bite. It kind of keeps the sandwich
interesting if every bite doesn't taste the same,
or at least I think so. (upbeat music) Okay, let's give this a try. So this is delicious. Egg salad is so rich that
the punchiness of the pickles and radishes is really nice. It keeps it interesting. Sandwich is a little bit messy though, but we'll address that in a little bit. (upbeat music) Before we get to construction, here are three easy-to-make items that I like to keep around for sandwiches. Pickled avocado, Dijonnaise,
and Sumac onions. For pickled avocados,
(bright music) you'll need a relatively firm avocado. Make a brine by stirring
together half a cup of distilled vinegar, half a cup of water, one tablespoon of sugar, and
two teaspoons of table salt. Cut your avocado into
quarter inch thick slices and drop them in the brine for anywhere between 30
minutes to two hours. Before you use them, be
sure to pat them dry, and you can keep these
around for two days. The acid from that brine will keep the avocados from browning. You can make Dijonnaise by
stirring together equal parts Dijon mustard and mayo. Now you could put mustard
and mayo on a sandwich, but it really does taste better if you mix them together first. The mayo softens the mustard. The mustard brightens the mayo. It's just perfect. To make sumac onions thinly
slice a small red onion, then toss with three
tablespoons of red wine vinegar, one tablespoon of sumac and a quarter teaspoon of table salt. These are gonna rest
for at least 20 minutes, and then they're good to go. I really love their bright citrusy flavor, and I use them in sandwiches with roasted and grilled poultry. You could also add minced herbs to them to bring even a little more flavor. Now that we know what's
going into the sandwich, how do we put it together? (upbeat music) When it comes to assembly,
the goal is really simple. The sandwich needs to
hold together as you eat. Let's look at some reasons it falls apart and strategies for
avoiding these problems. One problem is the bread falls apart. Usually, that's because
it's absorbed water from the filling, and you've got a couple of
options to deal with this. You can toast the bread
to increase its capacity to absorb water slightly. You can drain wet
ingredients on paper towels to remove the surface moisture, or you can do what Andrew
does for pan bagnat and waterproof your bread. Andrew demonstrated this
with a sponge experiment. I've got two sandwiches here, and I'm gonna brush a scant
amount of oil on the surface of one of them and leave
the other untreated. And these sponges dipped
in this blue water, they're a juicy filling. We're gonna press these
sandwiches and see what happens. (upbeat music) It's been 30 minutes. Let's ditch this weight
and see the results. As you can see, if you
have a super juicy sandwich and it's gonna sit
around for a little bit, a lot of those juices are gonna soak into the bottom slice of bread. By treating that bottom slice
with a little bit of oil, you can prevent it from
absorbing quite so much water, and the results, it's, like, this is so mushy and soft, and this has retained its
texture, which is really lovely. And you don't have to use
oil to prevent sogginess. You could use a slice of cheese
or even a smear of butter. Another common problem is
that the ingredients slip out. Now here you have a
couple of options as well. As I said earlier, you can
remove some of the interior to create a trough for the filling. You could press your sandwich
to give it more cohesion, or you can be strategic about the layers. Place grippy items like
bacon, shredded lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, arugula, or potato chips between slippery items like pickles or tomatoes. Or you can just wrap
(paper crinkling) that sandwich in plastic or parchment and peel that wrap away as you eat. (upbeat music) Next time you make a sandwich, take a second to think
through what's going in there. Figure out if there's a flavor or texture that you're missing, and then take a close look at what you've got stashed
in the fridge and pantry. I bet there's something
tucked away in there that'll make your sandwich pop. And take the time to build it properly, and it won't be long before
people are gonna be asking for your sandwich secrets. What's the best way to
cut a sandwich in half, and why is it triangles? Make your case in the comments below. If you found this video
useful, consider subscribing. And for more great recipes,
techniques and tips, check out cooksillustrated.com.