How to Make Better Sandwiches, According to the Best Sandwich Makers in the Country

It’s time to say goodbye to sad sandwiches. No more flavorless ham and cheeses on floppy bread. No more soggy subs. No more clubs that fall apart as soon as you pick them up. Sure, you should be able to throw a sandwich together quickly and with whatever you have in the fridge, but that doesn’t mean it should be an afterthought. Becoming a better sandwich-maker is easier than you think; you just need to look to follow the lead of your favorite sandwich shop

For tips on how to improve our sandwich making skills, we reached out to the best in the biz — chefs known for creating some of the most innovative, delicious, and inspiring sandwiches in the country. Read on for ten easy ways to turn your everyday sandwiches extraordinary. 

Season along the way

When we’re cooking, it’s common practice to season as we go. Sandwich-making is no exception. “You need to season with salt and pepper along the way, starting with the bread,” says Trevor Kunk, culinary director of Shy Bird in Boston. If you’re toasting the bread, spread it with your fat of choice (mayo, butter, or olive oil) and add a sprinkle of salt before it even hits the griddle. “This will easily take your bread from a three to a 3,000 in a matter of moments.”

Rest your bread

One of the most popular sandwiches at Turkey and the Wolf in New Orleans is fried bologna made with “big toast” — thickly cut, toasted white bread. “Toasted bread is one of my favorite flavors,” says chef and owner Mason Hereford. “And when you have a thick-cut piece, you are going to get crispy on the outside, but on the inside, you’ll have that softer chew.” To prevent that bread from becoming a floppy mess the moment it hits the other hot ingredients, Hereford suggests letting the toasted bread rest on a wire rack for 30 seconds. “Because the air is able to go around the bread, it’ll have time to cool down so the center won’t steam.”

Balance is everything

At Wax Paper in Los Angeles, co-owners Lauren and Peter Lemos strive to make sandwiches that hit all sides of your taste buds. “Something sour, sweet, bitter, salty, [and umami-forward],” says Peter. “I want to make sure that all those points are connected when you eat it.” It’s might sound like a lot to balance, but those flavors can show up in subtle and unexpected ways, like pickled onions for a sour flavor, balsamic glaze for sweetness, tomatoes for umami, bitter greens, and flakey sea salt — now you’ve got yourself a great sandwich.

Texture is important

One way to elevate an otherwise average sandwich is to add a crunch factor. Toast your bread, add a crunchy vegetable like alfalfa sprouts or cabbage, or throw in a pile of potato chips — a pro move inspired by Turkey and the Wolf’s bologna sandwich. “Just keep things interesting from bite to bite,” says Lemos. 

Consider how you’re chopping and slicing your ingredients

How you prepare your sandwich ingredients are almost as important as the ingredients themselves. Matt Cahn, chef and owner of Middle Child in Philadelphia, generally only includes big, chunky ingredients for more simple sandwiches. For example, he’d use whole cornichons in a jambon-beurre (ham on a buttered baguette). “There’s not much else going on so you’ll get a lot of the crunch,” he says. But for Middle Child’s colossal Shopsin Club, Cahn goes with paper-thin slices of sweet pickles that easily meld into the layers of house turkey, cranberry miso mayo, avocado, bacon, and bibb lettuce. 

Be generous with your sauce

It’s easy to be hasty with mayo or mustard, messily smearing it onto bread before adding the other ingredients. But according to Kunk, one of the keys to an excellent sandwich is spreading your condiments with intention. “You always want to make sure you are spreading it to all edges of the bread and allowing a little extra to fall into any nooks and crannies the bread might have,” says Kunk. This technique ensures that every single bite tastes the same and avoids any possibility of having a sad, dry crust. 

Keep the main ingredient at the base

“When building your sandwich from the bottom-up, you always want to keep the main ingredient at the base,” says Kunk. “This could be a roasted protein, a fried piece of eggplant, fish, or a salad of some type.” Not only does this guarantee that the main ingredient will hit your tongue before the other toppings, it also will anchor your sandwich. The more heavier ingredients up top, the more likely your sandwich will topple over like Jenga. “But if it’s a bigger sandwich and there are lots of veggies, then I like to take one that I think would cause structural integrity and move it to the bottom,” adds Cahn. 

Use a third piece of bread to soak up the sauce

If you’re working with an especially juicy or saucy meat such as brisket or leftover Thanksgiving turkey smothered in gravy, this hack could save you from a soggy sandwich. “[At Turkey and the Wolf], use a third slice of bread, like in a club sandwich, and we’ll purposely let that bread soak everything up,” says Hereford. He uses this technique — what he’s coined as the “soaker slice” — in Turkey and the Wolf’s Collard Green Melt to protect the rest of the sandwich from getting overly soggy and to separate the collards from the crunchy cole slaw. 

Don’t try too hard

According to Cahn, the biggest mistake you can make when preparing a sandwich is trying too hard. “When I was developing our Italian hoagie, I brought it to my buddy’s house,” he recalls. “I made pickled red onions and relish and I had this really nice provolone. But when we ate it, I remember being so disappointed because the ingredients were just fighting with each other.” To avoid this mistake, Cahn suggests building the sandwich around one ingredient and letting it be the main character. This will save you time and money and, ultimately, will give you a better end result. 

Use toothpicks

Worried about your sandwich falling apart before you can even take a bite? Don’t underestimate the power of a toothpick. At Middle Child, Cahn uses toothpicks in all of his sandwiches, whether it’s on toast or a six-foot hoagie roll. For cutting those extra large sandwiches, Cahn uses “lots and lots of toothpicks,” to hold the sandwich together, and a serrated knife to slice as close to the bottom as possible. “Then somebody follows it with a kitchen knife and cuts the last little bit of crusty bread,” he says. “It’s definitely a two-man job if you want to get it done right.”