The #1 restaurant trick is to frivolously gown lettuce and greens earlier than making sandwiches.The dressing will moisten the greens and assist season the opposite components.Stop soggy work or faculty sandwiches by maintaining components separate till able to eat.
A number of years in the past, I labored as a line cook dinner in an upscale restaurant. Often, I labored the grill or sauté station on the recent line. At some point, my boss approached me and informed me I used to be scheduled to work garde manger, aka the salad station. I had by no means labored that station earlier than, however it was simply salads and different chilly gadgets, so I figured, how onerous may or not it’s?
The next 8 hours had been a radical schooling within the correct method for not solely salads but additionally crudités, dips, charcuterie and sandwiches. I discovered loads that day and got here away with numerous respect for my co-workers who labored that station frequently. I additionally gained some extraordinarily treasured tidbits of information on what made restaurant meals style a lot extra elevated than what I normally ready at dwelling.
A very powerful factor I discovered throughout that shift was to all the time gown the lettuce or greens on a sandwich. It feels like such a fussy step, however consider me, the flavour payoff is off the charts.
Why You Ought to Gown Lettuce
You wouldn’t eat a dry salad, so why eat dry lettuce on a sandwich? We’ve all bitten right into a sandwich with an enormous valley of crunchy, however dry, lettuce within the center. The feel is disagreeable, to say the least. Even should you douse all sides of the bread with mayo and mustard, all that can do is sog out the bread whereas maintaining the lettuce within the center bone-dry. Should you’re a fan of Italian subs, you’ll have observed your native hoagie store drizzling on oil and vinegar on the finish, which is sort of good. The draw back right here is that there’s splash-back that may get the bread soggy. What I’m advocating for right here is dressing lettuce in a separate bowl previous to building.
Past including moisture, dressing gives much-needed seasoning. Lettuce might be bland, and even a small quantity of salt and pepper can increase the flavour significantly. Deli meats and cheeses are normally salty, however their salinity can’t actually season the greens or different veggies. By dressing the lettuce, you may frivolously season different veggies like tomato or cucumber in your sandwich, which may additionally use a little bit assist.
Methods to Gown Lettuce
The fundamental methodology is straightforward: As soon as your greens are the dimensions you wish to eat them, toss them in a bowl with a couple of tablespoon of French dressing. My go-to all-purpose sandwich dressing is 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and a pinch every of salt, pepper and dried oregano. Add all the components to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously till mixed. You may gown almost any greens with this combo for a super-flavorful sandwich. In a pinch, I’ve been recognized to decorate greens with simply olive oil and a splash of pickle brine or juice from a jar of pickled peppers. All the time begin with a lightweight drizzle of dressing—bear in mind, you may all the time add extra, however soggy, overdressed lettuce is unfixable. As soon as your lettuce is prepared, assemble the remainder of the sandwich as you usually would, mounding up your dressed lettuce, and revel in straight away.
Taste Mixtures to Strive
The kind of greens and French dressing you employ relies on your sandwich. For a caprese on ciabatta, I’ll toss a handful of arugula with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. On a basic Italian hoagie, I attain for thinly shredded iceberg or romaine and toss that with a drizzle of my primary French dressing and even bottled Italian French dressing. On a basic hen tender or fried hen sandwich, a French dressing of olive oil, cider vinegar, honey and whole-grain mustard actually sings.
For the very best BLT of your life, it takes a couple of further steps, however you’ll by no means wish to eat it the common approach once more. Begin by slicing your tomatoes and nestling them in a shallow bowl. Then, pour over about 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar, a wholesome pinch or two of salt and a number of other cracks of black pepper. If in case you have any chives or scallions kicking round your fridge, slice them thinly and throw them in. Let the tomatoes marinate whilst you cook dinner your bacon, toast your bread and reduce your lettuce. Assemble as follows: toasted bread, a lightweight smear of mayo, bacon and marinated tomato slices. Then, toss your lettuce within the leftover tomato marinade and add to your sandwich, then end with the ultimate slice of bread. Not solely are your tomatoes completely seasoned and marinated, however the salt within the marinade attracts out among the tomato juice, leaving you with extra densely flavored tomatoes and a tomato French dressing to decorate your lettuce.
Tricks to Keep away from a Soggy Sandwich
At this level, it’s possible you’ll be considering, “OK, you’ve bought me, I’ll gown my sandwich greens. However how do I preserve it from making my sandwich soggy after I pack my lunch for work or faculty?” Not an issue—this methodology can completely be performed on the go!
Basically, I all the time advocate maintaining sandwich lettuce separate from the sandwich till you truly plan to eat it. Transporting your lettuce in a container with a paper towel retains it extremely crisp and prevents wilting earlier than lunchtime. Take it one step additional by packing a small quantity of French dressing with you and dressing your greens within the container you transported them in. If in case you have an workplace fridge, contemplate mixing up a batch of my primary French dressing and maintaining it in a jar for sandwiches all week lengthy. Positive, it’s an additional step and possibly one further container to scrub, however should you ask me, a couple of further seconds are price it for a sandwich you’re truly wanting ahead to consuming.
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