Make your own sub sandwiches.

Why go all way to a sub sandwich shop and buy something that was made by a 14 year old? I used to work in a (now defunct) sub sandwich shop chain in Minneapolis (I was college age), and here's how you do it:

ingredients:
sub rolls--foot long or 6", white or whole wheat.
sliced cheese, your choice. We used processed Swiss, but I'm sure real cheese is better.
shredded lettuce
thinly sliced onions (if desired)
thinly sliced tomatoes
bottled hot peppers (if desired)
oil dressing: you can use mayo, or do what we did at the shop: mix vegetable oil with a little juice from the bottled peppers in a cruet for sprinkling.
salt and pepper
meat of choice: you can go with ham or turkey, salami, mix up some tuna with mayonnaise, or just go veggie and put on another layer of cheese.

Slice the rolls crosswise with a large serrated knife. On the bottom half arrange cheese slices, overlapping a little.
Add the lettuce, onions, and a row of tomato slices and peppers if using. Sprinkle with oil salt and pepper. Top with the meat or another layer of cheese.
For tuna, spread a generous amount on the top half of the roll. Put on the top, cut in half and enjoy!

note: It's important to put the cheese down first so that the veggies won't make the bread soggy.

IMO the bread in most of the chain shops is too soft for a "Real New Jersey Worthy" sub. You need a little crunch on the crust but not so much you have to bite down hard. The real key is the dressing which needs Olive Oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper with just a hint of oregano. (Like just wipe a few leaves in there for a second)

It goes without saying that you need excellent quality cold cuts --Cut thin and the lettuce must be shredded...No leaf lettuce on a sub....NEVER!

in your area, you will almost certainly find exactly the right kind of slightly crunchy baguettes that make great subs and bahn mi. And cheap, too.

Edited to add: Was it Clark's you worked at, Ginny? I so miss Clark's subs - great onions.

It's too light for a proper sub sandwich. When I'm on a carb binge I run right for the bahn min and a big (small) bowl of pho. My daughters coming home from college at the end of the week and if I meet my weight loss goal for the week we're going out for lunch.

They were pretty good. Oh the onions we peeled! We had to open the back door to let out the onion fumes. :)

just the perfect combination of crusty outside and chewy inside.

One thing I would do differently - mayo. I love mayo.

:hide:

If you're gonna have a sub you might as well go all out. I love the bread that you get in the Vietbnanese sandwiches...what are they called Bin Minh? It's the closest I've found to true French bread here in the states.

The best subs though are in New Jersey....The coldcuts are different...I don't know what the heck it is? I can't get decent Deli Roast Beef in Seattle....Even if you find Boars Head it's often not bloody enough and not cut properly. It's also twice the price than I'd pay at "home"

but I've had some hoagies in PA that left me almost in tears, they were so good.

And you're right about the cold cuts. They're different in other parts of the country, and my theory is that the hoagies/subs that I grew up with used cheaper cold cuts, except when they used Italian meats - mortadella, capicola, the salamis. Then, they were the best.

The cheese was always Provolone. I didn't know you had a choice until I left for college.

I never got used to hoagies with real meat on them, like roast beef or turkey or tuna salad. To me, they're "sangwiches."

My cousin, who has an Italian restaurant in South Jersey, gets his bread every day from a South Philadelphia bakery. I have spent some precious moments just sitting in the delivery truck, breathing deep.

It's ALL in the bread, and you only find the right bread in Philly/South Jersey.

I grew up in North Jersey but went to college in Philly...I still carry around quite a few of those meals...Oy. The North New Jersey/NY bread is very different and has a bit more of a crack to the crust. The Philly Hoagies are on a far softer and doughier bread. They also are prone to putting pickles on their hoagies which every Jersey girl knows is just Yuckie. My favorite Hoagies were from a little joint on 45th street. I always got Tuna under the belief it was healthier....Ha..how we are deluded in our youth. Now for sandwiches you went to Koch's but alas...They are no longer....What a loss.

Now if you're ever in North Arlington New Jersey the place to go is Dels Subs on Ridge Road. It's around the corner and down a few blocks from Pizzaland (great fried hot dogs too).
After your meal scoot down the Pike to the North Arlington Diner for The Finest Cheesecake in the entire world....It's like nothing you ever tasted. I've asked my husband to shove some in my mouth on my deathbed so I can go in pure happiness.

PICKLES ON A HOAGIE?

What deviant came up with THAT idea?

Peppers, sure, of course, but pickles?

Oh, man, that's disturbing. What are these people thinking?

And then there is this:



And this, which is really fun: http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HoagieSubmarinePoBoy.htm

Now I'm thinking po' boy .................

I just kind of stretch the ball of dough, squeezing in the center to push the dough towards the ends, and let gravity do its job and elongate the dough. I'm sure it's not the correct way, but I'm still unclear about many aspects of bread making.

Once they're long enough to fit on the pan, I let them sit there for an hour or so and then just put them into a hot oven. They're not perfect, but certainly better than what they give you at the sub shops.

Then proceed as described above.

Thanks for the tip about mixing the oil with the pepper juice! For me, pepperoncine are critical to a good sub, either incorporated or on the side, so I always have that pepper juice around when I have subs. Never thought to mix it with oil for a dressing though!

:thumbsup:

- I took one of those cheap plastic wide shakers (it could be like this:
but forget the metal - just cheap plastic from the utensil aisle at the supermarket; fill it with a mix of salt and papper (easier to fill it, then dump to a bowl, mix it in the bowl, and then refill the shaker - it's a bitch to stir in the shaker directly). Then any time you want to add salt and pepper, just grab the mixed shaker and sprinkle on.

- I like thin pickles in there

- Perhaps coat the outside of the bread with softened butter or margerine and bake, if you want it hot

- And for the true experience, place on a sheet of parchment paper (not wax!) roll it up, write something on it in magic marker or sharpie, tape with a short slice of masking tape, slice at a slight angle at the middle, and place in a grinder-sized paper bag, and serve.

thought it irrelevant to home use. We actually did have salt/pepper combination shakers. Cuts shaking time in half and that's important when there was a rush going on (lots of customers at once).

Wrapping the sandwich and letting it "Rest" for a few minutes helps the flavors mingle and makes the end product SO much better. I like to let mine sit for at least 10 minutes but a half a day in the fridge then allowed to come to room temp is even better!

The salt and pepper thing :thumbsup: