Simple Rules for Better Sandwiches | Techniquely with Lan Lam



Even a great sandwich can be improved with smart technique. Lan shows you how to elevate any sandwich with these game-changing tips.

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ABOUT US: The mission of America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) is to empower and inspire confidence, community, and creativity in the kitchen. Founded in 1992, the company is the leading multimedia cooking resource serving millions of fans with TV shows (America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Country, and America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation), magazines (Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country), cookbooks, a podcast (Proof), FAST channels, short-form video series, and the ATK All-Access subscription for digital content. Based in a state-of-the-art 15,000-square-foot test kitchen in Boston’s Seaport District, ATK has earned the trust of home cooks and culinary experts alike thanks to its one-of-a-kind processes and best-in-class techniques. Fifty full-time (admittedly very meticulous) test cooks, editors, and product testers spend their days tweaking every variable to find the very best recipes, equipment, ingredients, and techniques. Learn more at

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48 Comments

  1. Thank you for a great review. Bread excess can be removed using a circular apple core tool with a rotating advancing motion rather than picking out with fingers. This works especially well on a bagel with a more even controlled extraction of the unwanted bread.

  2. Triangles; something very satisfying about that first bite of the point, no agonizing over where to bit first, no cheek smear of filling, the perfect balance of crust, spongy bread, and fixings. Always gotta be triangles.

  3. LOVING that haircut on you! Terrific!! Looking better than EVER! A knockout! And of course..always enjoy you presentations! But not offense…but nothing on Earth could get me to eat those first two sandwiches!! SORRY!! lol HUGS !!

  4. One of the most important thing for me is the freshness of the bread. Putting it in a plastic wrapper will make the crust absorb more humidity and it will impact the crunchyness of the crust. If you're looking for sandwich knowledge, Belgium is a good place to go.

  5. I usually work through the soggy bread conundrum based on layering of items.
    My usual sandwiches have cucumber. If I'm at home I usually toast thoroughly (until the cheese is well melted) and eat soon, so I put the cucumber directly onto the bottom of the bread. It absorbs excess moisture that leeches out of the cucumber so it isn't drippy, but being actively toasted dries and crisps it up for structure.

    If I'm eating at work though, the cucumber would risk making some of the bread soggy, so instead I put some slices meats or such at the bottom (which when toasted goes above the cucumber), then the cucumber, then the cheese. Since the sandwich sits for a few hours and usually gets pressed in a container to maintain structure, that's a lot of opportunity for the cucumber to leech water into the bread, making it kinda soggy.
    Instead having it shielded from the bread and touching the cheese, the moisture leeches into the cheese which slowly absorbs it, and for me at least the softened cheese in a full sandwich is not an issue.

    I'm not sure of this part but it feels like the saltiness in the cheese over those hours of contact might draw more moisture out of the cucumber and soften it slightly too, a fresh untoasted sandwich has a different texture in a few ways to one that's sat for a few hours, and I think the one that's sat is actually better. More soft and chewy and some flavours feel more balanced.

    (and since I'm typing up a whole essay apparently, might as well describe my usual sandwich, going from the bottom up, toasted version)
    Bread is tiger usually rolls (crunchy crust) or with sesame seeds on top (warmth when toasted),
    Cucumber, middling flavour again, some varieties are quite strongly flavoured, but also don't want just green water,
    Some sliced meats or reasoned substitute, usually ham or turkey for me,
    Some cheese with a fair but not overwhelming flavour, like a particularly sharp cheddar. Plain cheeses are too indistinct, but the kinds of cheeses you eat with crackers and wine are too intense,
    Baby spinach (put in quite a bit),
    Hummus, the simple kinds,
    Then finally some pepper, a little cinnamon, and some tabasco sauce (usually mixed into the hummus as its spread for distribution, don't want one concentrated spot of tabasco or cinnamon).

  6. This video makes me fear that the people who destroyed Bon Appetit have moved over to Test Kitchen. Lan Lam is an amazing presenter but the director’s control is overpowering. They better kick out this group before they completely destroy everything.

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