The Simple Mayo Method That Ensures A Symmetrically Sauced Sandwich

Your stomach rumbles as you carefully unwrap the deli paper from a sandwich you just bought, and the tantalizing aroma of cold cuts and bread hits your nose. As soon as you can get a good handhold, you bring half of the sandwich safely to your lips and hungrily take a bite. It's a perfectly balanced mouthful with all the ingredients present and accounted for; crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, sliced pickles, tangy cheese, and thinly sliced meat, all well-seasoned with mustard, salt and pepper, and mayonnaise.

While you've made hundreds of sandwiches in your own kitchen, using all of the same ingredients, from the delicatessen's own lunch meat to bright, garden-grown tomatoes and homemade Calabrian chili mayo, it just doesn't taste quite right. What if the simple answer is that you're not seasoning it correctly? Spreading both slices of bread with mayonnaise (and other seasonings/sauces) is an easy way to ensure a uniformly tasty sandwich down to the last bite.

Deli-made sandwiches are so spectacular because they make an extra effort to season it well, and that means spreading mayonnaise on both slices of bread. Not only that, the mayo goes down first as a vehicle to spread other flavors — mustard, salt, pepper, hot sauce, or a finely chopped giardiniera — evenly across the whole sandwich. Additionally, a liberal slathering of mayo on both slices guarantees a grinder that's moist but not soggy.

Consider the elements you like on your favorite sandwich: is thinly-sliced, juicy roast beef less deserving of an extra creamy oomph than any other ingredient? What about the magic that happens in your mouth when a tomato slice and mayonnaise come together? If you begin making your sandwich by evenly spreading mayonnaise on each piece of toasted sourdough, hoagie roll half, or slice of multigrain bread, all the way to the edge, it's the best start for a truly harmonious sandwich.