Food & Drink

DIY sub sandwich - your recipes wanted

  • Last Updated:
  • Feb 15th, 2021 9:54 am
[OP]
Deal Expert
User avatar
Sep 21, 2010
15185 posts
4645 upvotes
Montréal

DIY sub sandwich - your recipes wanted

Incredibly I never made my own sub before, I've made reg sandwiches but it never crossed my mind and I always bought haha.

Now I'm enjoying making my own and there are lots of different 'instructions' online, for example, I always thought you put the meat on the bottom but one of the videos I saw suggested put on top and I figure it kinda makes sense since when closing the sub it's less messy. Don't think it makes a big difference either way, anyway how do you layer and build your sub? My ingredients:
-sub bread
-different hams
-salad greens/salt+pepper/salad dressing (e.g. balsamic/Italian)
-tomatoes
-onions
-cheese
-dijon mustard
Hard work, inheritance, interest on interest accumulating, and stock and real estate speculation. It's all good.
21 replies
Deal Expert
Feb 9, 2012
21251 posts
8340 upvotes
Toronto
I like the EZ sub sauce: (the bottle also shows a pic of what a good sub looks like)
Image
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Deal Expert
User avatar
May 10, 2005
36850 posts
11276 upvotes
Ottawa
Buy some sub buns and put anything you want on them...Bingo...DIY subs
The most successful people are successful because they do not care about others’ opinions about them.
[OP]
Deal Expert
User avatar
Sep 21, 2010
15185 posts
4645 upvotes
Montréal
playnicee1 wrote: I like the EZ sub sauce: (the bottle also shows a pic of what a good sub looks like)
Image
Interesting they put meat on top too.
Hard work, inheritance, interest on interest accumulating, and stock and real estate speculation. It's all good.
[OP]
Deal Expert
User avatar
Sep 21, 2010
15185 posts
4645 upvotes
Montréal
UrbanPoet wrote: Turkey BLT with mayo is always a classic.

Or extra bacon, extra tomato, mayo and cheese.


I keep them fairly simple.
Tx.

Btw noticed you changed your pfp, who's that? What did you have before? Haha.
Hard work, inheritance, interest on interest accumulating, and stock and real estate speculation. It's all good.
Deal Addict
Apr 26, 2013
4104 posts
4041 upvotes
Toronto
playnicee1 wrote: I like the EZ sub sauce: (the bottle also shows a pic of what a good sub looks like)
Image
I find normal zesty Italian salad dressing to be better than this for hoggies.

My method is a tried and tested one. Do not cut the bun completely on half leave a hinge, lay it flat and put the meat and cheese on both ends filling in the middle then fold it up.

Image
Deal Guru
Nov 15, 2008
12963 posts
8287 upvotes
Leftover medium-rare roast beef thinly sliced, hot onions, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper, maybe Swiss cheese, maybe tomato, baguette. If I use the Swiss I warm the beef & cheese gently in the microwave on a plate separately & then put it all together.

Seaquest faux flaked crab or lobster meat, mayo, iceberg lettuce, green pepper, white processed cheese, salt & pepper on brioche/soft sweet white hamburger bun.

Must have coarse ground pepper for sandwiches. No pepper grinder, try Plochmann's (Walmart) $3.97, best deal. https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/plochmans- ... 0198007503
Deal Guru
Nov 15, 2008
12963 posts
8287 upvotes
UrbanPoet wrote: Gyro meat (they have frozen and costco versions now), tomato, onion, taziki.
I make a mean tzatziki. It is just yogurt with ranch dressing spices & cucumber. I have had some really rotten store-bought versions with pickley cucumbers or a lot of sweetness.
  • shred a few inches of peeled greenhouse cucumber, salt it well, & squeeze the juice out in a paper towel
  • Add a teaspoon each of dehydrated minced onion pieces (e.g., the Selection stuff at Food Basics that goes on sale for $0.99/bag), Club House dehydrated minced garlic pieces, pinch of dill weed, the shredded pressed cucumber to plain 2% yogurt
  • Let it sit until the garlic & onion soften & the cucumber rehydrates, at least 1/2 hour. The cucumber will really thicken the yogurt up as it sucks back in water by osmosis
...or Donair it by dressing it with a mix of mayo, white sugar, vinegar, garlic powder.

You can make your own gyro meat pretty quickly by making & frying fat hamburger patties of ground beef/lamb & gyro seasoning mix the day before, then thinly slicing them to get your shaved bits. Throw the rest of the cooked burgers in the freezer for another day. You can also roast it as a meatloaf but then it is harder to portion & slice. If you get the portions right 1 burger is perfect for 1 sub & you can just throw 1 in a ziplock in water to defrost & go.

Sliced homemade burgers, mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, onions also make a great quick meatball sub. You want a softer burger with bread(crumbs) & onions in it for those.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jan 12, 2017
22352 posts
6640 upvotes
Scarberia
where do u get cheap sub buns tho? i usually get mine at metro 90c i think
*SIG: Ryzen R5 2600 cpu w/ ASrock B450M OCd to 4.0ghz@1.265v stock cooler 16gb ram win10 pro w/radeon rx460 rogers Gigabit<< xb1 gamertag: mikka2017 >>
Deal Addict
Jan 2, 2015
2779 posts
2754 upvotes
NOT centre of Univer…
We don’t do subs often but when I find nice buns available, I will get them. So many options, don’t over think.

I like to cut my subs how Subway used to do ti, like a triangle so it’s hollowed out and the toppings don’t fall out. I generally put a little of my sauce on the bottom, the messier ingredients of veggies, then my meat, and cheese with a little more mayo.

Some subs we do
- meat ball sub (my favourite) - meatballs cooked in marinara topped with cheese and toasted
- pizza subs - tomato sauce pepperoni, salami, veggies, cheese toasted, then a tad more sauce
- Vietnamese subs, just like at the restaurant, I use a baguette instead
- any meat with veggies, and cheese.

Crap now I want a sub.
On a 'smart' device that isn't always so smart. So please forgive the autocorrects and typos. If it bothers you, then don't read my posts, but don't waste my time correcting me. If you can get past the typos, then my posts generally have some value.
Deal Addict
Apr 26, 2013
4104 posts
4041 upvotes
Toronto
mikka2017 wrote: where do u get cheap sub buns tho? i usually get mine at metro 90c i think
I've found the best place is wholesale club, they have weston bakery sub buns. Alternatively real Canadian superstore but they're not the same.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 9, 2013
4433 posts
1999 upvotes
Scarborough
The bread is the foundation of a good sandwich, if you like Subways bread texture I suggest looking up on YouTube recipes for "Chinese milk bread" and just form the bread into a subway type versus a bread tin. That's as close as you're going to get. There used to be a place called Toronto Bread that sold subway style buns (still does but only to businesses). If you want to try that bread out check out "Chubby's" on Morningside and Sheppard they still buy from them.

A few tips I found along the way is also if you're into lettuce, onions, cucumber then toss all those ingredients with some of the sub sauce so everything gets incorporated so when you build your sandwich you don't get any dry spots when biting. I also like to put my red onions and soak them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes, it dilutes the bitterness and gives them a nice non-acidic taste. If you want to find same type of cheese you can visit "Wholesale Club" they sell foot-long white cheddar slices. If you're in Toronto check out "Dworkins" and if you're in Scarborough check out "Cash and Carry" on midland.

If you own a deli slicer, do what "Bellybusters" does and slice their iceberg lettuce with their deli slicer to have that nice and thin firm strips of lettuce. I own a soda-stream so I grab a zip-lock bag and throw in my lettuce and fill it up with Co2, it keeps the lettuce from browning. The closest sub sauce that I found to be really good on salad and on sandwiches is the one from "East Side Mario's"...they sell their own brand of Italian dressing use that next time and let me know what you think.
[OP]
Deal Expert
User avatar
Sep 21, 2010
15185 posts
4645 upvotes
Montréal
mikka2017 wrote: where do u get cheap sub buns tho? i usually get mine at metro 90c i think
Ya, here it's slim pickings, local Maxi's don't even carry them and had to go to Walmart to get 4 buns (size is probably 8") pkg for $3.xx, dunno if that's a good deal or not, only choice I had.
Hard work, inheritance, interest on interest accumulating, and stock and real estate speculation. It's all good.
Deal Guru
Nov 15, 2008
12963 posts
8287 upvotes
For fast, even, thin slices of onions & other veggies I use a Benriner mandoline https://www.amazon.ca/Benriner-Japanese ... 0000VZ57C/

Cannot live without it. Critical to have for sandwiches, salads, & pizza toppings. You can take the blade out of the Benriner & sharpen it. It also comes with a set of julienne blades that work in tandem to make threads & sticks, & you can buy separate replacement blades/blade packs for all 4.

Another 1 a lot of people like is the Swissmar Borner V-style but you do not get the same flexibility with maintaining the blades (& no julienne blades) https://www.amazon.ca/Swissmar-Borner-V ... 0000632QE/
[OP]
Deal Expert
User avatar
Sep 21, 2010
15185 posts
4645 upvotes
Montréal
lecale wrote: For fast, even, thin slices of onions & other veggies I use a Benriner mandoline https://www.amazon.ca/Benriner-Japanese ... 0000VZ57C/

Cannot live without it. Critical to have for sandwiches, salads, & pizza toppings. You can take the blade out of the Benriner & sharpen it. It also comes with a set of julienne blades that work in tandem to make threads & sticks, & you can buy separate replacement blades/blade packs for all 4.

Another 1 a lot of people like is the Swissmar Borner V-style but you do not get the same flexibility with maintaining the blades (& no julienne blades) https://www.amazon.ca/Swissmar-Borner-V ... 0000632QE/
Tx for reminding me to use my slicer, been mothballing in the cupbrd.
Hard work, inheritance, interest on interest accumulating, and stock and real estate speculation. It's all good.
Deal Addict
Apr 26, 2013
4104 posts
4041 upvotes
Toronto
OrangeBerry wrote: The bread is the foundation of a good sandwich, if you like Subways bread texture I suggest looking up on YouTube recipes for "Chinese milk bread" and just form the bread into a subway type versus a bread tin. That's as close as you're going to get. There used to be a place called Toronto Bread that sold subway style buns (still does but only to businesses). If you want to try that bread out check out "Chubby's" on Morningside and Sheppard they still buy from them.

A few tips I found along the way is also if you're into lettuce, onions, cucumber then toss all those ingredients with some of the sub sauce so everything gets incorporated so when you build your sandwich you don't get any dry spots when biting. I also like to put my red onions and soak them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes, it dilutes the bitterness and gives them a nice non-acidic taste. If you want to find same type of cheese you can visit "Wholesale Club" they sell foot-long white cheddar slices. If you're in Toronto check out "Dworkins" and if you're in Scarborough check out "Cash and Carry" on midland.

If you own a deli slicer, do what "Bellybusters" does and slice their iceberg lettuce with their deli slicer to have that nice and thin firm strips of lettuce. I own a soda-stream so I grab a zip-lock bag and throw in my lettuce and fill it up with Co2, it keeps the lettuce from browning. The closest sub sauce that I found to be really good on salad and on sandwiches is the one from "East Side Mario's"...they sell their own brand of Italian dressing use that next time and let me know what you think.
The iceberg lettuce is key same if you're doing tacos.

Have you tried the olive garden dressing? Might want to look into that for your subs!
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 9, 2013
4433 posts
1999 upvotes
Scarborough
WMPCOT wrote: The iceberg lettuce is key same if you're doing tacos.

Have you tried the olive garden dressing? Might want to look into that for your subs!
I think I heard of that, yes but not quite sure where to find it.
Deal Addict
Apr 26, 2013
4104 posts
4041 upvotes
Toronto
OrangeBerry wrote: I think I heard of that, yes but not quite sure where to find it.
Costco has them but in bulk size, 690mlx2 I think. It is also found in regular size at the Real Canadian Superstore.

Top