One of the things I miss about the US is being able to go into my local pizza/sub place and ask for a turkey sub with “everything” on it. Now that I’m away from the US I try to make them myself but it’s not even close. So what do you think are good ingredients for such a sandwich? I can figure out meat, cheese (but which kind?), mustard, mayo, pickles, tomato, and lettuce. Anything else?
If you’re in an ordinary US sub shop and don’t specify cheese, you’ll probably get American.
Don’t know how available that is where you live now, but any mild, salty, bland cheese is a decent substitute.
If I ordered a turkey sub with everything, my local shop would probably come up with:
shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, chopped (mild) dill pickle, chopped onion, sliced black olives, sliced hot pickled cherry peppers, finished off with mayo or oil and vinegar.
They’d top it with 4 slices of American cheese and put it in the pizza oven to toast for about 10 minutes, close it, bag it and I’d be on my way.
Does that help?
It also might help to know what region you’re from, as each region has it’s own quirks in the realm of subs/grinders/hoagies/whatever you want to call them.
Classic Sub:
French Bread
Meats
Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Dill Pickle
Mayo
Mustard
Horseradish (light)
Oil and Vinegar (to taste)
Pepperocini (drained and chopped)
Salt and pepper
Try toasting the split bread with the cheese on one piece and some mayo (Best foods / Hellman’s) on the other piece. The hot mayo effect really greases the skids. Use a brown mustard instead of the yellow type. I always use very thin slices of tomato and yellow onion. When buying a bottle of pepperocini, look for one that has the smallest peppers of all. Large peppers tend to be very leathery and seedy. The smaller one are usually more tender and have thinner skins. Please try Claussen’s dill pickles, as they are far superior to most brands. Avoid “Creamy” style horseradish and go for the straight stuff in carefully controlled quantities. A little salt and pepper never hurts.
Note: If you’re ever in San Francisco, California, drop by the Submarine Shop. It’s around the corner from the Empire theater on Potrero. Try their Atomic Sub sandwich and you will never be the same. Eat it hot in the shop and don’t let it get cold. It is the finest Sub that I have ever had, period, bar none.
While we’re on the subject allow me to share another sandwich recipe:
Dark Rye (nothing else is the same)
Rare Roast Beef
White Meat Turkey
American or Cheddar Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion (light)
Horseradish (light)
Heavy Mayo
Heavy Mustard
Pepperocinis and some potato chips on the side. We’re talking major taste bud orgasm here. In a pinch, you can use the marbled rye, but light rye and other breads just don’t cut it. Same goes for the cheese, stick to the recipe. Very rare roast beef is preferable to overcooked.
D@mn, now I’m hungry!
::Stomps off to make a snack::
Thanks Motorgirl and Zenster - sounds like that would do the trick! I take it “Pepperocini” and “pickled cherry peppers” is the same (or similar) thing? Also, how do you put oil and vinegar on a sandwich - just sprinkle a few drops? Sounds hard to sprinkle oil.
I was in the Boston area, by the way. Now I’m in Japan where I can’t even find dark rye, so I’d have to pass on the other recipe. That or bake one myself, I suppose - hmm, maybe that’d be my next project…
You might be able to find a spout for the oil bottle such that you can shake out a few drops at a time. If not, try a spoon to dribble it over your finished sandwich. And go for the most authentic-tasting bread and condiments you can find. I tried to make a salad in Finland many years ago, and the results were underwhelming, at best. I just didn’t have the right stuff.
/hijack
That’s it. A man who appreciates Kona coffee and can stomp his way into the kitchen. Zenster, will you marry me?
/byejack
Major difference between the pepperocinis and the pickled cherry peppers (also known as Hungarian cherry peppers). The cherry peppers are more like a midget pimentos. They are almost round, 1"-2" in diameter and come in red or green. They are also universally mild with the marinating liquid carrying half the flavor. They are very much an east coast / midwest thing.
Pepperocini (Italian for “little peppers”), are tapering conical, light green peppers anywhere from 1/2" to 3" in length. They are favored by the Italian, Greek and Mid-Eastern cusines. They also vary in heat from 100 to 300 Scoville units, while the cherry peppers are probably around 50 to 75 Scoville units (my estimates). For reference, a bell pepper is about 10 Scoville units, a Jalapeno is 400 Scoville units and a Serrano chile is 4,000 Scovile units. For the record, the Habanero chile is rated at 210,000 Scoville units (Yowsa!). Talk about torpedos!
My favored brand of pepperocini is from Mezetta, available in mild, regular and my new darling, garlic dill. Let me know if you are unable to locate this good stuff. We may have to arrange a care package. When you gotta have it, you gotta have it!
Incidentally, the application of the oil and vinegar occurs at the end of the sandwich making process. It is usally squirted out of a ketchup type squeeze bottle or drizzled out of a cruet into the vegetable side of the sub. You could also use a basting brush or just spoon it out if necessary. Use about one teaspoon per 1"-2" of sub.
As you can see, the cherry peppers are the gentlest, while the pepperocini have a bit of a kick, but nothing fierce. With both the large pepperocinis and the cherries you have the problem of a thick skin. This is why I like the small pepperocinis. You get bite size little zingers that give real zest to a recipe. I actually prefer mine on the side, but included them as being on the sandwich out of tradition.
scr4 (I don’t know why, but I want to pronounce that ‘scruffer’),
Anyway, are you in the Tokyo area? There are a lot of little bakeries scattered around here, I’m pretty sure you could find dark rye at one of them. I’ll check the German bakery near my place in Sangen-jaya on my way home to see if they have any. It might be pretty pricy, though.
I know how you feel, though. I grew up in Boston and I really miss the Italian subs.
–sublight.
When I lived in Ohio, I worked at a pizza/sub place. We made what we called a Ham Grinder.
On the baking pan, we put the boiled, chopped ham, by itself. Next to it, the bun, split. On one side, we put pizza sauce,onions, and cheddar cheese. On the other, mayonaise and banana peppers. Baked for 5 minutes in the pizza oven and then put together.
God, I miss those!!!
Wow, more great recipes - now I’m getting real hungry. By the way what’s a banana pepper? Another type of hot pepper?
Yes, I’m in Tokyo but way out in the suburbs (Tama area, Mitaka to be exact). Most bakeries I’ve checked have pretty uninspiring selections - they do a lot of experimentation with various sweet stuff in the bread, but not much else. Maybe I will look harder though. Do let me know if you find any good bakeries.
Banana pepper = sweet pepper, yellow in color. Usually served pickled in a sub shop. Mmmmmm.
IMHO, the classic hero sandwich is an Italian-American invention, and should reflect that.
Take a hero roll, slice lengthwise and…IMPORTANT…dig out some of the bread on both sides, to make room for the filling. You don’t want the filling to goosh out both sides as you sink your teeth into a mouthful of bread.
Drizzle both sides with extra virgin olive oil and good red wine vinegar. Sprinkle with a little dried oregano.
Layer with thin-sliced tomatoes (salt and pepper them), thin-sliced raw onions, sliced pimientos (or red peppers you’ve roasted yourself), ham, capicola, Genoa salami, provolone cheese.
Now, that’s the sort of sandwich you’d get on Mulberry Street in Manhattan, or in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. I can also recommend any po’ boy obtained in New Orleans, or a meatball or tunafish grinder from New Haven, Connecticut.
I should know better than to read threads like this right before lunch. I am definately off to Subs Plus for lunch…
[hijack] brachyrhynchos, you make my heart take wing! [/hijack]
Meanwhile, back at the deli. Correct call on the banana peppers SoMoMom. Bananas are a fairly mild chile that have a strong marinade like the cherry peppers. I would rate banana chiles at around 20-40 Scoville units.
Zenster’s summary of the differences between cherry peppers and pepperoncini is accurate (and thorough - thanks Zenster!)
Here in the Boston area, pepperoncini turn up in salads and cherry peppers are more common on subs. If you’re looking to buy jars of pepperoncini online, though, remember to spell them “pepperoncini!”! 
If you buy the cherry peppers pre-sliced, they tend to be more tender, and are easy to spread around on the sandwich.
Subs are always a creation of their regions.
In Northern New England (New Hampshire/Maine) you have italians, which are sub made with a gooey doughy bread, loads of green bell peppers, olives, lettuce, onions, a little meat and cheese, drenched in olive oil…Yum! But I’ve never been able to find the right bread anywhere else.
Back in Ohio, I used to love Penn Stations Hamsteak. Grilled Ham with cheese and onions. On very freshly baked french loaf.
When making my own subs/sandwiches, I tend towards experimenting. Recently tried this recipie. Take small french loaf, nice and crusty and flakey and toast it lightly. Take a Polish Kielbasa, slice it juliene style so that you have lengths of four to six inches, about a half inch in diameter. Grill with onions, and then add tomatoes, basil, oregeno, diced bell peppers or a good tomato sauce. Drain off excess tomato sauce, and dish the rest into the sandwich, top with provolone, and enjoy. The sandwich should not be saucy like a meatball sandwich, but still should have some sauce.
“PEPPERONCINI”, not Pepperocini.
(Homer Simpson voice)
DOH!
The most important thing for me in a sub is the BRAND of meat in it. Boar’s Head is the only way to go, as far as I am concerned. I cannot stand any other type! Boar’s Head chicken and turkey actually look and taste like real, right off the breast meat. Not that processed, slimy, cut into bits and jammed back together with jelly crap other brands are. Boar’s Head makes really good cheese too, but I am a little less picky about that. The only bad thing about BH is that it is expensive.
Do you guys have Subway in Tokyo? If not, you need to visit us in Osaka. We have at least 4 or 5 here.
Ewwwww, Subway’s…Togo’s is much better. 
Subway = Completely unacceptable
Togo’s = Marginal at best
Neither of these places use real Mayonnaise! They have some sort of petroleum based substitute (just kidding) that makes Miracle Whip almost seem edible. The skimpiest sandwich I have ever been served came from a Subway shop. It’s no wonder that guy lost so much weight eating at Subway. You could probably find things that were more edible in a real subway!
If you’re going to eat at a Subway over in Japan, make sure to bring some real Mayonnaise along with you and ask for triple the meat and cheese. Pay the extra charges and get something approximating a real sandwich.
::Scampers off to kitchen to gloat over jar of Best Foods Mayo::