TikTok's Viral Grinder Sandwich Is Basically A Better Salad
For what is essentially meat and cheeses stuffed inside a long loaf of bread, there is certainly a lot of debate about the grinder sandwich. Whether you prefer to call it a sub, a hoagie, a grinder, a wedge, a hero, or even a po'boy, these sandwiches come with an impossible variety of fillings. From meatballs in marinara sauce to deli meats, there is literally nothing that you cannot stuff inside a loaf of bread.
Even if the stuffings are similar, the way to arrange them for maximum flavor and minimal mess can trigger a multi-state debate. From whether you should toast the bread to the way you arrange the fillings, there are as many ways to construct a sub as there are sandwich shops.
However, a recent viral TikTok video by user Britscookin has provided a neat way to resolve this problem. By essentially making a salad and stuffing the vegetables between the meats and fitting the entire thing inside the hollowed-out loaf, it's a fun way to make a hoagie that will not fall apart when you eat it. Instead of spreading the dressing on the bread, Britscookin tosses it with the lettuce and veg, essentially creating a salad that is then stuffed into the bread. A handheld salad between crusty bread! It's definitely a step up.
Stuffing a salad in a grinder
To start making this sandwich, you need meats, cheese, pickles or pickled peppers, and vegetables of your choice. In addition, you will need the condiments that you usually spread on each side of the bread such as mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. For the bread, get a crusty submarine loaf.
@britscookin Grinder Sandwich! #grindersandwich #easyrecipe
First, hollow out both sides of the bread and toast it with garlic butter. While the bread is toasting, chop up your vegetables of choice — such as lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and red onions — and toss them with the condiments to create what is basically a chopped salad. Once the bread is toasted, line each side with the slices of your preferred cheese and meats, then place the salad in the middle. Once folded over, the meat will cover the vegetables and dressing, and combined with the hollowed-out bread, the filling will stay inside the sandwich, making it easy to eat. But also making it pretty much a salad tucked into bread. No matter how you slice it — delicious.
Stuff a hoagie roll a dozen ways
Thanks to this TikTok video, we learned a pretty ingenious way to make a hoagie that is easy to assemble and makes for a less messy eating experience. However, except for the core idea of mixing your veggies into a salad — complete with the dressing — and stuffing it inside a hollowed-out loaf, you can certainly improvise the fillings with what you find in your fridge. For instance, provolone cheese, leftover steaks, and chimichurri sauce can make for a great sandwich inspired by Argentinian cuisine. Toss tomatoes, onions, and baby greens with the chimichurri while lining each side of the hollowed-out loaf with cheese and sliced steak, then fill the middle with the chimichurri spiked salad for an excellent steak sandwich.
Alternatively, try filling the sub roll with a Cobb-salad-inspired filling. Line both sides of the hollowed-out bread with cheese, and toss together chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and red onions alongside cubed ham, leftover grilled chicken, hard-boiled eggs, and blue cheese in a bowl. Dress the mixture with ranch or blue cheese dressing and fill the bread with the mixture to create a handheld version of this main course salad.