Sandwich for the freezer

[ChefSlade]

Last week I made 6 bagel sandwiches with cream cheese, capers and smoked salmon and placed them in the freezer.

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Oy veh! Nisht gut

[Fat Guy]

Some bread freezes better than other bread, in my experience. Delicately textured rolls and such freeze only well enough to be used as toast. Heavier, whole-grain breads tend to freeze exceptionally well, such that I've been fooled many times, and fooled other people many times. I even know of one restaurant where the in-house baker doesn't work Sunday but the restaurant is open, so they just freeze bread on Friday and Saturday and use it on Sunday. There appears to be no record of any customer ever noticing -- including me.

But there's another issue with sandwiches. It's one thing if you make and eat a sandwich immediately. But if you make and pack a sandwich to eat later, the advantages of fresh bread are pretty much lost. And using frozen bread actually works as a mini-refrigeration system for a while, plus at least in the early part of the day, while the sandwich is sitting around wrapped in foil or plastic, frozen bread gets less soggy than unfrozen bread if you're using fillings and spreads that tend to make bread soggy.

So for sandwiches that I'm going to take with me somewhere, I actually prefer frozen bread.

That's a separate question from fillings, which I haven't experimented with as much.

[deltadoc]

Approximately every two weeks, I lay out 12 pre-sliced regular English muffins opened on my cutting block. They just fit.

Then I lay a 1/4" slice of sharp pre-sliced good quality cheddar (the meat man slices them for me off a large block of cheddar).

I then take 3 boxes of frozen regular Hormel sausage links and cut them into 3's, put them on a preheated griddle. While they're cooking, we take 12 eggs, one at a time into a measuring cup, add a pinch of sea salt and a LOT of freshly ground black pepper.

Into the egg rings they go (I have 4 rings that just fit on the griddle along with the sausages).

As the sausages get nicely browned on both sides, I scoop them up and place them on the cheese thats lying on the open bottom of each English muffin.

As the eggs cook, I slip off the ring and turn them over. They're scrambled when I added the S&P, and I plop them on top of the 3 sausages per sandwich.

Top of the muffin goes on, and I slide them into individual sandwich bags and all but one goes into the freezer. Night before I go to work, I take one out of the freezer and its just right to take to work the next day. I heat it on an open paper plate for 55 seconds at work, and immediately turn it over, so the underneath side doesn't stay moist and chewy.

I've been doing this for years. In fact, looking forward to my sandwich and a Coke when I first get to work is what keeps me going to work. Haven't missed a day since I started in May of 2005!

doc

Edited May 31, 2009 by deltadoc (log)

[Magictofu]

Approximately every two weeks, I lay out 12 pre-sliced regular English muffins opened on my cutting block.  They just fit.

Then I lay a 1/4" slice of sharp pre-sliced good quality cheddar (the meat man slices them for me off a large block of cheddar).

I then take 3 boxes of frozen regular Hormel sausage links and cut them into 3's, put them on a preheated griddle.  While they're cooking, we take 12 eggs, one at a time into a measuring cup, add a pinch of sea salt and a LOT of freshly ground black pepper.

Into the egg rings they go (I have 4 rings that just fit on the griddle along with the sausages).

As the sausages get nicely browned on both sides, I scoop them up and place them on the cheese thats lying on the open bottom of each English muffin.

As the eggs cook, I slip off the ring and turn them over.  They're scrambled when I added the S&P, and I plop them on top of the 3 sausages per sandwich.

Top of the muffin goes on, and I slide them into individual sandwich bags and all but one goes into the freezer.  Night before I go to work, I take one out of the freezer and its just right to take to work the next day.  I heat it on an open paper plate for 55 seconds at work, and immediately turn it over, so the underneath side doesn't stay moist and chewy.

I've been doing this for years.  In fact, looking forward to my sandwich and a Coke when I first get to work is what keeps me going to work.  Haven't missed a day since I started in May of 2005!

doc

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I have to admit that the only thing I happily seek at the red and yellow fastfood restaurant is the english muffin breakfast sandwich with ham (they have a shorter name there but I don't feel like giving them more publicity). This is what I like to eat in the morning when I have to drive somewhere on the highway. When I read your description, I just had to try it. I made four sandwiches and defrosted/reheated them in different manners (straight from the freezer to the microwave, defrosted overnight, etc.)

I was unfortunately not entirely satisfied with the result. I think it is because I like the english muffin to remain as crisp as possible which was almost impossible to achieve.

On a more positive note, I was surprized that the eggs did not turn to rubber as I thought they would. The more I learn to use my freezer, the more I discover that I have to clean up all the bias and myths I accumulated over the years from various sources and simply experiment with an open mind.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Maybe I'd freeze a sandwich to be served hot, like a chicken parmesan or a panini, but count me among those who find the thought of eating a defrosted sandwich unappealing.

My parents freeze bread, and it's okay heated up, but I don't freeze bread. If I have leftover bread, it goes into a paper bag to dry out thoroughly, and I make bread crumbs. I usually make fresh bread, but if I'm caught short, I've got plenty of places nearby to buy fresh bread.