The Pickle Sandwich Deserves Your Respect
One of my favorite snacks as a kid was a large Clausen pickle, eaten with cubes or slices of sharp cheddar cheese. I took alternate pieces of each, not weighed down with crackers or bread. I usually washed it down with Diet Coke (because at a young age I understood the importance of purifying the taste). I would be lying if I said that I left this snack when I grew up, because I still eat it from time to time. But I also eat it like a sandwich because, as good Earl knew, bread keeps your hands clean, which is important to me as I usually type while eating.
My first marinade sandwich was a classic – peanut butter and marinade, a Depression-era staple that was way better than you’d expect. (This was also the subject of my first paid published article, which disappeared from the Internet but lives on in my heart.)
We’ve already talked about PB&P and various other pickled cucumber sandwiches, but most people view canned cucumber as a side dish – a simple topping – rather than a full sandwich ingredient. Unpickled cucumbers get their own sandwich , so I don’t see why pickled cucumbers don’t deserve the same respect. (A semi-sour sandwich with pickles and cream cheese would actually be a slap.)
How to make the perfect marinade sandwich
A cheese pickle sandwich will be more accessible to most people than a PB&B. You probably already have both pickles and cheese on your sandwich, but meat was most likely involved too. You don’t need meat. You just need more pickles. Creating a thick — and I mean thick — layer of pickles between two slices of bread and cheese adds crunch, saltiness, and plenty of acidity that contrasts beautifully with tangy dairy, cutting through the fat and ultimately allowing you to eat more cheese. You can even use more than one type of brine if you like; I prefer sandwiches made with both Clausen’s traditional marinade and Fat Mama’s Fire & Ice marinade (which my aunt sent me straight from Natchez, Mississippi). The combination was a good choice.
In addition to keeping the brine layer thick, there are a few other ways to make your brine sandwich a success: toast the bread for extra crunch, and blot the pickles first to remove excess moisture. Put in at least two slices of the hottest cheddar cheese you can find, and spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on both slices of bread. You can also add mustard, or even add a bit of brine to the mayonnaise (as Food52 does here ), but try to keep it simple – let the pickles shine .