Hoagies 101

This is a real Italian Hoagie from Fanti's in N.E. Philadelphia at Martins Mill and Rising Sun.  If you've had a real hoagie, you'll immediately taste the difference from cheap imitations. 

It all starts with a loaf of Italian bread.  After slicing horizontally, dough is gutted from the inside to form a pocket.  Removing some of this dough also helps prevent the bread from overwhelming the contents.  Next, the inside of the roll receives a squirt of extra virgin olive oil.  Following this step, the thinly sliced meats (imported ham, Genoa salami and cappicola) are applied.  Next comes the provolone cheese.  Experts will tell you that placing the cheese toward the center of the sandwich helps prevent it from sticking to the roof of the mouth.  Shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes and chopped onions are then placed uniformly.  Chopped onions are mandatory for that burst of onion flavor that sliced onions can't provide.  Sliced onions also get caught between the teeth.  Uniformity in building a hoagie is important for consistent taste.  Finally, another squirt of the olive oil and a generous sprinkle of oregano to finish things off. 

An Italian hoagie is best eaten after a minimum of one hour to allow  the ingredients to blend.  An alternative is to place the hoagie in an oven for a few minutes to hasten this process.  At this point, the hoagie becomes a grinder like the one pictured below.  There you have it, the makings of a great sandwich from someone who has consumed his share (and then some).