The Southern Twist That Takes Tomato Sandwiches To The Next Level

Tomato sandwiches, those juicy tributes to summer's finest fruit, are already pretty closely associated with the American South. But exchanging the tomato sandwich's usual white bread with a big, fluffy biscuit is even more of a Southern twist to enjoy the best tomato sandwich of your life. In fact, upon closer examination of the idea, even the most dedicated purists might be inclined to admit biscuits are actually an excellent accommodation for tomato sandwiches. 

The South's iconic buttermilk biscuit is ideal in this configuration thanks to a hearty constitution that can hold its own against the slippery tomato and a light tang that provides a nice contrast to the somewhat sweet fruit. A buttermilk biscuit's many flaky interior layers and more rigid exterior just provide a stronger carbohydrate barrier between all that tomato moisture and your hands than the regular, squishy white slices. That quality, naturally, gives the whole sandwich more structural integrity, while still remaining soft enough to sink your teeth into without sending the tomato shooting out under pressure, as it's been known to do. 

You can still use whatever tomatoes you normally would (beefsteaks being fairly standard), as well as the sandwich's expected salt, pepper, and mayonnaise. The buttermilk biscuit swap alone might just set a new benchmark for what a tomato sandwich can be, and further adjustments inspired by the American south can help you tailor it all to your taste.

Even just making your tomato sandwich on a classic buttermilk biscuit in lieu of the usual bread actually goes a long way toward giving it that extra Southern twang. But making your buttermilk biscuit tomato sandwich with creamy pimento cheese instead of mayo will take it even further. Being that pimento cheese contains plenty of mayo to begin with, you're still getting that latter ingredient's creamy quality, just with the extra pep of sharp cheddar and pimento peppers. Make sure to prepare the spread with Duke's if you to keep it all regionally appropriate. You can even mix in chopped country ham, which some refer to as a Southern prosciutto, to give it a meatier appeal.

Now, the more liberties you do take, the farther you'll stray from most folks' notion of a true tomato sandwich, buttermilk biscuit worthiness notwithstanding. But that doesn't mean that you can't also exchange the headlining tomato for the fried green variety that's tethered itself to the South in its own right. Fried green tomato sandwiches with pimento cheese will not present in a way that anyone will call traditional, but the trio of twists pack about as much Southern inspo into a single sandwich as any foodstuff could hope to achieve.