The Tedious Way Jersey Mike's Preps Its Shredded Lettuce

When Jersey Mike's employees face a line of customers eager to order a sandwich "Mike's Way," enough onions, lettuce, tomatoes, red wine vinegar, oregano, olive oil, and salt have to be on hand to meet demand. Ordering Jersey Mike's signature combination helps make subs extra filling by packing sandwiches with texture and flavor. Instead of using lettuce leaves, the chain piles feathery shreds onto sandwich builds. It is a subtle move that can make a quickly made meal taste more intentional, and, interestingly, that crisp lettuce isn't cut by a knife. The move is a revelation for many customers, and some Jersey Mike's fans have noted that shredded lettuce offers a completely different sandwich experience.

To prepare iceberg lettuce for fast sandwich construction, employees remove outer lettuce leaves to prepare the heads for slicing and "bop" the pieces against a hard surface to loosen the leaves. They then remove the cores, wash the produce, and then slice the lettuce heads on a meat slicer.  Jersey Mike's employees are trained on the slicing process to ensure the pieces are cut with precision. 

To help reduce overall prep time when slicing those cherished slivers of green, employees often stack several lettuce heads together at once.  "I be slicing 6 at a time," quipped one user on TikTok. Once cut, the shredded lettuce is broken by hand to eliminate any long strands, and employees reduce the pieces to sizes that are equivalent to two-thirds of the size of the tomatoes placed on sandwiches. The process is repeated daily.

If you're looking to replicate the taste of Jersey Mike's sandwiches at home, some fans have suggested skipping a mandolin slicer in favor of a meat slicer and setting it to a quarter inch. Others maintain that the exact cut can impact the overall taste of a sandwich. "The lettuce shreds act like a little nest where the juices can somewhat nestle into," described a user on Reddit. Though slicing lettuce can seem like an unnecessary step when hunger pangs are loud, the extra work can pay off once you take the first bite.