Sunday 15 May 2011

Shooter's Sandwich


"The wise, 'at least among the children of this world', to use one of Walter Pater's careful qualifying phrases, travel with a flask of whisky-and-water and what I call a 'Shooter's Sandwich'. This last is made thus: Take a large, thick, excellent rump steak. Do not season it, for that would cause the juice to run out, and in grilling it keep it markedly underdone. Have ready a sandwich loaf one end of which has been cut off and an adequate portion of the contents of which has been removed. Put the steak, hot from the grill, and - but only then - somewhat highly seasoned, into the loaf; add a few grilled mushrooms; replace the deleted end of the loaf; wrap the loaf in a double sheet of clean white blotting paper, tie with twine both ways, superimpose a sheet of grease-proof paper, and more twine. Place a moderate weight on top, and after a while add other weights. Let the thing endure pressure for at least six hours. Do not carve it until and as each slice is required.

With this 'sandwich' a man may travel from Land's End to Quaker Oats, and snap his fingers at both." T. Earle Welby, The Dinner Knell, 1932, quoted in Elizabeth David, Summer Cooking, 1955.

I made this one with a couple of venison tail fillets and a potato and rosemary loaf. Absolutely divine. Definitely one for Deb's Souper (soup, salad and sammie) Sunday, don't you think? SouperSundays


21 comments:

Caroline said...

Wow, that looks fabulous. I love the idea of stuffing a whole loaf like that, and your potato and rosemary loaf looks delicious in its own right.

leaf (the indolent cook) said...

I am completely loving that cross section shot. What a superb sandwich!

Alicia Foodycat said...

C - thank you SO MUCH for thinking that I could make a loaf of bread that looks that good! I didn't - that's a bought one.

Leaf - it's amazing. The weighting makes it cut so beautifully!

Su-Lin said...

Wow - that is a serious sandwich! It looks amazing!

wildtomato said...

While I've had Boston clam chowder in a bread bowl, never have I seen a bread bowl stuffed with meat. It looks interesting.

Heather S-G said...

I am flabbergasted...this looks amazing! I really, REALLY must try making this. I will have my flask at the read and will totally want to embark on some sort of journey once it is finished. Seriously, it's a thing of beauty.

Deb in Hawaii said...

That is one gorgeous sandwich--love the pairing of the venison with the potato-rosemary bread. Yum! Thanks for sharing it with Souper Sundays.
;-)

Alicia Foodycat said...

Su-Lin - thank you!

Wild tomato - one day I will have a proper clam chowder.

Heather - It really does cry out for some adventuring, doesn't it?

Deb - it was a brilliant flavour combination!

kat said...

Are you serious!!!! How awesome is that

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking a little horseradish once you slice it ... although that would make it harder to eat while you drive down Route 66 with the windows down and classic 70s rock blasting on the tinny in-door speakers. Cheers!

Mary Bergfeld said...

That really does look fabulous and I'm sure it must be delicious. I love to visit here. You always have something interesting to share. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

Simona said...

I love that photo! Very interesting recipe and great rendition.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Kat - thanks!

Highplainsdrifter - actually, a little schmear of horseradish before you assemple the sandwich would be amazing!

Mary - thank you! Have a lovely day yourself!

Simona - thank you!

mscrankypants said...

Definitely the food of choice for a person travelling on foot. While I don't eat steak, there's an allure for a meal that can be snacked on for so long!

Barbara said...

I saw The Two Fat Ladies make this ages ago in one of their TV shows. It was intriguing at the time and more so when I see your post today!
The potato and rosemary loaf sounds delish too.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Cranky - you could definitely make it with layers of portobello mushrooms.

Barbara - that episode of Two Fat Ladies was wonderful!

Angie's Recipes said...

This sandwich looks really cool!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

I don't know why I've never made one of these. Heaven knows I'm greedy enough ;)

Alicia Foodycat said...

Angie - thanks!

Forkful - I don't know why you haven't, either!

n said...

We made this when we went for a hike in Yorkshire! Man, it was quite the hefty lunch but just what we needed for walking 16k

Nice blog, btw.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Nancy - thanks for visiting! I definitely think a 16k walk deserves a good sandwich.

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