The Sarnie thread

[Mr_Danger]

3 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Alright Danger Rees-Mogg.

Top reds too.

[Chest Rockwell]

The greatest innovation in sandwiches for me in recent history has been using mayo as a carrier. So great for strong flavours that you want to spread evenly - mustard, paprika, soy etc. 

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

I would say Chest that I never use mayo just on its own, it has to have another flavour added to it and like you say its perfect for strong flavours that you want an even distribution of. Horseradish mayo on roast beef with crispy fried onions or katsu chicken sando with wasabi mayo are particular favourites. 

[SuperBacon]

39 minutes ago, Chest Rockwell said:

The greatest innovation in sandwiches for me in recent history has been using mayo as a carrier. So great for strong flavours that you want to spread evenly - mustard, paprika, soy etc. 

Maybe the yanks did get it right by using mayo instead of butter on their sandwiches.

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

46 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Maybe the yanks did get it right by using mayo instead of butter on their sandwiches.

Mayo and butter (and blood pressure meds) is the way forward, and when it comes to bread I want to make one thing very clear. Sourdough bread can go and fuck itself. I'll take absolutely anything over Sourdough. 

[Thefatduck]

As a kid I’d often meet my dad after he’d finished work in town (Birmingham) and we’d go for a sandwich at a little hole in the wall sandwich place in St Martineau Sq. 

Mine was corned beef, branston pickle on crusty white bread.  It was served in a white paper bag. 

I felt like an absolute hero walking with him through town to a bench to eat our sandwiches. 
 

[Callum1993]

6 hours ago, SpiritOfTheForest said:

I have wanted to try a Francesinha ever since I first heard about them. A local delicacy of the city of Porto, this goliath of a sandwich consists of ham, steak and linguiça stashed between two slices of bread. That's then topped with layers of melted cheese and a special sauce made from beer, tomatoes and chillis. It's then often topped further with a runny fried egg. 

Yes please!

I had that in Porto and was bitterly disappointed. It was potentially the place we chose but it really wasn’t good. The egg was solid, the sauce was grim and the meat was overcooked and chewy. Would like to try it again though in a different place to see whether it was just a bad take on it.

[Carbomb]

5 hours ago, Thunderplex said:

I did this!  There was a  cracking bakers near us years ago that did the best baguettes.  Had some Brie and butter in the fridge and my Twin Peaks loving wife and myself had this when we watched an episode.  Very nice, but was better with a bit of cranberry sauce in it.

When it's something as simple as that, everything has to be about the ingredients. My local Londis has become a hipster paradise, and they sell Luxury Yorkshire Jersey Milk butter, so at some point I'm going to buy a stick of that and put it on a butter and brie baguette.

[Chest Rockwell]

2 hours ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said:

Mayo and butter (and blood pressure meds) is the way forward, and when it comes to bread I want to make one thing very clear. Sourdough bread can go and fuck itself. I'll take absolutely anything over Sourdough. 

Sourdough is shit untoasted, but i quite like it toasted. Never for a sandwich though; just as toast.

But yeah, if I've got mayo I've always got butter as well. Would never do only mayo.

[Mr_Danger]

American bread always looks so dry too. Their packed lunches must be shite.

[Hannibal Scorch]

19 hours ago, Mr_Danger said:

American bread always looks so dry too. Their packed lunches must be shite.

American bread is really sweet. Like cheese it’s another thing they fucked up for no reason.

[simonworden]

I've got to stand up for the Vietnamese Banh Mi in here (not that anyone was slagging it off).. Absolute banger of a sarnie. Banh Mi bread is basically a better for fillings version of a French baguette. Crispy, crunchy outside and then a very fluffy soft inside. Fillings are pretty much fresh, meaty and delicious as well. Some notable Banh Mi's are 

- Banh Mi Thit Cha - Basically your classic sarnie here, a mix of cold cuts, pickled veg, pate and fresh coriander. You'll often get a couple of mega hot chili's in there as well as a dollop of mayo. I smashed a "special" one today that include pork floss from a hole in the wall place outside the mother in law's. Massive sandwich and a brilliant carb filled hangover cure.

- Banh Mi Heo Quay - Heo Quay is roast pork in Vietnamese. Basically swap out the cold cuts for massive bits of roast pork with crackling, great with a drizzle of soy sauce on it. 

- Banh Mi Thit Nuong - This one is grilled, minced pork with a kind of chili sauce poured in. Not one you see as often on the streets and some of the cheaper ones lack enough filling but when you find a goodun it's not notch.

- Banh Mi Cha Ca - Cha Ca means fishcake but it's more like a Thai fishcake. Often the raw fishcake mix is squeezed through a press into a hot pan so it becomes little strips fried to a crisp. Served with picked veg and fish sauce.

I could go on talking about chicken ones, meatball ones or egg ones but I think I've made my point that they're bloody wonderful. 

I try to eat only one a week tops these days but a few years ago I would absorb 2 for my breakfast most days which is one of the reasons I shot up to 120KG before my wedding day (for anyone who cares I'm at 95KG now). 

Only issue I've had is that outside of Vietnam the bread has never been a patch on what you get inside the country. It often ends up being more like a French baguette which ruins the whole flavor and structure of the sandwich for me. 

 

 

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

I have a question for our Vietnamese correspondent 

3 hours ago, simonworden said:

pork floss

What is this?

[FLips]

4 minutes ago, Lion_of_the_Midlands said:

I have a question for our Vietnamese correspondent 

What is this?

Unfortunately I can answer this due to a recent experience I had.

Pork floss is like a dried meaty candy floss.

We often visit the Chinatown area of Newcastle and grab a few odds and sods from the HiYou Supermarket after we’ve mooched about for board games and stuff nearby. They do these little potted desserts and my wife had a really nice Biscoff one. Next time we went, she said to me “look they have a Taro one, you like Taro.” Which I do, so in the basket it went.

Well I got it home and opened it up and was taken aback by a sweet and salty smell. Unusual I thought, but Taro is a type of potato so maybe that’s it, maybe it’s like a sweet potato or yam style sweet mix.

I took a spoonful and wretched back up the most rancid, fishy, meaty salty glob of food I’d ever eaten. My Taro cake had pork floss and seaweed in it. Like a disgusting asian twist on Rachel’s British Trifle it was cake, cream, and meat. 

Absolutely betrayed by the dessert fridge. 
 

[JLM]

3 hours ago, simonworden said:

I

Only issue I've had is that outside of Vietnam the bread has never been a patch on what you get inside the country. It often ends up being more like a French baguette which ruins the whole flavor and structure of the sandwich for me. 

 

 

I have definitely found this to be the case. There is one place in Leeds called Banh Mi The Crust Heaven where they’ve made it their main feature and make the bread themselves. It’s the only good one I’ve found in the city. Get one at least once a month at the moment they’re so bloody good. Every other Vietnamese restaurant in town that does Bahn Mi serves in them in the saddest bread. So many disappointments.