It's 🥪 time!

From raw beef to gooey cheese to a massive double decker sandwich, this week packed a lot in its lunchpail. So, without further ado…

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Sunday, March 24, 2024
Trench Sandwich (UK)
WW I

Original rating: 6
Plus up: Grilled Cheese Treatment™
Plussed up rating: 7

I saw this sandwich on Pete (Living History UK)’s TikTok account and I just had to try it. I have a soft spot for canned corned beef as my dad used to cook that and canned corned beef hash for weekend breakfast from time to time. That said, I hadn’t eaten it cold before. Nor had I had it with slabs of cheddar cheese and jam. Like Pete, I couldn’t find the plum apple jam originally used. And also like Pete, I used strawberry jam. No regrets. It was tasty. But I knew heating it up would make it even more so. Allowing the fats of the cheese and the corned beef to start intermingling while providing a crunchy exterior.

In case you missed it:
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Monday, March 25, 2024
A Boy’s Dream Sandwich (1900)
The Sandwich Book

Original rating: 6.5
Plus up: Li Hing Mui powder (salted plum powder)
Plussed up rating: 8.5

This sandwich had so many different way to go. I considered peanut butter or tajín but ultimately settled on Li Hing Mui or salted plum powder. When I think of plus ups I look at contrasting or complementary flavors and textures. The sandwich was sweet. I mean, it had banana, pineapple, and strawberry. So I wanted this time I went with contrast. The salty slightly sour Li Hing Mui powder balanced out the sweet and just enhance the entire sandwich. It’s well worth picking some up to sprinkle on fruit (even if you don’t use the affiliate link above)

In case you missed it:
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Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Avocado and Tomato Sandwich (1936)
1,001 Sandwiches

Original rating: 7
Plus up: Salsa Macha
Plussed up rating: 9

This is one of those old sandwich recipes that was a no brainer. I mean, tomato and avocado? The spanner in the works was that they had us butter the bread and dilute the avocado with mayonnaise. Now, as you know, I love mayonnaise. But it had no business being in this sandwich. Thankfully, there were no measurements given so I added very little. Plussed up with a delicious salsa macha just made it that much better. And whether you buy from that affiliate link above, at your local store, or make it at home, get thee some salsa macha. Btw, A LOT of folks left comments about how bacon was the obvious plus. And they were correct. Which is why I didn’t use it. I think of plus ups as opportunities to try new combos that aren’t as obvious (not always, of course). It keeps that idea interesting for me and, hopefully, you as well.

In case you missed it:
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Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Pepper and Onion Hero (1978)
Recipes Old and New

Original rating: 8.5
Plus up: CRUSHN chili flakes (not an affiliat link)
Plussed up rating: 9.5

I love sandwich recipes like this. Written in typewriter and entered into a compendium of community recipes by a PTA. In this case the PTA from P.S.1 in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York. basically, a cross between a cheesesteak and an eggplant parmesan sandwich, this was destined for glory from the get-go. This is one of those time when I say that I think you know exactly where I am going with the plus up. To me, chili flakes seemed to be the only choice. Yet, a lot of folks comment that they did not see that coming. Shows you what I know. Lol.

In case you missed it:
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Thursday, March 28, 2024
Scraped Beef Sandwich (1915)
What My Kids Like To Eat

Original rating: 6
Plus up: Horseradish | Caraway Seeds | Horseradish and Caraway Seed
Plussed up rating: 7 | 7 | 8

I have to admit, when I first saw a recipe calling for scraping raw beef into a sandwich, in a book titled What My Kids Like To Eat, I thought it insane. What kid would “like to eat” raw beef. But, my concerns quickly faded once I realized that because the shavings of beef were so thin that they essentially cooked when the sandwich was toasted. Which made for a nice beefy, yet light, snack. I could’ve added caramelized onions or blue cheese but instead opted for the Beef on Weck route by adding caraway seeds and prepared horseradish (the beef was already salted). No regrets.

In case you missed it:
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Friday, March 29, 2024
New Jersey Sloppy Joe (1930s)
Regional History

Original rating: 9.5
Plus up: none but I would toast the bread before building to get to 10

The New Jersey Sloppy Joe has been on my “to do” list for a long time. Decidedly not like the typical Sloppy Joes, it is a deli staple in a very small part of New Jersey, apparently. I say that because soooo many folks who claim to have lived in New Jersey their entire lives said that they’d never heard of it. Go figure. The sandwich allows for options when it comes to meat and I opted for pastrami and turkey. It’s got everything you want in a deli sandwich. From the caraway in the rye bread to the meat to the tanginess of the Russian dressing to the slightly sweet cole slaw and nutty Swiss cheese. Highly recommend you give this a go. Here’s the recipe I followed.

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Saturday, March 30, 2024
Olive Sandwich (1917)
Salads and Sandwiches

Original rating: 5.5
Plus up: garlic powder and lemon zest
Plussed up rating: 7

This Olive Sandwich was different than most that I’ve done. Most call for either adding chopped green olives to cream cheese or just adding chopped green olives to buttered bread. No, this one had me soak the olives in boiling hot water for five minutes, then soak in ice water until crisp. As I mention in the video, it is highly likely they were using olives that I do not have access to. And it seems like that odd process might have been to aid in the freeing of the meat from the seed. At any rate, the original sandwich was exactly the sum of it’s parts. So I plussed in up in a slightly Mediterranean direction with garlic powder (I though raw would be too overpowering) and lemon zest. Brightened things right up!

In case you missed it:
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Well, as we saw last week, sometimes these menus change. But, barring and unforseen issues, these are the sandwiches you can…I want to say, look forward to? next week:

Monday 4/1 - Orange Slaw-Bologna Sandwich 1957Tuesday 4/2 - Avocado Sandwich Number 2 1936Wednesday 4/3 - Thousand Island Sandwich 1936
Thursday 4/4 - Peanut Butter Sandwich 1937
Friday 4/5 - Corn Sandwich 1936
Saturday 4/6 - The Schmitter (regional history)
Sunday 4/7 - Räksmörgås - Sweden

Thanks for following Sandwiches of History (and for subscribing to this recap!)

Have a great week!

Cheers!
Barry
🥪