# Need Ideas for Roast Beef Sandwich



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Hi Gang,

First a little background: Apart from a couple of hero sandwiches in 1957 (roast beef on hero bread with potato salad and lettuce, a little pepper), I've never had a roast beef sandwich. Today I was gifted with about a half pound of very nice looking sliced roast beef, and I'd like to make a sandwich from that. However, I haven't a clue about a dressing. I recall that roast beef goes well with horseradish, maybe mustard, but beyond that I haven't a clue. I have some good horseradish handy, some Dijon mustard, Havarti cheese (which seems to go nicely with the beef), Alpine Lace "Swiss," and a hearty Irish cheddar. The bread at hand is a locally baked sourdough sandwich bun.

So, with these ingredients in mind, what combo might you suggest for a nice roast beef sandwich. I can, of course, get other ingredients as well ... 

Thanks for any and all ideas,

Shel


----------



## cacook (Jan 18, 2006)

I've always wanted to try arugula with roast beef, but every time I'm around both of them I don't think of it.


----------



## ras1187 (Oct 3, 2006)

Chipotle & Bleu Cheese Mayo


----------



## lisacutri (Dec 23, 2006)

Caramalised onions and roasted zucchini!
Yum! OH yeah and heaps of fresh cracked black pepper and a drizzle of really good olive oil.


----------



## castironchef (Oct 10, 2005)

Also, how about sauteed mushrooms with Sherry?


----------



## dmt (Jul 28, 2006)

Shel,
It's gettin' late, and yer makin' me really hungry here...
But back to your dilema.
You have everything (almost) that you need to really enjoy that sliced roast beef...
A dab of horseradish, a slightly larger dab of mayo, and a good squirt of Dijon blended together to make a nice little dressing. Add in a splash or two of Italian dressing for some more taste bud invigoration...
Some leafy lettuce (Romaine or your other choice - just the tender stuff, not the stalky bits), a couple of slices of ripe tomato, and top it off with the cheddar...
Very lightly grill or slightly brown the cut faces of the bun to add a tactile sensation of "crunch" (do one half of the bun for an experiment), and stack it up!!!

Then just sit back and savor the tastes and textures...

Oh, I dare not get near the fridge right now. Too close to bed time...


----------



## deltadoc (Aug 15, 2004)

Jean-Claude Tindillier, when he had his French Deli called Le Petit Chef, had an "executive" box lunch which I enjoyed many times a month.

The thinly sliced roast beef was on homemade multigrain bun, with homemade mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, some Romaine lettuce, and a slice of imported Gruyere cheese. Accompanying this were some French cornichons, some Wild Rice salad (wild rice, black olives, tomatoes, whole green peppercorns, tarragon, red wine vingrette) and your choice of dessert (I usually chose the imported Belgian chocolate cup with fresh fruit).

The sandwich was the center attraction, but the "accessories" made it a meal never to be forgotten.

doc


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Whatever combo you choose, Shel, please don't insult the beef by using that Alpine Lace; a piss-poor excuse for food if there ever was one. 

Personally, I like the idea of the beef, havarti, and horseradish. I don't think anything else is needed.


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Some are just perfect for the ingredients I usually have around the kitchen, and suit my temprement and taste buds as well.

I just had to try _something_ last night, so I used Havarti, my favorite horseradish, some Dijon, and sprouts on thinly sliced sourdough ... it was pretty good. I've gotta try this roast beef concept some more - it's Good Eats <LOL>.

Someone suggested arugula - that sounds like it might be a very good combination based on the taste combo of the sprouts and roast beef.

The idea of caramelized onions sounds intriguing, and when I make the next batch of onions I'll try that as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keep 'em coming :lips:

Shel


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I bought the Alpine Lace for a friend who likes it - I much prefer other types of Swiss myself. I never would have thought of Havarti except that about a year ago a fellow I know who worked at a deli mentioned the cheese in combination with roast beef, so I had to try it. It _is _a nice combo.
Shel


----------



## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Melted Brie.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

blue angel was one of my fav sandwiches at the original Whole Foods in New Orleans. rare roast beef, red onions, mayo, blue cheese, probably country white bread. It was a really good combo.

Years later I made a salad with sliced flank, red grapes, red onion and blue cheese dressing.

But the horseradish, aioli (or mayo), with coarse grain mustard work well too.


----------



## greenawalt87 (Jul 26, 2004)

cream cheese with a touch of horseradish, slice tomato,roast beef, on sourdough pumpernickel, lots of cracked pepper


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Hi - some intiguing ideas you've suggested. Somehow I can't wrap my head around the idea of mayo and meat. Maybe it's my NYC-Jewish background.

When I had my first hamburger in California I was _STUNNED! _to find it served with mustard and mayo. I can accept mayo with turkey, chicken, veggie sandwiches, but not with red meat. I suppose it may be pretty good ... but still .... and, in my mind, mustard is for hot dogs and ketchup goes on burgers. Old habits are are to kick.

Shel


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

lolol.....NYC Jew. I can remember walking into a kosher deli in Memphis (as a teenager) and asking for swiss on my corn beef, also a side of mayo too.....
the deli owner looked at me hard and said he'd sell me a slice of swiss but I'd have to put it on my sandwich, outside.

One of my dearest friends grew up in NYC and is adament about "the only true way of serving certain foods", like NY has a corner on correctness.....I love her to pieces and just poke her occasionally to illicite a reaction, it's fairly entertaining.


----------



## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

You beat me to it! :lol:

As has been noted, just about everything else Shel has would make a good -- maybe even great -- sandwich. I'm thinking also about a sort-of banh mi -- some sweet chili sauce (not Heinz!!), lettuce, shredded carrots and cucumber, maybe some jicama if you have it, thinly sliced fresh or pickled chile peppers, on a toasted baguette.

Mayo is actually okay, since really it's only egg and oil -- but yeah, a lot of us were brought up to think that it's treyf. I still can't get used to it on a burger (except as "special sauce  ), but on an RB sandwich, oh yeah baby.


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Funny story about the Memphis deli. It's only been relatively recently that I could get behind cheese with certain meat, although cheeseburgers, for example, were never a problem for me. But cheese with corned beef or pastrami - sheesh! Don't people know _anything_ about the correct way to eat such meats.:lol:

Now here's the strange thing - if I go into a Kosher style deli, and get a nice corned beef or pastrami sandwich, I'll never put cheese on it. However, if I go into the little Italian deli and get a corned beef sandwich, a slice or two of cheese is more than acceptable. Of course, the corned beef/pastrami are of somewhat different style, but still, it's somewhat odd behavior, even to me.

Shel


----------



## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Suzanne;170362 said:


> I'm thinking also about a sort-of banh mi -- some sweet chili sauce (not Heinz!!), lettuce, shredded carrots and cucumber, maybe some jicama if you have it, thinly sliced fresh or pickled chile peppers, on a toasted baguette.
> quote]
> 
> That sounds good even without the beef.


----------



## greenawalt87 (Jul 26, 2004)

where`s the hot pastrami???? ummmmm gooood


----------



## dmt (Jul 28, 2006)

I was only suggesting to mix in just a little to add a slightly sweeter taste to the horseradish and Dijon... Balanced out by the slightly vineagery tast of the Italian dressing...
Or not...

Had to google the word treyf, but had a pretty good idea what that was before I read a definition.
Given personal preferrences, I completely understand a reluctance to use some ingredients.

Me being of a Chicago/Phoenix Scottish sort of background... :crazy:


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I'd never heard of bahn mi before your message. Did a little Googling to learn more about it. Sounds good - very good.

Heinz chili sauce? Nah - there are far to many other more interesting sauces on the market, and they're easy enough to make as well.

shel


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Shel....NOT heinz but Vietnamese sweet chili sauce....comes in a tall liter btl sometimes called Rooster sauce. It's like a simple syrup with chilis garlic and other shtuff....sortof kinda.....used alot for Spring rolls.


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Cool - there are many, many sources for such items here. Thanks.

BTW, I used to live in STL, in Westwood, out in the county. Worked in Brentwood.

Shel


----------



## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

No, not Rooster -- aka sriracha -- that's only hot, I think. The brand of sweet chili sauce I have right now is Linghams, from Malaysia. Most brands I've seen are sort of fluorescent orange, but not from food coloring. Shroom is right about the big bottle for a lot of brands, though. It is great stuff: hot, sweet, sour, garlicky. :lips:

Banh mi is one of those thrilling fusions of indigenous and colonial -- the French brought their bread and pâté to Vietnam, and the Vietnamese added their own flavors. (I forgot to mention sprigs of cilantro and mint and/or Thai basil on the sandwich as well.) Even when it's made with mystery meat -- and a lot of them are, since how many of us understand Vietnamese? -- it's great. John Thorne has a great piece about it in _Pot On the Fire_. I think that's where I first learned about it, and had to find it asap. And make my own.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

they are at the kitchen and I was going on memory...but we are speaking of the same sauce.

BTW, I used to live in STL, in Westwood, out in the county. Worked in Brentwood.

SF is a long way from home and very very different from the STL mentality. Hwy 40 is under major construction, the Highway Dept is shutting it down from Speode through Bellvue (?) I've not paid alot of attention, figured I'd find alternative routes if necessary and until that time wouldn't dwell on the gunk. So, NYC, STL and SF......interesting cities.


----------



## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

Personally? I would add some caramelized onions, some diced pancetta, maybe some arugula, and a light drizzle of homemade thousand island dressing with maybe a little bit of chipotles in adobo mixed in. Top with some slices of swiss cheese, and pop under the broiler in a hoagie roll so the cheese gets sort of melted. Awesome.


----------



## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Austin's suggestion makes me think: to heat or not to heat?  

I usually prefer to leave the beef cold, since I like my beef as rare as possible. What about everyone else?


----------



## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

I actually like mine around medium-rare to medium, and usually a bit hot. The main reason I put it under the broiler however is to melt the cheese, not to cook the beef. (Hopefully, )


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

either, hot or cold....just different sandwiches. The goo I'd put on a hot sandwich I'd not necessarily put on a cold one.
Roast beef I tend to eat cold, brisket hot, pastrami hot, corn beef either way but usually hot.


----------



## nentony (May 7, 2005)

We serve a pretty good one. Roast beef, cheddar, grilled onions, and red curry spread, on rustic bread and grilled on a panini press.

Tony


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Way too much work and complication for a simple sandwich ... but some good suggestions.

Shel


----------



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

There have ben a few other places along the way as well: Chinook, Montana, Pisco, Peru, a very short stint in Panama City, Panama, San Miguel d'Allende in Mexico (back around 1968 or so, when it really was a sleepy little town), Haines, Alaska.

Shel


----------



## abgstat (Apr 22, 2007)

The best roast beef sandwich I ever had was served in Ellicottville, NY. Beef on Weck, and it's the weck roll that makes all the difference. And of course, the beef was sliced paper-thin and piled high and a small cup of au jus for dipping!


----------

