Recipe: Mini Shooter’s Sandwiches

The shooter’s sandwich is often called the “king of sandwiches”, a fact I may or may not have just made up.  The general recipe is a holdover from Edwardian-era England; they’re designed to be made the night before and be portable enough to carry along on early-morning fox hunts.  Yes, I realize the inherent redundancy of designing a “portable sandwich”, but there you go.  Take it up with Little Lord Fauntleroy, not me.

One of the reasons the shooter’s sandwich may (or may not) be called the king of sandwiches is because it’s basically steak cooked medium and stuffed into bread.  Most modern recipes advocate using two (!) boneless ribeyes of 8 oz or more, which, while appealing on paper, has two key drawbacks that will sink into your forebrain during the refractory period after actually consuming the finished product:

1) You just ate two steaks and an entire loaf of bread.

2) You just ate a $30 sandwich.

Like many seduced by the promise of a portable steak dinner, I wanted to experience the majesty of the king of sandwiches for myself.  But I set out to make it in a way that wouldn’t send me into hibernation or require me to take out an Adjustable Rate Deliciousness Loan from a shady sandwich lender.

It turned out to not be that hard. I made a miniature version of the shooter’s sandwich that you can actually eat in a sitting, and, while the length of prep time argues that you should make multiple sandwiches at a time, you can comfortably make two sandwiches for under $10 all-in.  Note that calling them “miniature” is only in comparison to a proper shooter’s sandwich, which is about the size of a Frisbee, whereas these are about the size of a smoke detector. (That there’s poetical, that is.)

You’ll need (to make 2 sandwiches):

• 2 4-6 oz top round sirloin steaks, boneless
• 2 medium-sized sourdough rolls (should be roughly the same size as the steaks)
• 1/3 cup cremini mushrooms, diced
• 1 tablespoon’s worth of shallots, diced
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1 oz Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Steps:

• Slice the tops off of the sourdough rolls and hollow out the rolls with your fingers, digging out most of the crumb.  There should only be roughly about a 3/4-inch wall left around the rolls.  Save the tops.
• In a medium skillet, sautee the diced mushrooms and shallots in the butter until thoroughly softened.  Add Worcestershire sauce.  Salt and pepper to taste if desired, then remove from heat and set aside in a small bowl.
• Cook the top sirloin in a large skillet over medium heat just until just beyond medium-rare.  (Cooking it any longer will result in a tough sandwich; cooking it any less risks illness.)
• Place the steaks in the hollowed-out rolls, 1 each.  Use your fingers to push the steaks well into the rolls.
• Spoon the mushroom/shallot mixture evenly across the tops of the steaks.  Spread the Dijon mustard on the sourdough tops and replace.
• Wrap both sandwiches in butcher’s paper, and place a large cutting board on top of the sandwiches.  On the cutting board, place as much weight as you can find and evenly distribute.  I mean a lot of weight.  I used about 30 lbs. worth of books, and that arguably might not have been enough.
• Let the sandwiches sit under the weight for at least 6-7 hours, preferably overnight.  Do not refrigerate during this step.

I like to leave the sandwiches in the greaseproof paper, and when you’re ready to eat it, simply cut into slices with a large knife.  And now you have a royal lunch fit for a prince, without paying a king’s ransom.  (Eh? Anybody?  No?  Okay.)