Sandwich of the Week for W/C 7th November

Some of you may be aware that I regularly post a sandwich of the week (formerly sandwich of the day) on twitter and facebook. This week, competition for the coveted title has been so intense that I have felt the need to dedicate an entire blog post to it.

It began on Monday with a great deal of controversy, for culinary conservatives might assert that a burrito is not a sandwich but a wrap. Confident that the internet would be able to settle the matter, I carried out some cursory research which soon revealed the scale of the problem I was facing. I had no idea that there were so many sandwich-related blogs, such as Scanwiches and NPR’s SandwichMondays, or that the vexed question of what constitutes a sandwich had already taken up a great deal of other peoples’ time and energy. The most useful discussion I found (and I can fully recommend reading this article in full) referenced a legal battle in which the judge ruled that the Mexican tortilla wrap was not a sandwich , but even this was not an entirely satisfactory answer. After careful consideration, I have decided that I am probably more on the side of the conservatives on this issue, and my gut feeling is that the burrito I had on Monday is not a sandwich. However, a burrito is definitely delicious, and therefore I am willing to risk the opprobrium of the sandwich establishment. It remains a contender.

Is it a sandwich?

Things didn’t get any easier on Tuesday, not, this time, because of philosophical questions regarding the nature of ‘sandwich’, but because I had not one but two brilliant sandwich experiences. I have always had a weakness for breakfast sandwiches, but the simple, exquisite pleasure of the English sausage sandwich has not yet been documented in my weekly (or daily) announcements. To make things worse, I was traumatised during the preparation of this fortifying meal when the sausages caught fire spectacularly in the grill, turning my half-asleep early morning routine into an emergency situation. Fortunately, I rose admirably to the challenge, and can now offer advice to anyone who finds themselves in this situation: Remove the grill pan from the source of heat, and then nudge the sausages, i.e. the fuel, away from the flames, which will soon die out.

Sausages are fuel

Later that day I had a much more tranquil bread-based repast, which I think deserves a mention to promote a sandwich filling which is perhaps less well known than it was, say, fifty years ago. Now, tongue is a word which some people seem to find unappealing in relation to food, but this surely is gross hypocrisy when meat eaters happily consume rump steak (cow’s bum) without batting an eyelid (or eating one). If you are a meat eater and have not yet tasted ox tongue, I urge you to do so at the next opportunity, because it is very tasty and also helps to develop a respectful attitude to slaughtered animals by not wasting any appetising part of their carcasses. It is sold freshly sliced at all supermarket delis; just get a couple of slices to start with if you’re hesitant. I like it with a thick slice of tomato and a dusting of black pepper, or a touch of English mustard, on a traditional English crusty cob.

From Wednesday onwards, things mercifully got much more straightforward, as cheese and chutney has already had its moment in the spotlight and a Cornish pasty very definitely is not a sandwich… or is it? –No.

And so the moment has come for the difficult decision to be made. And I have made my decision. The title this week goes to the ox tongue cob for the following reasons:

1. A burrito is NOT A SANDWICH and

2. A sausage sandwich is such a regular occurrence that it will inevitably have a chance to be sandwich of the week when the pickings are slimmer and competition less fierce.

And the winner is...

So let’s hear it for ox tongue, and if you would like to take issue with any of the above, please post a comment below.