American Sandwichiana

[ILLfarmboy]

Gary, this thread and the chilly temperatures here tonight (low in the teens predicted) remind me, too, of what my Mom simply called a 'hot beef sandwich' while I was growing up in snowy, SW Michigan. Sometimes also made with turkey, it is/was an open-faced concoction made of two slices of white bread laid out on a plate, topped with sliced meat, sided by mashed potatoes (yes, Dan Quayle was both right and wrong -- the 'e' is correct, though optional!), all smothered with brown gravy.
I know this isn't an entirely regional dish, as I've found it elsewhere, too. It used to be a standard in the 24-hour coffee shops in Las Vegas back when I started going out there in the early/mid-'80s.
Wouldn't mind having one right now, though.

Around here we call that a "roast beef sandie". Damn good comfort food!!

[barturtle]

yup, that is classic comfort food,... Used to be a staple at the old-time diners.
Beef or turkey, they were both great.

I grew up with that as well, in Louisville. Mom switched to making them with turkey after dad went on his "turkey everything" diet

[Gillman]

Just had dinner but getting hungry again.

I had one of those lobster sandwiches Chuck mentioned in Nova Scotia once, just superb.

Gary

[TBoner]

Thanks TBoner, that's a great evocation of the dish. (But what's the home-made recipe ?). Interesting that an Italian version is offered. Could this suggest the dish has Italian origins..? The name sounds Italian, sort of.

Joe, that's intriguing about a pepper and egg hero - more details please!

Gary

I don't know about the word runza, but the word bierock (same sandwich, different shape and geography) is derived from pierogi, and my understanding is this is a German-Russian food. The Italian runza, when you taste it, is pretty generically Italian: bad marinara, mozzerella, etc. I've never had a homemade Italian runza, either, so I always figured it was a gimmick to expand the menu.

Now, about the recipe. I'll say that this will get you close. However, there are a couple of key points missing. First, you want to be careful not to overwork the dough. You're not making chewy French bread, so you should knead just until smooth and then stop. Second, you want a good fat content in your beef: get chuck or something else that's 80% lean or so. You can drain a bit of fat off when the filling has finished cooking, but the fat adds a ton of flavor and coats the bits of cabbage, so that the filling becomes somewhat uniform in texture. Finally, you really want to make sure the cabbage has given up most of its moisture before you use the filling. Otherwise, you'll end up with a soggy final product.

Now, as for a couple of seasoning choices and one or two other secrets, those stay in the family, man...

[CrispyCritter]

In Greece, the gyros is slices of lamb stacked vertically on a large spit and roasted so that as the edges of the slices are sheered off, one side is seared well done, while the other is still rare. In the U.S., a huge log of pressed, chopped lamb and beef is used in a similar fashion. In Greece, the meat come off in little bite-size chunks, while the U.S. version is long, thin slices of meat.

Interestingly, the Chicago-style gyros is popular in Britain as well - under a different name. Over there, it's known as "doner kebabs," and it is often served with hot chile sauce (or curry) instead of the cucumber-based tzatziki. I had some in a little chip shop in Edwinstowe (near Sherwood Forest) back in '99, and I almost freaked when I saw the exact same Autodoner vertical broilers and lamb/beef logs that are used in Chicago.

I order my gyros without sauce, and shake Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce on it, so the British version was just fine with me.

[barturtle]

I almost freaked when I saw the exact same Autodoner vertical broilers and lamb/beef logs that are used in Chicago.

I order my gyros without sauce, and shake Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce on it, so the British version was just fine with me.

That's the same machine that they use for the Grec in Paris...coolest thing ever...I so want one. I have never seen one in the States.

I went to Paris with a school group comprised mostly of Louisiana natives and many of them were complaining about the bland food, I find that amusing, as the Kentucky Hillbilly in me thinks that what they call spicy, isn't.

[CrispyCritter]

Heh... the Autodoner is so common in Chicagoland that you can hardly throw a brick without hitting a restaurant that has one.

In fact, the broilers are made in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village.

[barturtle]

Heh... the Autodoner is so common in Chicagoland that you can hardly throw a brick without hitting a restaurant that has one.

In fact, the broilers are made in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village.

I always knew I needed to spend more time in the windy city Seems like I'm always in and out quickly

That's not exactly the one I saw in Paris, but close enough for me to be interested...though I think my smoke alarm would go of every time I used it The ones I saw in Paris had an entire back panel that would move closer or farther away from the spit, depending on how busy the place was, the cook would speed up the process by moving it closer or slow it down by turning down the heat and sliding it farther away.

Now I just need a good excuse to regularly put 7lbs of lamb on a spit regularly to justify the purchase.

It's a race between sloths, which one will be purchased first: this or a homebrew setup?

[CrispyCritter]

The ones that I've seen (both around Chicago and in the UK) have side panels that can be moved closer in to the spit. It seems to me that they are moved in by the cook, as the meat is cut away, to make sure that the remaining meat gets cooked properly.

The broilers I've seen were fueled by natural gas; a flame at the base of the wire grid on each side is clearly visible.

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

I don't know about the word runza, but the word bierock (same sandwich, different shape and geography) is derived from pierogi, and my understanding is this is a German-Russian food.

There is a part of Lincoln NE that is called the Russia Bottoms. It was a German/Russian section of town. There is a large Czech population in Nebraska, maybe that is where the word Runza comes from. Here in Japan/Hokkaido they know a sandwich that they call a Piroshiki from Russia. It sounds like a Runza, but I have never had one.

Ed