Cannibal Sandwiches
In what has apparently become an annual ritual, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services has warned Wisconsinites that 'cannibal sandwiches' (aka raw beef or tartare sandwiches) pose a health risk, and that it's really better to cook the meat first.
Somehow I've gone my entire life without knowing that there was such a thing as cannibal sandwiches — let alone that they're considered a Christmas tradition in Wisconsin.
The traditional recipe for a cannibal sandwich is raw ground beef spread open-faced on rye bread. Salt and pepper the meat. Then add a few raw onions. Some people like a dash of Worcestershire on the meat. The sandwich should be served very cold. And it's common to have it with a beer.
Somehow I've gone my entire life without knowing that there was such a thing as cannibal sandwiches — let alone that they're considered a Christmas tradition in Wisconsin.
The traditional recipe for a cannibal sandwich is raw ground beef spread open-faced on rye bread. Salt and pepper the meat. Then add a few raw onions. Some people like a dash of Worcestershire on the meat. The sandwich should be served very cold. And it's common to have it with a beer.
Comments
Steak tartare for the non highbrow.
Posted by crc on 12/15/20 at 08:03 AM
I'm a native of Wisconsin, and I've eaten cannibal sandwiches for at least 60 years, never having so much as an upset stomach from doing so. You need fresh ground round, ideally from a butcher, and not the packaged crap you see in most grocery stores. It's really good if you can grind the meat yourself, although that's not necessary. The onions are not really necessary either, just good beef, good bread (from a bakery, not the prepackaged stuff on the store shelves), and salt and pepper. Yum!
When I lived in San Francisco in the early 70's, I treated myself to cannibal sandwiches a few times. The bread was easy to find in that city, of course, and I took extra care when selecting the beef. My roommates were totally freaked out, and wouldn't even try a small taste of this delectable delicacy.
When I lived in San Francisco in the early 70's, I treated myself to cannibal sandwiches a few times. The bread was easy to find in that city, of course, and I took extra care when selecting the beef. My roommates were totally freaked out, and wouldn't even try a small taste of this delectable delicacy.
Posted by Fritz on 12/15/20 at 08:05 AM
On a side note, for a hilarious take on eating raw beef, google and then watch "Mr. Bean steak tartare episode".
Posted by Fritz on 12/15/20 at 08:09 AM
In the Netherlands I was served Steak Tartare in the form of a hamburger. It was delicious.
Posted by Phil on 12/15/20 at 08:37 AM
That´s just friggin´disqusting.
Posted by F.U.D in Stockholm on 12/15/20 at 11:29 AM
I have eaten raw beef and chicken. The word I would use to describe them is "bland". I'm sure salt, pepper and Worcestershire are a big help though.
Posted by eddi on 12/15/20 at 09:52 PM
You can't fool me! I've SEEN the huge pots on TV for cooking people & sensationalist Youtube videos. Even cannibals like a hot meal.
Posted by John on 12/17/20 at 10:32 AM
@Phil: So was I, and I didn't like it, but that's mainly because eddi's remark is inevitable. Proper beef tartare, or anything tartare is bland, tasteless, and unexiting - and it has to be.
To be safe, raw meat has to be the cleanest of the clean, the freshest of the fresh, and most of all, the leanest of the lean. And lean meat... tastes like nothing! Not on it's own, it doesn't. If you sear lean meat, sure, you get some taste; but that's exactly what a tartare does not do. If you use fatty meat, sure, you get flavour; but then you don't want to eat it raw in the first place. If you smother it in sauce or spice it highly, it tastes of something; but then it tastes of the sauce or the spice, not of the meat.
Tartare (or even, dare I say it, blueing a steak...) is exactly the wrong thing to do. It is to beef what (semi-ironically) boiling to death is to Brussels Sprouts.
To be safe, raw meat has to be the cleanest of the clean, the freshest of the fresh, and most of all, the leanest of the lean. And lean meat... tastes like nothing! Not on it's own, it doesn't. If you sear lean meat, sure, you get some taste; but that's exactly what a tartare does not do. If you use fatty meat, sure, you get flavour; but then you don't want to eat it raw in the first place. If you smother it in sauce or spice it highly, it tastes of something; but then it tastes of the sauce or the spice, not of the meat.
Tartare (or even, dare I say it, blueing a steak...) is exactly the wrong thing to do. It is to beef what (semi-ironically) boiling to death is to Brussels Sprouts.
Posted by Richard Bos on 12/19/20 at 02:23 PM
I just saw another mention of Wisconsin's cannibal sandwiches, in today's newsletter from Gastro Obscura, which is a part of the atlasobscura website. How coincidental that it was written about a week after cannibal sandwiches were featured here.
Here's the link: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cannibal-sandwich-wisconsin
Here's the link: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cannibal-sandwich-wisconsin
Posted by Fritz on 12/26/20 at 09:30 AM
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Category: Food | Christmas