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Sandwiches from Parker House Rolls
The soft interior of the rolls is removed and the cup-like cavity in each is filled with minced tongue and a little crisp bacon, a little chopped celery and Spanish peppers, and a dash of mustard. The combination of the sweet bread and the strongly flavored bacon and peppers is delectable.
A filled-roll sandwich with no quantities given, in the loose descriptive style common to sandwich chapters of the period. The proportions are yours to judge; what follows is what needs translating.
- Parker House rollsA soft, enriched, folded dinner roll. The cavity here is not a feature of the roll but is made by pulling out the crumb, as the recipe directs. Any soft white dinner roll of about 3 inches works; crusty rolls do not, since the point is the contrast between sweet tender bread and salty filling.
- Hollowing the rollsCut a lid off the top rather than splitting the roll, then pull the crumb out with your fingers, leaving a shell about half an inch thick. Save the crumb for crumbs or a bread pudding.
- Minced tongueCooked beef tongue, simmered until tender, peeled and finely chopped — sold ready-cooked at some delicatessens. Cured tongue is saltier than fresh, so taste before adding more seasoning. Any cooked ham or corned beef stands in without changing the character much.
- Spanish peppersMost likely a sweet red pepper of the pimiento type, commonly sold canned or bottled at the time, rather than a hot chile — though the term was used loosely. Drain and chop fine; a jarred roasted red pepper is the closest modern equivalent.
- Mustard"A dash" most likely means prepared yellow or English mustard rather than dry powder. If using dry mustard, work it into a little of the bacon fat or a spoonful of mayonnaise first so it does not sit in gritty pockets.
- Binding the fillingAs written the mixture is dry and will spill from the shells. A tablespoon of mayonnaise or softened butter per cup of filling holds it together without muffling the bacon.
- Suggested proportionsFor six rolls: about 1 cup minced tongue, 3 rashers bacon crisped and crumbled, 1/4 cup fine-diced celery, 2 tablespoons chopped pimiento, mustard to taste. Fill no more than an hour ahead or the bread goes damp, and keep the bacon crisp by adding it last.
Parker House rolls are traditionally traced to Boston's Parker House hotel in the 1870s, and by the time the Five Roses Cook Book appeared — published by the Lake of the Woods Milling Company to sell its flour to Canadian home bakers — the name had become a generic term for a soft folded dinner roll rather than a hotel's property. The filling belongs to the same moment: tongue was an ordinary, inexpensive cold meat, and bottled Spanish pimientos made a bright, sweet pepper available year-round in a northern climate. The instruction is a description of an effect rather than a list of weights — the cook was expected to supply the judgment.