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To Cut Sandwiches
633. Butter a two pound loaf, not too stale, and divided smoothly, then cut a thin slice, and lay on it either thin slices of meat, or some cut a thin slice, and lay on it either thin slices of meat, or some of the potted meat just given. If beef or ham is used, a little mustard is usually added. After this, place on the top another slice of bread, similarly buttered, cut off the crust all round, so as to make an oblong square, and divide this into five or six sandwiches, which should be kept moist between two plates, or in a proper sandwich-box. Any number may be cut and added, by placing one layer above the other.
Or, use potted meat, such as beef, veal, chicken, ham, or tongue, spread on the bread cut as above. This method is far better than the slices, as there is less difficulty in dividing them with the teeth. alom
A Victorian method for cutting sandwiches from a whole loaf rather than pre-sliced bread, with the butter applied before the slice is cut. The technique still works and is worth knowing if you buy unsliced bread.
- Butter first, then sliceThe whole point of the method: you butter the cut face of the loaf while it is still attached to the body of the bread, then cut the slice away. The loaf braces the slice, so you can butter thin bread right to the edges without tearing it.
- A two-pound loafThe standard large British loaf, about 900 g; the nearest thing on sale today is the 800 g large loaf. "Not too stale" suggests bread that has settled rather than fresh: very fresh bread drags on the knife, while truly stale bread crumbles.
- Potted meatA Victorian larder staple of cooked meat pounded with butter and spice and sealed under clarified butter. Modern equivalents are a coarse pâté, potted shrimp-style spreads, or good rillettes; a commercial meat paste is the closest supermarket match.
- Why the spread beats the sliceThe reasoning at the end is sound and still applies. A whole slice of ham or beef pulls out of the sandwich in one piece when bitten; a spread, or meat shredded and bound with butter, divides cleanly.
- Cutting to an oblongTrimming all four crusts before dividing gives five or six fingers from one round of a large loaf. Cut with a long serrated knife in one drawing stroke rather than sawing, and wipe the blade between cuts.
- Keeping them moistBetween two plates works; better still is a damp cloth over the top or a lidded box, and modern practice would add a refrigerator if there is meat involved and more than an hour to wait. The purpose is to stop the cut edges from drying and curling.
- YieldEach pair of slices gives five or six small sandwiches, and the recipe expects the cook to build up as many layers as required: "any number may be cut and added." No total is given, so the quantity depends entirely on how much of the loaf is used.