Sluttishly Savoury: The Shooter's Sandwich

This weekend, I had the best sandwich of my entire life. Even better than the sandwiches my dad used to make when we went fishing (actually, they were gross, but they make me smile now). Even better than the ham sandwiches from that little bakery in that little French village of Alencon (only just though). Even better than an M&S ham and egg, which I get very excited about.

The Shooter's Sandwich is the mother of all sandwiches.

Now, I didn't invent this recipe. Tim Hayward of Guardian fame is the man behind this. But, I tweaked it a bit and well, it's just too darn good to keep to myself. This isn't a sandwich for the feint-hearted. You need a lot of time, and no danger of heart failure would be a good idea too. It's not a cheap meal, but it'll probably be the best thing you eat this summer.


You'll need:

• 1 Round loaf of bread. I used soda bread (not my first choice) which I wasn't sure about, but it worked perfectly.
• 2 rib-eye steaks. Yes. Two. This explains why it's not cheap. And why it'll give you a heart-attack.
• Portabella mushrooms. I used mini ones, because they looked yummy. They were.
• Five shallots.
• Couple of garlic cloves.

Make it!

• Slice to top off your loaf of bread, take out most of the breadcrumbs so you've got a tasty hollow shell. I'd suggest keeping the bread for breadcrumbs, but after the sandwich you probably won't eat again for three more days.
• Slice and finely dice the mushrooms and shallots. Fry on a low heat in some butter with some garlic and seasoning until they're soft and there's no moisture left. Any moisture and you'll be left with a soggy sandwich. No one like a soggy sandwich. Leave the tasty tasty mixture in a dish and try not to eat it all.
• Rub the steaks with garlic and season. Fry them in the same pan, to medium rare.
• Squish the first steak into the bottom of your loaf of bread. Squish squish squish.
• Add the mushroom and shallots on top, being careful to make sure you've gone to the sides of the loaf and everything is even.
• Place the second steak on top of the mixture, making sure it fits in the gap you've got left (mine didn't - I had to slice some steak off to make it fit! It was tasty).
• Admire your handiwork.
• Don't put the lid on yet! I took Tim's suggestion and slathered the steak in horseradish, and the underside of the lid with Dijon mustard.
• Squish everything down and wrap your sandwich in greaseproof paper. Tie up tightly with string and then grab yourself a wooden chopping board. Place your dinner under the chopping board. Add something heavy as well - you need to squish as much as you can.
• Now the hard part: Leave for at least six hours. Really. Apparently, 'overnight' is best, but I have no willpower.
• One six hours is up, unwrap and look! All squashed and ready to slice!
• Slice, eat, pretend you're not going to have another slice. Repeat until it's aaaaaall gone.

Is this the best sandwich in the world? Do you know of a better one? Tell us in the comments!