Warning: Another Picture Heavy Post
ETA (09/09/2018): Recipe for the Shooter’s Sandwich added
I rarely expend as much effort on a dish/recipe as I did for this glorified steak sandwich.
And, at the end, I didn’t USE the bun I had spent all that effort on.
The shooter’s sandwich is a relic of the shooting parties of the nobles and elite in Edwardian Great Britain, who would arrange to have the kitchen produce this sandwich to be tossed into their hunting bags, before they went out for a day of grouse shooting. The sandwich was wrapped in butcher’s paper and pressed so that the juices given off by the mushrooms and steak would permeate the hearty bun. Eaten at room temperature, it was an expensive dish if prepared with filet mignon. My steak choice was more modest. A blade steak cooked as quickly as possible in the hopes of not ending up with shoe leather.
And now the story behind the sandwich:
First, I had to research a recipe for an individual bun in which I could build the sandwich, since I knew that I was unlikely to find something suitable locally. And, once I decided on a sourdough bread bowl recipe, I had to make sourdough starter. Luckily, I had some dried sourdough starter in the pantry so I didn’t have to start from scratch. It took me two days but the result was a lovely bubbly and fragrant mixture. It took a third day to bake the buns.
Rehydrated Sourdough Starter
Sourdough Bread Bowl filled with chili
Sourdough Bread Bowls – top and bottom scooped out
I ended up with extra starter (something sourdough bakers have to deal with) so I experimented with part of it. I repeated the KAF Italian bread recipe but substituted ~200 gm of my bubbly new starter in place of the ‘overnight starter’. I was torn between reducing the amount of commercial yeast used but decided to stick with the original recipe. A bad choice as it turned out. I over proofed the dough during the bulk proof stage. And during the final proofing stage. And my kneading/shaping probably needed work.
Hybrid (Sourdough Starter and Yeast) Buns
I SHOULD have increased the baking temperature although the buns looked fine when I pulled them out of the oven. And then, the next day, after making the sourdough buns, they looked pale and anemic in comparison.
When I cut into the buns, I was pleased with the crumb.
I froze the other two hybrid buns I made, and used the one I had cut into for my steak sandwich … after I hollowed it out.
Bun, onion/mushroom mixture, French’s mustard (use Dijon or a coarse brown mustard) and blade steak. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of the steak after it had been seared off
Wrap in plastic food wrap, press, cut and eat.
Hybrid Bun Shooter’s Sandwich – cut it in fourths for an appetizer
Shooter’s Sandwich – makes 3 sandwiches
Three 12 cm/ 4 1/2 inch sourdough bread bowls, top removed and contents removed leaving 10 cm/1/2 inch rim around the edge and on the base
500 gm/ 1 lb blade steak, seared or grilled to rare/medium-rare
Mushroom Mixture
1 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
227 gm/ 1/2 lb mushrooms, finely diced
1/4 tsp Worchestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
mustard, Dijon, coarse grained
horseradish (optional)
Making the mushroom mixture
In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute until the onion has softened and starts to get golden brown. Remove the onions to a small bowl and reserve. Add the mushrooms to the pan and saute in the remaining butter until softened, slightly browned and fairly dry. Return the onions to the pan and sprinkle the Worchestershire sauce over the top, stirring into the onion/mushroom mixture. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
Spread some mustard over the base of the bread bowl. Divide the steak into thirds and fit tightly into the base. Spread some horseradish over the steak. Top with about 1/3 of the mushroom mixture and fit the lid of the bread bowl on top. Wrap the sandwich in a large sheet of plastic food wrap. Place the sandwich into a bowl. Place a flat plate on top and then a heavy weight on top. Refrigerate overnight. Cut into fourths and serve.
Repeat with the rest of the bread bowls and other ingredients.
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 
Just the thought of going out for a day of hard work knowing I have a decadent sandwich in my bag makes my mouth water.
Exactly.
Of course, you’d probably like some pickles as well.
My husband would go crazy for this sandwich (he’s a big steak fan!). It sounds really amazing.
It’s delicious. The sourdough bread bowl is too hard/firm and takes a LOT of chewing. Next time I’ll make a regular yeast bread bowl for the sandwich and keep the sourdough ones for soup where the liquid inside softens it enough to make good eating.
I can never keep the starter alive! Although I did pretty good a couple years ago, even bringing it with me back and forth from the twin cities to South Dakota! I don’t know why I never freeze any, I loved hearing about this steak sandwich and the story behind it! I wish I had one right now!
I don’t buy/eat steak often so I try to make each occasion special. It helps if you buy a tender cut of steak to start with. 🙂
I dried a cup or so of sourdough starter and tossed it in the pantry. It think it’s easier to ‘bring back’ from dry than from frozen … at least based on my experiences. And it takes very little effort. Of course, now I have live starter in my fridge. Which I feed once a week until the jar gets full enough that I feel guilty and make something with it.
That’s good to know about the sourdough. I usually do the same with meat, buy the less expensive cuts and try to keep them rare and cut across the grain.