Cold Meats for Sandwiches

Appears in

Professional Garde Manger: A Comprehensive Guide to Cold Food Preparation

By Jaclyn Pestka , Wayne Gisslen and Lou Sackett

Published 2010

About

Cold meats are most frequently used as a filling for sandwiches. Sandwiches may be made with industrially produced luncheon meats or with meats cooked in-house. Sandwich making and purchased meats for use in sandwiches are discussed in Chapter 9. In this chapter, we focus on how to roast, poach, and otherwise cook meats to be used in cold sandwiches. In addition, we discuss the various ways in which both types of sandwich meats may be presented.

The Changing Role of Cold Meat Dishes

Until the late 1800s, most hotels, restaurants, and affluent homes served a multi-course, hot main meal at noon or during the early afternoon. The evening meal was then based on large joints of meat or whole fowl that had been roasted in the afternoon to be served cold at a later hour, when most of the staff were off duty. Cold sauces, cold vegetable dishes, salads, and breads accompanied these cold meat dishes.

Today, the hot main meal is now eaten in the evening. Cold meats are generally served at lunchtime and are most frequently used as components in sandwiches and salads. Cold meat entrées are featured in upscale box lunches or as part of deluxe picnic baskets.

However, there are still evening occasions for which cold meats are appropriate and welcome. Beautifully displayed roasts of meat and poultry often serve as the centerpiece of a late-evening cold buffet. In restaurants the more complex cold meat dishes, such as mousses and mousselines, make good appetizers and may also be served as light dinner entrées in hot weather.