Throw-Back-Thursday Recipe: Roast Beef Sandwich Spread

Thursday, June 4, 2015
I can't tell you how excited I am about this recipe post!  And the best part is that I had a very special helper.  My mom!  This recipe goes way back in my family on my mom's side and it is one of those where there is no recipe written down.  It has just been passed down from one generation to the next.  Honestly it is so simple that you really don't need a recipe.  Plus, you can change it up how you want.

Yummy Roast Beef Sandwich Spread

I should mention that this post is going to be photo heavy, but I just couldn't help myself.  Now for the recipe.  I have mentioned before that my grandparents had a dairy farm while I was growing up.  I loved visiting them on their farm and I have some great memories.  One of my most favorite memories is when we had to go and help my grandpa haul hay in the summer.  It was during this time that I learned how to drive a truck, as well as learned about the importance of storing hay so that the cows had something to eat during the winter.  But most importantly I learned how to drive a truck!

It was during hay season that my grandma, Nan, would fix the most delicious sandwich spreads for our lunches.  The men needed something quick and easy to grab so that they could go back to their work, or even eat while working.  All of the sandwich spreads were homemade.  Nan would make these using a meat grinder, and there were usually a couple of different kinds to choose from.  Ham was my favorite, and my mom always like the pork roast one.  I guarantee you cannot buy anything that tastes like this in the store!

The other night I decided to fix a beef roast for my family.  I put it in the crock pot and let it cook all day.  I did marinate it with some italian seasoning and a jar of peperoncinis.  That is one of our favorite ways to fix it. However, after cooking it all day, the meat was so tough, I thought I was going to have to throw it out.  That is when I thought of Nan's homemade sandwich spread.  I knew it couldn't hurt to try it.  The meat wasn't edible as is, so I had my mom come over the next day to help me out.

My beautiful Mama!
Here are the ingredients that we used to make the spread.  I have my roast beef, an onion, a pint jar of homemade bread and butter pickles, and sandwich spread.  You could also add in some carrots, or celery if you like.  Whatever tickles your fancy!  You can also see that I am NOT using a meat grinder.  What I love about this recipe is that I can use my food processor and chop everything up and then throw it all together.  Easy peasy!

Our ingredients, the beef is in the bowl (in case you were wondering)

The first thing we did was chop up the beef.  My mom helped by cutting the beef into smaller pieces before we actually put it into the food processor.  I think this helped and in the end there weren't any big pieces left in the processor.

I love cooking with my mama!

We also chopped the beef in batches.  I really didn't want to overwork my food processor and again, I wanted to make sure that it all chopped up the same size and that there were no big pieces.

I love my food processor!  The beef is all chopped

After the beef was done, then I threw a quartered onion  into the food processor and chopped that the same size as the beef.

Notice I didn't have to wash the processor bowl between ingredients, I love that!

Here you can see that they are the same size after I added the onion to the beef.

Chopped onions

Next comes the pickles.  I did this the same way.  I put the whole jar (minus some of the juice) into the food processor and then added that to the beef and onion mixture.

Chopped pickles added to beef and onion

After that you can add celery or carrots.  I chose not too.  I was happy with just that.  I did add some salt and pepper.  Now you just need to add the sandwich spread, or mayonnaise, whatever you prefer. And add as much as you prefer.  I didn't get a picture of that.  My mom was just too efficient and had it done before I knew it!  What I can tell you is that for our amount  she put in two big serving spoons, stirred it and then added two more.  Again it is all in what you prefer!

One thing to remember is that it is important to add the sandwich spread last.  There will be juice from the onion and pickles, and if you add the sandwich spread first, it might end up being too soupy.

And that's it folks!  The hubs loves it!  And so do the kids.  It is great on bread or crackers.  I have really been enjoying it and the taste of it brings back so many great memories!

I hear a sandwich calling my name...

I hope that you enjoy this recipe.  And let me know, if you have ever made your own sandwich spread.

2 comments:

  1. This is such a great post! I love your Throw Back Thursday's Recipes!!! It is awesome to see your sweet momma in this post. She is such a classy lady. I know you had a good time with her.

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  2. I love cooking with my mom! Growing up we had certain days set aside where it would be my grandma, my mom, and me baking pies, or canning veggies. I miss those days, but love the memories that we made!

    ReplyDelete

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