The ritual of the Christmas leftovers sandwich is often the highlight of the festive culinary calendar. Leftovers become something magical, sometimes even preposterous. You can eat it any time of day, as often as you like. It’s when the usually unfashionable sliced pan truly shines, perfectly moulding around layers of fillings like no other bread can. This is the ultimate comfort food for lazy Twixmas days. Personally, I go quite classic, layering up the meats, some stuffing and lots of condiments. Rock shandy or tea on the side, and always a few crisps. But everyone has their own quirks and preferences, so here’s how some diehard fans craft their perfect leftover sandwich.
The Moist Maker - Jen Fox, FoxNestFood
It’s my favourite part of Christmas food-wise. Cheap white sliced pan - fresh, soft, never toasted - generously buttered with Kerrygold. On top goes a layer of my mother’s home-made spiced orange, cranberry sauce, which is divine. The turkey is heated in the microwave with a little gravy to bring it back to life, and the stuffing has to be sausage stuffing, no crunchy breadcrumbs allowed, ideally cooked inside the turkey so it soaks up all those rich flavours. The centrepiece is our “moist maker,” which we, like a lot of others, stole straight from Ross in Friends and never looked back.
It’s a third slice of crustless bread soaked completely through in piping hot turkey gravy, flipped a few times until it’s completely saturated. That goes in after the turkey, before the ham, making the sandwich thick, juicy, and utterly over the top. After the ham comes very generous slabs of sausage stuffing. It’s always finished with another buttered slice of white bread, served with a ramekin of piping hot gravy for dipping, and traditionally washed down with an ice-cold cola because it brings everything together. We look forward to getting back into our jammies, cueing up a movie, and tucking into this monster. instagram.com/foxnestfood
The OTToastie - Tom Murray, chef
For as long as I can remember, my mam has always made extra sausage stuffing with the intention of having fried stuffing sandwiches for brekkie on Stephen’s Day. Heaps of butter on some soft white bread, nothing like it. I just took that idea and decided to do it with the rest of the elements in the dinner. My sandwich has a sourdough base that’s been toasted with mozzarella and peeled open to fill. The base will be gravy, of course, followed by some creamy mash to adhere almost like glue so the meats don’t slide around. It will have all the proteins from Christmas dinner, turkey, ham, stuffing, and then some of the leftover cheese, normally Port Salut.
READ MORE
Its creamy texture again acts like a layer of glue to hold the ingredients inside. Then add the cabbage and finish the roasties, the two least stable elements that can be held in place by the top piece of bread and whatever melted cheese is still attached, as well as a final serving of gravy on top of everything, because why not. You could make a Christmas toastie whenever you want, but I don’t think it would be as magical in July. It’s not just the ingredients but the feel of Christmas that makes it enjoyable; it’s unique to this time of year. instagram.com/bitta_banging
In A Pickle - Rachel Freedman, workplace manager
If we’re hosting, we always buy a bigger bird and ham to make sure there are lots of leftovers for the next day. If we aren’t cooking Christmas dinner, my husband will head out on Stephen’s Day to buy a small turkey, ham and stuffing just for the sandwiches. Then it’s always Brennan’s white bread, the fresher the better, Hellman’s mayo on one slice, cranberry sauce on the other slice, turkey, ham, stuffing and my favourite ingredient that often causes controversy, Chef mixed pickles from the jar - they add little pops of crunch and tang. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! I’ll have a little bowl of dipping gravy on the side, a few Taytos and a cup of Lyons tea.
The Crunch Maker - Erica Drum, chef, recipe developer and food stylist
Christmas often has us overwhelmed, so the sandwich feels like the calm after the storm. A moment of peace. I like to eat it alone, on the couch, in silence, with a cup of tea. My ultimate Christmas leftovers sandwich starts with three slices of good, soft white sliced pan, as fresh as you can get. The middle slice goes into the toaster to create a buttery, crunchy layer that gives the whole thing texture and warmth. It’s important to butter both sides. I mix the turkey with mayo and black pepper and spread it over the first slice of bread. Then the toast. Some cheddar, then ham, rocket and cucumber. Spread relish and mustard on top before closing the sandwich, gently press it together and cut across with a bread knife. The result is pure joy, honestly. Warm, salty, moist and just a little indulgent. Sometimes I think I prefer the Christmas sambo, what it represents and the ritual around it more than Christmas dinner itself. instagram.com/ericadrumie
