Turn Roast Beef Sandwiches Into A Fancy Lunch By Adding One Gourmet Jarred Ingredient

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Roast beef, whether store-bought or homemade, almost immediately makes for a great sandwich. Layer a few thin slices on bread, maybe slather some mustard or horseradish on, and bingo: terrific lunch. However, there's no reason to stop there. You could add James River barbecue sauce for a Boston touch, for example. But for a truly gourmet experience, add caramelized onion jam. The hit of sweet, umami, and tart lends itself perfectly to the meat's extra-beefy taste and melt-in-your-mouth texture. Plus the jam soaks into the bread just right, making it more than just a delivery vehicle.

Chutney and caramelized onions are each already great toppings for a steak sandwich. Onion jam is like a level-up marriage of the two. Sweet and savory, with just the right taste and texture, it basically consists of caramelized onions, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and seasonings. Fancier versions, like Terrapin Ridge Farms onion jam, will incorporate raisins, citrus, garlic, or other ingredients. In the end you may need to shop around and determine your preferences. Do you want less sweetness and more vinegar? Are the onions thick enough or is the jam too fluid, making more of a mess than you want?

If you really want to control the character of the onion jam, it's a pretty easy recipe to make yourself, though remember caramelizing onions takes time. Combine sliced onion, a cup of high-quality balsamic, roughly a half-cup of sugar (brown sugar adds richness), and some salt and herbs. Saute the onions slowly until they soften and caramelize, and the vinegar has thickened into a jam.

Though the basic structure of the sandwich is easy — scoop some onion jam on top of a pile of hot or cold roast beef — the devil is in the details for the perfect sandwich. The best bread, for example, might be a chewy sourdough baguette, a toasty onion roll, or a classic Kaiser bun. Anything that enhances the experience, providing a bit of tang and resistance beyond basic white loaf bread, and is sturdy enough to hold up to the jam and any other condiments you add. Likewise, you want the meat to shine. If you have control over the beef, a round cut is best for roast beef sandwiches. You can even consider which onions are best when caramelized. Yellow onions are a popular choice and bring plenty of clarity and sweetness, while red onions have an intense flavor.

There's no need for onion jam to be the only topping involved in your gourmet roast beef sandwich. Melting a strong cheese, like sharp cheddar or blue cheese, will pair nicely with the jam's sweet and umami notes. Or add crunch and additional tartness with a vinegar-based coleslaw. To bring a Wine Country-style gourmet deli note to the whole thing, add romesco sauce or slip in a slice of pastrami to add a bit of salt and smoke to everything. You could even top your sandwich with a sharp, bitter green like arugula or mustard greens, which will again both contrast and complement the mild fattiness of the roast beef and the tangy sweetness of the jam.