There can be few things more mouthwatering than beef and cheese. Think of the flavours of a posh cheeseburger and you start to get the idea. Succulent sliced roast beef with Emmental cheese really elevates the cheeseburger flavours to a whole new level in a golden grilled sandwich garnished with mushrooms and mustard.
Roast Beef & Emmental Grilled Sandwich
I love cheeseburgers! Or should I say I love double cheeseburgers!! Having said that, then it will come as no surprise that this Roast Beef and Emmental Grilled Sandwich is one of my all time favourites.
Put simply, it is an elegant, luxurious version of the beefbuger and cheese combination with the addition of mushrooms and a tangy mustard to replicate the traditional burger sauce.
In this sandwich, the burger is replaced by some slices of peppered roast beef of the kind you can buy from any supermarket with a chilled meat aisle. Here, for the cheese, I have opted for some sliced Emmental which has a milder, almost nutty flavour and so compliments the roast beef so well.
My personal preference for this sandwich would be to opt for some lovely fresh mushrooms fried in butter to continue the luxurious theme, but for this recipe you could simply open a tin of mushrooms and drain some to give you a quicker option which can literally be prepared while the sandwich maker is heating up.
What you will need for the perfect Roast Beef & Emmental Grilled Sandwich
My preference is for thick sliced bread for my toastie or grilled sandwich everytime. Thick sliced bread is a must as, in my opinion, the bread is the most important part of any sandwich. White sliced, or a 50/50 white/wholemeal combination always works well, but for this sandwich I have chosen a lovely thickly sliced and more rustic seeded wholemeal. It looks and tastes great, and here provides the perfect compliment to the filling.
Emmental cheese is perfect to accompany beef as it has a mild, almost nutty flavour and will not overpower the star of the sandwich which is the meat. You could of course choose any of your favourite cheese for this sandwich, but if you wanted to stay with a cheddar, for example, I would suggest the medium flavoured option. To make things simple, I buy my Emmental ready sliced, and always have a part opened pack in my fridge. As a tip, once opened, keep the remainder in a ziplock bag with surplus air expelled. It lasts for days!
The choice of meat I have used here is a shop bought Peppered Topside of Roast Beef, ready sliced, and perfect for sandwich making. This can usually be found in any supermarket in the chilled meats section, and are normally in a packs of 5 or 6 slices, ready to go. This is usually very thinly sliced so I prefer to fold two slices into each sandwich to provide a substantial filling and balance to the cheese. My local supermarket stocks this peppered topside beef (and I do love a hint of black pepper in my sandwiches), but any similar sliced roast beef would do just as well.
The choice of mushrooms is really up to you. You may decide to simply open a small tin of mushrooms with the surplus water drained off. Tinned mushrooms are a handy stock item to have in your cupboard as they are always there when you need them, unlike fresh mushrooms which "brown"very quickly in a few days if not used. (However, tinned mushrooms can be a little bland when compared to fresh, and if you want to enhance this luxurious sandwich even further, some fresh mushrooms pan fried in butter are a great addition.)
I also prefer to spread a teaspoon of American mustard (the mild type you would use in hot dogs, etc.) or English mustard (which works well with beef) on to the inner surface of the top slice, just to add another layer to the rich, luxurious flavours. However, do not over use, as a strong mustard can overpower the filling.
Making the perfect Roast Beef & Emmental Grilled Sandwich
Turn on the snack maker with the grill / panini plates fitted. The ease of using the grill plates is that the sandwich can be pre-assembled and the whole thing lifted into place onto the pre-heated bottom plate. When using these plates, it is still possible to create some sort of "sealed sandwich effect" particularly with a good thick sliced bread as the crusts, when compressed, can form a barrier to the sandwich filling escaping.
While the appliance is heating up gather all the ingredients together and butter one side of each of the 2 slices of bread. These will be the sides that come into contact with the hotplates, and help to achieve the beautiful golden grill lines on the outer surfaces of the bread during the cooking process. (You could lightly spray or spread on a good quality oil if you prefer).
To start assembling your sandwich, turn one slice over (buttered side down) and cover the dry side with one slice of the Emmental cheese.
Then take the 2 slices of roast beef and arrange on top of the Emmental cheese. Fold the slices over onto each other to fill the sandwich, rather than simply laying each slice flat.
Sprinkle the mushrooms of your choice over the beef, using as many or as few as you like to your own personal preference.
Now cover with the second slice of Emmental cheese.
Place the top slice on top to complete the sandwich, but not before adding some thinly spread mustard onto the dry side of the top slice so that the mustard side rests on the Emmental and the buttered side is uppermost.
With your sandwich now assembled, once the appliance is up to temperature, carefully place the completed sandwich onto the bottom grill plate (taking great care as this is very hot and will sizzle noticeably upon contact). It is important to close the top plate slowly, and bring to rest on to the top of the sandwich but do not apply pressure. This will gradually settle under it's own weight while cooking, as in this case we prefer not to compress the sandwich by closing fully and locking the handles.
Cook for approximately 6 minutes or until golden.
Once your grilled sandwich is ready, switch off the appliance at the socket. NEVER lift your finished sandwich out with your fingers as the plates will still be extremely hot! Always use wood or plastic tools to loosen and lift away your sandwich, which usually comes away from the non-stick surface easily.
The Recipe
Roast Beef & Emmental Grilled Sandwich
EQUIPMENT
- 3-in-1 snack maker with grill / panini plates
PREPARATION TIME : 5 minutes
COOKING TIME : 6 minutes (approx.)
SERVINGS : 1
INGREDIENTS
- 2 slices thick seeded wholemeal bread
- 8g butter or similar
- 2 slices (50g approx.) topside roast beef or similar
- 40g mushrooms (tinned and drained)
- 2 slices of Emmental cheese (70g approx.)
- tsp of mild mustard
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Turn on the snack maker
- While the appliance is heating up gather all the ingredients to hand
- Butter one side of each of the 2 slices of seeded bread
- Turn one slice over (buttered side down) and cover with one slice of Emmental cheese
- Cover the Emmental with the 2 slices of roast beef folded to cover the whole area
- Spoon the mushrooms evenly over the sliced beef
- Cover with the remaining slice of the Emmental cheese
- Spread the mustard over the dry side of the remaining slice
- Place the remaing slice of seeded bread on top with the buttered side uppermost
- Carefully place the completed sandwich onto the grill plates
- Close the top plate gently onto the sandwich but do not press or close handles
- Cook for approximately 6 minutes or until golden
Or you could try...
The idea of using tinned mushrooms is simply one of convenience. However, I admit that these are not always necessarily as full of flavour as fresh muihrooms.
If you really wanted to take this grilled sandwich to another level, then you could replace the tinned variety with some pre-prepared freshly fried mushrooms, slowly browned in butter.
Perfect with...
The Roast Beef and Emmental Grilled Sandwich is perfect on it's own as a snack at any time of the day, whenever the fancy takes you.
Or simply add some fresh baby salad leaves with a light dressing, to create a quick and tasty lunch.
How does your sandwich maker compare?
For most of the recipes shared here I use my trusty Tower Deep Fill 3-in-1 Sandwich Maker, so obviously you may need to adjust your ingredients slightly if you are using a different appliance. Having said that, most sandwich makers are very similar in design and size, and the amount of each filling is a guide only and you can increase or decrease, add or subtract, according to your personal taste.
Never be afraid to experiment, and remember you won't always get the perfect result first time, so if at first you don't succeed try, try and try again. It's great fun!
If you want to check out some of the alternative 3-in-1 machines available check out our guide...
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