Icky Sliding Stuff

[Jinmyo]

I quite often design dishes that can and should be eaten with the fingers. For example tuiles or thin crostini with various toppings, maki, etc.

And I usually serve meats already sliced and arranged so that they can be eaten without the maiming and crushing that happens when people saw away at them with steak or dinner knives.

In fact I sometimes serve strip steak in rolled slices that are meant to be picked up with the fingers and dipped in salt or gomasio.

And bone-in pork loin chops grilled with chipotle-adobo and toasted cumin which are meant to be picked up and just bitten into for a carnivorous rush. (Right through that thin, charred bit of fat into the tender pink meat.)

In the above cases there are oshibori (moist hot towels) and citrus water to clean the hands.

But I really don't care for icky sliding stuff like huge hamburgers that spurt gack on the inside of wrists or stacked smoked-meat sandwiches that fall apart after a bite or two.

Do you know what I mean?

It's just me, right?

[Katherine]

You're referring to the "special sauce" that runs down your chin and elbows and drips onto your clothing?

Naah, just you.

[Jinmyo]

Thought so.

[bleachboy]

It doesn't necessarily fall under the heading of "icky sliding stuff", but one thing I've always wondered is why deli sandwiches are always so dang thick. Do I really need a four-inch-thick pastrami on rye?

[fifi]

It is not just you. Playing with my food with my hands is fun. I love the pork chop idea. A guy that caters monthly department lunches at work, often brings along these perfectly cooked little lamb chops that you hold by the bone an chomp. We love those things and everyone enjoys the experience.

But ANY sandwhich that deconstructs on the first or second bite is evil. I will include in that group sandwiches that are too thick for biting by any normal being that does not have an unhinging jaw like a python. Don't even get me started on the bottom piece of bread or bun turning into goo from the juicy internals. If you can't make a sandwhich that can be eaten like a sandwich then don't bother. Deconstruct and give me a knife and fork.

[nessa]

No, its not just you. I DETEST foods that are meant to be eaten with your fingers or hands that can't stay together. Burgers and sandwiches are a problem, they slip and slide, ooze and gooze all the good stuff onto the plate so that you have to use a fork anyway. Bah. Sometimes a couple of well placed toothpicks helps. I don't mind getting my fingers dirty, but when what I'm eating just collapses into a pile it rather ticks me off. I also hate it when finger foods are served too big to fit in your mouth. I don't want it all over my cheeks and chin when I try to take a bite.

And Jinmyo... those pork chops sound divine! Finger licking good.

Edited February 8, 2004 by nessa (log)

[fifi]

I this a good place for my usual rant about leaving the tail shells on shrimp... when they are served in a sauce?

I will add huge leaves of greens in salad so that you can effectively paint your cheeks with salad dressing. Uh... they don't set the table with a salad knife anywhere I have been lately. (Exception: The recently resurrected wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese. This is actually one use of iceberg lettuce that I like.)

[Mudpuppie]

i hate being sticky.

[jo-mel]

I absolutely love Reubens, but not to the point where one bite sends the rest of the sandwich out the other side.

Worse, tho is when the sandwich comes opened on the plate -- almost like a gravy sandwich, and has to be eaten with a knife and fork.

A club sndwich is a delight to look at and a b**** to eat. It is supposed to be a lovely ladies lunch sandwich, isn't it? Well, eating it is not very lady-like!!

[nessa]

I this a good place for my usual rant about leaving the tail shells on shrimp... when they are served in a sauce?

I will add huge leaves of greens in salad so that you can effectively paint your cheeks with salad dressing. Uh... they don't set the table with a salad knife anywhere I have been lately.

AMEN! Man thats a huge pet peeve of mine. If its a dish to be eaten with a fork take the damn tail off already. Lettuce for salad should be in BITE SIZE pieces. Unless its one of those darling Caeser salads that you get to pick up the whole leaf and nibble and let the dressing dribble down the rib to dance on your tongue.....

[snowangel]

Agreed on sandwiches, but certain foods like peaches and the butter on super fresh corn on the cob are meant to run down ones arms...

[Suzanne F]

I usually eat the tail shells. More roughage.

I will also pick up almost any solid food with my fingers, as long as I'm not in some swell surroundings. There is no joy equal to touching food and licking the juices off one's fingers. Or having them licked off, but that's getting into something else entirely.

Sliding food can be good for a laugh, though. I once made super-sloppy burgers: hamburger, cheese, bacon, salsa, avocado, on English muffins. About 3 inches thick. HWOE picked it up, tried to take a bite, and the whole mess shot out of the muffin toward me. Well, it was one of those you-had-to-be-there things.

[Mayhaw Man]

Do I really need a four-inch-thick pastrami on rye?

Yes.

You do.

Edited to say that I eat shrimp tails. Edited to say that, in fact, I love the tails on fried shrimp and will be the person picking them off of your plate (politely, of course) if you are sitting within arms reach. I also like the dorsal and tail fins off of bream and various kinds of perch.

Crunchy is good.

[bleachboy]

Do I really need a four-inch-thick pastrami on rye?

Yes.

You do.

Okay, then. I concur.

I just got done eating a club sandwich, and my professional analysis is that the number one factor for slimy sandwiches is these three factors, and whether or not they occur next to each other on the sandwich:

1. Lettuce

2. Tomato

3. Condiment

Can anybody think of a way to construct a club sandwich that would, for example, not place lettuce next to tomato or ham next to mayo? Whoever solves this little puzzle will have constructed a no-slider club sandwich.

[mongo_jones]

I usually eat the tail shells. More roughage.

thank god! it isn't just me! i often cook shrimp in a sauce with more than just the tail shell on and just chomp the entire shell up--you should also see just how much of chicken and goat bones i crunch up with my curries.

most bengali shrimp dishes (including highly sauced ones) are made with the whole shell on (head too)--most bengalis will sort this out while eating --though this has its origins in the fact that most bengalis (other than hyper-westernized ones like me) eat with their hands.

[jsolomon]

How about gratuitous usage of toothpicks and good fresh bread with large bubble-divots in it and well-toasted to keep things on a good non-slippery surface. Also, keeping the tomato slices thin and not putting huge glops of mayo seems to help.

Alternatively, take my tactic and try to never eat around people who you have to impress, then you can swill your food and let it slop everywhere. However, I lived for quite some time with a group of Malaysians in college, and after eating so many meals with only my hands, I lost Jinmyo's issue with slide-y food.

Edit to clarify: this group of malaysians typically ate rice and curry using their hands and since we shared cooking duties, we all ate together in the same manner.

Edited February 8, 2004 by jsolomon (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

I usually eat the tail shells.  More roughage.

thank god! it isn't just me! i often cook shrimp in a sauce with more than just the tail shell on and just chomp the entire shell up--you should also see just how much of chicken and goat bones i crunch up with my curries.

most bengali shrimp dishes (including highly sauced ones) are made with the whole shell on (head too)--most bengalis will sort this out while eating --though this has its origins in the fact that most bengalis (other than hyper-westernized ones like me) eat with their hands.

In the traditional version of New Orleans BBQ'd shrimp (which has very little do do with BBQ) the shrimp are cooked head on/peel on. Veterans eat the whole thing (sans head). The peel just adds to the APEEL of the dish (sorry, I sometimes can't control my keyboard) and makes for a much more satisfying dining experience (not too mention that broiled shrimp are REALLY hard to shuck.

[Suzanne F]

Precisely. One of my favorite shrimp dishes to make at home is a version of Mosca's "barbecued" shrimp -- actually slowly poached in spiced olive oil, to the point where the shells soften up to the consistency of softshell crabs. What a waste of flavor it would be to not eat them.

And the batter-coated tails of fried shrimp -- Yum. Crunch. Texture is good.

[fifi]

I don't eat the shells. I have this strange notion that that little spiky thing on the tail is going to stick holes in my innards. I can really get into peeling the BBQ shrimp because that is what you are supposed to do and playing with your food is part of the deal. But when I get the things in a pasta dish at an upscale Italian restaurant it pisses me off.

Those of you that have difficulty peeling boiled shrimp, I put a lot of research into that problem last year in this thread. I will spare you reading the whole thread. The problem is two fold, timing from the last molt and shrimp that are too fresh.

[Mudpuppie]

Can anybody think of a way to construct a club sandwich that would, for example, not place lettuce next to tomato or ham next to mayo? Whoever solves this little puzzle will have constructed a no-slider club sandwich.

Add liberal amounts of hummus to the condiment-spread bread, both top and bottom. Because of its texture, hummus has mongo surface area. Thus, the hummus will provide more than adequate friction and will keep the sandwich contents from sliding.

[Jinmyo]

Re the club sandwich. Deseed the tomatoes, chop the lettuce.

[Mayhaw Man]

Can anybody think of a way to construct a club sandwich that would, for example, not place lettuce next to tomato or ham next to mayo?  Whoever solves this little puzzle will have constructed a no-slider club sandwich.

Add liberal amounts of hummus to the condiment-spread bread, both top and bottom. Because of its texture, hummus has mongo surface area. Thus, the hummus will provide more than adequate friction and will keep the sandwich contents from sliding.

I don't want to get into a Fawlty Towers "Waldorf Salad" kind of an argument here, but by adding Hummus to a Club Sandwich (not that I don't think it is a good idea or that it wouldn't be good ) I believe that you would need to find another moniker for this creation.

Mudd Club Sandwich comes to mind

[fifi]

We have a hamburger joint here in Seabrook TX known as Tookies that has been serving "creative" hamburgers since the late 70s. They make one called the bean burger that is dressed with onions, cheese, refried beans and salsa... maximum potential for slidage. The genius of this burger is that they strategically add Fritos and that sticks it all together. The Fritos add great texture and flavor as well.

[Ondine]

I love the tails on fried shrimp and will be the person picking them off of your plate (politely, of course) if you are sitting within arms reach. I also like the dorsal and tail fins off of bream and various kinds of perch. Crunchy is good.

I love crunchy prawn shells too!

And I have converted my housemates to the love of prawn tail shells too - we fight over them if they're available.

I love them from tempura, salt-and-pepper prawns, and those lovely sticky black-soy-sauce-fried whole-shell-on prawns, which I eat whole.

The whiskery bits can stick a little in the throat though if you're too enthusiastic.

Excuse me, I'm going to to buy me some prawn skewers at my favourite all-night bistro.

(Why do we not have a drooling smiley?)

[lorea]

I have this strange notion that that little spiky thing on the tail is going to stick holes in my innards.

Hey, I thought I was the only one to feel this way about shrimp tails!! I'll eat the shells sometimes, but I refuse to put that humongous tail down my system.

Argh, I can't stand slippery avocados in burgers. You take one bite, and they slide out the other end, usually taking all the tomato and pickles with it. If there's going to be avocado in my burger, it had better be lightly mashed.