Tried and Tested: Best Christmas Sandwiches 2017By Alicia Grimshaw
You’ve probably opened this piece and though ‘they’ve really missed the boat with this one’ – but great art takes time. I didn’t want this piece to be rushed, and some half arsed attempt – I needed to eat ALL the Christmas sandwiches. Like they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
So here it is: my guide to the best and worst Christmas sandwiches on the market. There have been some surprises (read: Costa), and they’ve been some crashing, heartbreaking lows (read: Subway) – but overall it’s been a yuletide filled ride.
The review is simply broken down into two parts – the sandwich in general, and the most important part, the moisture level. Because dry turkey and lack of condiments is a Christmas sandwich travesty. Here’s the all important lowdown:
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Asda
The Sandwich: Turkey and Trimmings – turkey, pigs in blankets, stuffing and cranberry sauce in a black pepper wrap.
The Verdict: This wrap was packed tightly, and didn’t just feature some pithy pieces of white poultry. Brimming full of well-seasoned Christmas favourites including turkey and pigs in blanket, it was a meat-tastic fiesta. Lacking in the moisture department however. More mayo, please. 5/10.
Moisture: When they scrimp with the ketchup sachets at Mcdonald’s
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Crussh
The Sandwich: Festive Turkey Feast – turkey breast, pork sage and onion stuffing, bacon, cranberry sauce, spinach and mayo on malted bread
The Verdict: This is a three meat filled sandwich, and we’d be lying to you if we said we didn’t enjoy the variety. The chutney was punchy and plentiful, but the sandwich was let down by the limp bacon which hadn’t seen any sort of grill. 6/10.
Moisture: Wet and wild
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Tesco
The Sandwich: Turkey Feast – British turkey, smoked crispy bacon, pork and chestnut stuffing, and chicken stock mayonnaise on malted bread.
The Verdict: Tesco’s has stuck two fingers up to the token green leaves and we appreciate that. All our focus is on the main event: meat. The stuffing here is the real winner; nicely seasoned, flavoursome and not too dry. One slice of bread is covered in mayo, the other a cranberry sauce – moisture levels are through the roof. 6/10.
Moisture: Saucy minx
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Eat
The Sandwich: Festive Full Works – butter basted turkey, smoked ham, hand-crumbed pork, prune and pancetta stuffing, spinach, cranberry sauce and mayonnaise on multi-seed bloomer bread.
The Verdict: The bread provides a fantastic foundation for this meat-packed extravaganza. Surprisingly, one of the best Christmas sandwiches 2017 – a lot of care has gone into this sandwich, with the layers almost forming like a game of Tetris. The scene stealing stuffing deserve all the praise, and the tangy cranberry sauce was a blinder. A solid Christmas sandwich, and one we’d be happy to munch down on again. 9/10.
Moisture: A bacon sandwich with just the right amount of ketchup
The Sandwich: Turkey, Stuffing and Crispy Onions – Turkey, stuffing, crispy onions, rocket and cranberry sauce
The Verdict: Baguettes are always hard to navigate – it’s just fact of life. And it seems the cranberry sauce has got lost in the crispy onion sea. The turkey is good, but not quite as moist as it should be, and as a result is drowned out by the more fragrant stuffing. It’s always going to be tough to make a baguette moist, but if you’re a fancy of crispy bread – then it’s not half bad. 6/10.
Moisture levels: Like grass after rainfall
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Sainsbury’s
The Sandwich: Turkey Feast – Turkey, bacon, stuffing, cranberry sauce and spinach
The Verdict: The malted bread complements the merry ingredients and partnered up well with the stuffing, while also adding some much needed texture to the whole shebang. The cranberry sauce ensure that the stuffing does not overpower the entire experience, and instead offers a sweet and tangy refuge within the eye of the sage and thyme tornado. 7/10.
Moisture Levels: A well basted turkey
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Starbucks
The Sandwich: Turkey Feast – turkey, smoked bacon, cranberry gravy and a stuffing sauce
The Verdict: Let’s not sugar coat this, people, Starbucks’ Christmas sandwich was hardly going to be life changing. We enjoyed this toasted number as much as we could, but the sandwich lacked real depth. The frugal portion of turkey and a few spinach leaves really didn’t make this a memorable sandwich. 2/10.
Moisture: A Jacob’s cracker
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Greggs
The Sandwich: Christmas Lunch Sandwich – turkey breast, sage and onion stuffing and cranberry and port sauce with spinach and mayonnaise on malted brown bread.
The Verdict: The Greggs gang state that this bread is malted brown, but it looks (and tastes) like white to us. The texture is malleable and inviting, and has as much moisture as any solid sandwich should have. A rarity in Christmas sandwiches, the sage and onion stuffing is not overpowering and instead proves to be a better match to the other main meats than Arnold Schwarzenegger to Danny DeVito in Twins. A difficult feat to accomplish. 8/10.
Moisture Levels: A full bodied Merlot
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: PAUL
The Sandwich: The Cosy Christmas Pig Sandwich – apricot and sage baguette with Lincolnshire sausage and bacon, spinach, freshly sliced apple and a sweet apple chutney.
The Verdict: There’s a delightful juxtaposition between the sweet apple, the salty sausage and smokey swine. As ever, the bread at PAUL is excellent, but the lack of the sweet apple chutney let this sarnie down. We enjoyed the fruity bites, though. 7/10.
Moisture Levels: An apple crumble (but you need to ask for a bigger jug of custard)
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Marks and Spencer
The Sandwich: Turkey Feast – British turkey breast, pork, sage and onion stuffing, cranberry chutney, smoked British bacon and fried onions on malted brown bread.
The Verdict: This is a robust Christmas sandwich and packed to the rafters with Christmas dinner greats. The stuffing and succulent turkey arrive hand in hand and prove to be almost as perfect for each other as those annoying couples who finish each other’s sentences with alarming regularity. A solid Christmas sandwich all round. 9/10.
Moisture Levels: A Boxing Day buffet spread
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Benugo
The Sandwich: Turkey, bacon, stuffing, spinach, and cranberry on rye
The Verdict: This should be marketed as the only Christmas sandwich with decent bacon. The stuffing is a delightful tickle rater than a knock out blow, and the real cranberries meant the jam was sporadic and chunky, rather than consistently spread through – making each bite a tasty surprise. One of the best Christmas sandwiches 2017, without a doubt. 10/10.
Moisture Levels: A chocolate digestive dipped in tea
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Subway
The Sandwich: Classic Feast – turkey breast, sausage, bacon and cranberry sauce.
The Verdict: We don’t know if the sandwich artist was having a bad day, but they left out the all important cranberry sauce, and boy, did this sandwich need some sort of condiment. While the turkey filling was generous, the sandwich lacked any yuletide joy. We’ll stick with the spicy Italian. Certainly not one of the best Christmas sandwiches 2017. 1/10.
Moisture Levels: A leather wallet
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Pret
The Sandwich: Christmas Lunch – Norfolk free-range turkey breast on malted bread with port and orange cranberry sauce and herby stuffing.
The Verdict: Pret have dominated the Christmas sandwich scene – and it’s clear to see why: proper turkey, soft squishy bread, and a sweet cranberry sauce. The stuffing is present, without knocking the door down. It’s a more polite-knock-and-wait-to-be-invited-in. Only thing that let down this sarnie was all the stuffing was in the middle and not evenly distributed. 8/10.
Moisture Levels: A lovely gelato
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Costa
The Sandwich: Turkey Feast – turkey, sausage, smoked bacon, mayonaise, and sage and onion stuffing on malted bread
The Verdict: The turkey is tender, and, dare we say it, some of the best we’ve found in a Chirstmas sandwich. Seriously, Costa have outdone themselves here. The Cumberland is the perfect level of meatiness, not overpowering, yet we definitely know it’s there. 8/10.
Moisture Levels: Forecast: a light drizzle of rain
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Boots
The Sandwich: Pigs Under Blankets – sausage, bacon, stuffing, cranberry and mayonnaise on malted bread.
The Verdict: The bacon is as crisp as you’d find in a package meal, with the cranberry sauce adding a sweet balance to the whole deal. The sausage is a tad dry, but the little nubs of sage and onion stuffing is a delight throughout. We say, stick to selling Calpol. 6.5/10.
Moisture Levels: The condiment asile
Christmas Sandwich Taste Test: Waitrose
The Sandwich: Pigs Under Blankets – pork sausage, cranberry sauce, smoked bacon and mayonnaise ON sliced malted bread.
The Verdict: The absence of turkey, while initially a slight concern, proves to be a decisive strike on your tastebuds. The idiom ‘less is more’ has never been more apt, and while in other sarnies we may have waxed lyrical on how one of the elements may have been slightly lacking, in this case, due to its restrained approach, you’re able to fully appreciate every ingredient. Side note: the cranberry, while a tangy respite from the meaty slap, does lean more towards a conserve rather than an authentic cranberry feel. 8/10.
Moisture Levels: London in September
