# Cannibal sandwich **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 29, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707 "2008-06-29T23:23:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/1 "2008-06-29T23:23:10Z")
> [@](#): > > In his kitchen, Randy made himself a cannibal sandwich. Lib considered his habit of eating raw ground round, smeared with horseradish and mustard and pressed between slices of rye bread, barbarous. He’d explained it was simply a bachelor’s meal, quick and lazy, and anyway he liked it. Ever had one? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/2 "2008-06-29T23:24:49Z")
Where is that from? ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/3 "2008-06-29T23:27:22Z")
Nope. Eww. And I actually like ground beef. But I have thoroughly cooked ground beef, mixed with garlic, onions, seasoning, and put that on toast, with mayo and cheese. Yum! But I would never, ever eat raw hamburger. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/4 "2008-06-29T23:32:11Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Where is that from? [/QUOTE] _Alas, Babylon_. Where’s Punk Fate from? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/5 "2008-06-30T00:33:29Z")
**Savannah** : I understand your sentiment, especially now that _e. coli_ keeps popping up. But I’ve wanted to try one since high school when I read the book. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/6 "2008-06-30T00:38:01Z")
Is eating raw beef safe? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/7 "2008-06-30T00:42:46Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Is eating raw beef safe? [/QUOTE] Define ‘safe’. 😉 Apparently cannibal sandwiches used to be somewhat common. In addition to _Alas, Babylon_, ISTR Pancho Barnes liked them. Maybe it was safer then? Maybe the modern contamination is a result of current factory farming practices? Or maybe people just got sick 50 years ago and nothing was said about it. I do like my steaks rare, occasionally raw in the middle. And I’ve had burgers that weren’t cooked all the way through. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/8 "2008-06-30T00:44:30Z")
My husband is a big fan of the raw hamburger, but usually he just grabs a spoonful while I am mixing up meatloaf or patting out hamburger patties. I don’t think he’s ever gone to the trouble of making a sandwich out of it, probably because the idea hasn’t occurred to him. When I tell him it’s not safe, he says he likes to give his immune system something to do now and then. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/9 "2008-06-30T00:46:20Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Is eating raw beef safe? [/QUOTE] I’ve heard that it’s a lot safer to eat raw steak than to eat raw ground beef, because the potential contaminants are on the outside of the meat only for a steak, so a quick wash or a few seconds of searing it over a flame or on a pan will rid you of the germs, but with ground beef the contaminants are mixed in thoroughly. The whole thing disturbs me greatly, but I can’t even stand to eat beef that’s less than well done, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/10 "2008-06-30T04:30:40Z")
finely ground up beef, raw, colored extra red, and mixed with a bit of mayonnaise and spices, is commonly available in Europe (well, at least here in the Netherlands) as, ironically, “Filet Americain”. A sandwich cannibal is a sandwich with a big layer of filet Americain and some other toppings; horseradish is posible, although capers are more common here. As for why the stuff according to this thread seems less available in the US, well…I had a an American visitor here with me in the Netherlands, and he remarked spontaneously that \*filet americain \*was " a food poisoning lawsuit waiting to happen" and said that that would be the reason the stuff would never be sold in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/11 "2008-06-30T04:46:56Z")
I’ve eaten raw hamburger sandwiches before. Spice it up. Mix it with some mayo. Quick and easy. I think Americans are too queasy about raw beef. There’s only a very small chance that you’re going to get sick. I never have and I’ve been eating raw or very rare hamburger for my entire adult life. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/12 "2008-06-30T04:58:01Z")
If you worry, grind your own beef. Get fairly cheap cuts of beef and a food processor, or better a stand mixer with a meat grinder attachment. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/13 "2008-06-30T05:11:52Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I’ve eaten raw hamburger sandwiches before. Spice it up. Mix it with some mayo. Quick and easy. I think Americans are too queasy about raw beef. There’s only a very small chance that you’re going to get sick. I never have and I’ve been eating raw or very rare hamburger for my entire adult life. [/QUOTE] I hope you never get “hamburger disease”, also called\* Haemorrhagic Colitis\*, or _Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome_, caused by E. coli 0157:H7, a fairly common contaminant. It might not kill you, but you will be so sick you will want to die. It isn’t a matter of being queasy. It’s a matter of common sense. Ground beef contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7 is nearly as common as dog poop. I’d ask your local public health people, I’m sure they could give you the straight dope. If you must eat raw beef, buy a bit of steak, wash it, and grind it yourself. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/14 "2008-06-30T05:53:14Z")
Change the ground round to minimally seasoned raw pork (onions salt and pepper), the mustard and horseradish to Horseradish Mustard, and the rye to farmer’s bread…then yes. It was my favorite packed lunch sandwich at German Middleschool when I was 15. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/15 "2008-06-30T06:14:17Z")
If you were to change the ground round to minimally seasoned raw pork sausage (onions, salt and pepper, and a touch of garlic), the mustard and horseradish to Horseradish Mustard, and the rye to farmer’s bread (\*Bauernbrot)…then yes, I have eaten several cannibal sandwiches. It was my favorite packed lunch sandwich at German Middleschool when I was 15. They just called it “Gehacktes” (‘Hacked up’). \ ***Bauernbrot** 1/2 L Buttermilk 1 package of yeast or similar measure with a lil bit of water and sugar to activate 4 tsp. salt 600 g of Rye Flour 600 g of white bread flour 40g sesame seeds 40g flax seed 40g hulled sunflower seeds 40g hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) Activate the yeast with a bit of warm water and a pinch of sugar and let sit 10 minutes. Add all of the ingredients in and form into a nice mass, adding more flour as needed (it should be a nonsticky and substantial ball of dough.). Knead with a dusting of white flour on a flat surface for about 10 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes in a corner, covered with a dish towel. Punch it down and form it into a round loaf. Cut a cross in the top and dust with a final strew of flour. Bake in a 425F oven for about an hour on a bread stone with a spritz of water. I think the ones I’ve had differed in that they were made with a sourdough starter instead of yeast ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/16 "2008-06-30T07:26:55Z")
Cooking beef is not the only way to prevent food poisoning: Dutch filet Americain has E224 added as food preservativ. Anyway, I have never heard of an actual case of food poisoning by someone eating the stuff here. There are a lot of warning and scary stories about it, on the internet, though. Kids over here are more likely to contract intestinal parasites through playing in a communal sandbox. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/17 "2008-06-30T07:28:20Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] _Alas, Babylon_. Where’s Punk Fate from? [/QUOTE] It’s not Punk Fate - it says “PUNK ROCK” phoenetically in Cyrillic (Russian) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/18 "2008-06-30T13:19:17Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] It’s not Punk Fate - it says “PUNK ROCK” phoenetically in Cyrillic (Russian) [/QUOTE] That’s what I get for using babelfish. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannibal-sandwich/454707/19 "2008-06-30T14:45:36Z")
Raw hamburger is just a poor man’s version of [steak tartare](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_tartare), which has been around for a very long time. It has the additional health risk of containing raw egg.