We’re gonna call this the Jack London sandwich. Calling it what it is (raw meat on rye) or what it has been called (cannibal sandwich) doesn't do it justice.

Growing up in Virginia, I had no idea what a cannibal sandwich was until recently. Rachel was reading a short article on Jack London’s favorite foods out loud to me, which mentioned that raw ground beef and onion sandwiches were a favorite of his.

This shocked me, mostly because the mention of ground beef conjures up images of those plastic tubes of 70:30 beef in the grocery store. Not something I would go out of my way to eat, raw or cooked. But once the shock wore off, I realized that this guy was just eating beef tartare every day.

The idea of eating raw ground beef is off putting, but somehow, tartare sounds fancy AF. 

Either way, we looked into Mr. London’s beloved raw beef sandwich and found that in Milwaukee, they call them cannibal sandwiches (neither of us has had the fortune to have enjoyed a true cannibal sandwich in its homeland). I love the name, but it might be the reason the sandwich never became more than a regional delicacy. 

Freshly ground beef and onions on rye is how the cannibal sandwich is described. Basically, beef tartare on rye toast. Rachel and I love rare/raw game meat, so we decided to make some cannibal sandwiches with whitetail tenderloins. Instead of breaking out the grinder, we hand minced the tenderloin. Then we mixed in some diced onions, seasoned it, and spread it on toasted rye. We added some parsley and olive oil just to give it some fat and a pop of green.

It tastes just like we imagined- delicious. A barebones tartare on toast, a dish that is purely the sum of its ingredients. This is a dish that suffers from poor branding and misunderstanding- a $20 appetizer with fancy linens in some places, a $2 paper plate kind of a thing somewhere else. If you love tartare, rare meat, or emulating the habits of legends like Jack London, give it a try.

The Jack London (aka cannibal sandwich)

Prep: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Venison (any tender and lean cut will do) trimmed of fat & connective tissue, minced.

Onion, minced

Salt

Fresh black pepper

Rye Bread, toasted

Olive oil (optional)

Parsley, fresh, minced (optional)

Method

This is not really a recipe, just a guideline. The important step is making sure the meat is handled properly and cutting it to yield the texture you want. Keep the meat as cold as possible until you cut and serve it.

We start by cutting the meat ~⅛” thick cross grain, stack the slices, cut into ⅛” ribbons, then cut those ribbons into cubes. If you want a very fine texture, rock chop the meat until you get the texture you want. 

Mix in onions for texture, season with salt and fresh pepper. The rest is optional.