A mitraillette literally "submachine gun

Submachine gun

A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...

", is a Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 "gourmand" available in friterie

Friterie

A friterie , frituur or frietkot/kraam or baraque à frites in Northern France is a traditional restaurant serving quick service fast food...

s and café

Café

A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...

s. It probably originated in the province of Hainaut.

In Northern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, a "mitraillette" is also known as "américain" (american sandwich).

Composition

A mitraillette consists of:

• A demi-baguette
  Baguette
  A baguette is "a long thin loaf of French bread" that is commonly made from basic lean dough...
  
   (a smaller version of a baguette).
• Fried meat (in the form of a sausage
  Sausage
  A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
  
  , burger
  Patty
  A patty is a flattened cake, often of meat.Patty may also refer to:* Patty , a family name* Patricia, a female given name, in all forms of English* Patrick , a male given name, in Australian English and Hiberno-English...
  
  , steak
  Steak
  A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
  
  , frikandel
  Frikandel
  A frikandel is a Dutch snack, a sort of minced-meat hot dog,developed either in 1954 or in 1958/1959 in the Netherlands, depending on the source.-Overview:...
  
  ). The meat varies with the friterie.
• Salted French fries
• A Sauce of choice (mayonnaise, ketchup, brésil sauce, Andalusian sauce, Americano sauce, Garlic Sauce, Bearnaise sauce
  Bearnaise sauce
  Béarnaise sauce is a sauce made of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolks and flavored with herbs. It is considered to be a 'child' of the mother Hollandaise sauce, one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire...
  
  ,...)

Crudités

Crudités

Crudités are traditional French appetizers comprising sliced or whole raw vegetables which are sometimes dipped in a vinaigrette or another dipping sauce...

 are often included (grated carrot

Carrot

The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...

, fresh lettuce

Lettuce

Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...

, tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

 slices) The crudités vary with the venue. Cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

 and cabbage

Cabbage

Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

 are not uncommon.

Originally mitraillettes only contained a sausage or sliced meat, alternatives quickly became available. Often, dürüm

Durum

Durum wheat or macaroni wheat is the only tetraploid species of wheat of commercial importance that is widely cultivated today...

s take the place of mitraillettes, although usually in shops run by immigrants.

External links

All about Belgian frites