I'm the type of person that loves to use every bit of food in my pantry before making a beeline to the grocery store. With a few ingredients, I can always muster up a lunch or dinner. And while it may not be conventional, it's a way to stretch my grocery dollar to the absolute max. And that's exactly what I think the person was thinking when they invented the fried potato sandwich.
Carb-loaded, this sandwich features crispy pieces of potato served between two slices of bread and dolloped with mayonnaise. Some recipes have the addition of American cheese while others use barbecue sauce and pickles. There's no saying where the original recipe came from, however, it could have originated across the pond in Britain, from a sandwich named the "Chip Butty."
The British Chip Butty
According to Serious Eats, the Chip Butty is a simple creation. Grab two slices of white bread and slather them in butter. Stuff with french fries (or as the Brits call them, chips) and dig in. While you can add the addition of ketchup, hp sauce or curry sauce, traditionalists will tell you the only way to eat this chip sandwich is plain and simple.
History suggests the crisp sandwich originated in Liverpool, but you can find this sandwich in most pubs and chip shops around the United Kingdom. Fans of the Sheffield United Football Club love the sandwich so much they even included it into a football chant called "The Greasy Chip Butty Song" which is sung to the tune of John Denver's "Annie's Song."
You fill up my senses,
Like a gallon of Magnet,
Like a packet of Woodbines,
Like a good pinch of snuff,
Like a night out in Sheffield,
Like a greasy chip butty,
Like Sheffield United,
Come fill me again
Na na na na na...Ooooohh!
Elvis Loved Fried Potato Sandwiches
While it's common knowledge the King loved to eat peanut butter and bacon sandwiches, another fried sandwich always caught his eye. He preferred his sandwiches with bacon, potatoes, sliced onion, and white bread with mustard. According to Recipe Circus, Elvis once sat down and ate five of these sandwiches in one sitting while he was in the Army.
Our takeaway, the next time you find yourself with leftover potatoes, fry some up in a cast-iron skillet and serve them between two slices of white bread and enjoy.
