Horseshoe sandwich
Encyclopedia
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
. This open-faced sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
begins with thick-sliced toasted bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
, and most often hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
patties, or ham. Other meat is also used, such as deep fried pork tenderloin, grilled or fried chicken breast, and fried fish filets. There is also a "breakfast" horseshoe that uses eggs and hash browns. The meat is topped with french fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
and smothered with a "secret" 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....
sauce. The cheese sauce varies from chef to chef, allowing each cook to create a signature dish, but the sauce is a sort of Welsh rarebit, common ingredients being eggs, beer, butter, cheese, Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce , or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment; primarily used to flavour meat or fish dishes.First made at 60 Broad Street, Worcester, England, by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, the Lea & Perrins brand was commercialised in 1837 and...
, mustard, salt and pepper.
A smaller portion, with one slice of bread and one serving of meat is called a "Pony Shoe".
It is considered a local Illinois food.
History
Though there is debate on the subject, the horseshoe sandwich likely was first made by Steve Tomko at the Leland HotelLeland Hotel (Springfield, Illinois)
The Leland Hotel in Springfield, Illinois is a building that currently houses the Springfield office of the Illinois Commerce Commission.The horseshoe sandwich, a local food specialty, was first served at the Leland Hotel in 1928....
in Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
, in 1928. Steve Tomko later took the recipe to Waynes Red Coach Inn, where it was served until the late 2000s. The Barrelhead has been serving horseshoes for many years on old Route 66 in Springfield (Wabash Avenue).
Another theory is that Chef Joe Schweska invented the horseshoe sandwich. Steve Tomko was a 17-year-old dishwasher at the hotel at that time and learned to cook from the chef Joe Schweska.
See also
- Hot hamburger plateHot hamburger plateA hot hamburger plate is a dish from the southeastern United States. It consists of a slice of bread with a hamburger patty placed on top. This is then covered in french fries and then brown gravy. Cheese is sometimes incorporated...
a Southeastern open faced sandwich with fries - List of sandwiches