People have been munching on sandwiches for thousands of years, and still, a lot of them feel so normal you almost forget time has passed. Sure there are some that we can’t really imagine life, or lunchtimes, without them, but plenty others have kind of slipped out of favour. Somehow, one man has decided to take it on himself, to rummage back up the inventive sandwich ideas that got pushed aside—whether they were wrongfully or rightfully, no one is fully certain. In this, Barry Enderwick sort of guides us through the sandwiches of history: from a peanut-and fried egg sort of delight, to one he says he never wants to eat, or even see, again.
Love at first bite
It all kind of started back in 2018, when a friend passed Barry a PDF of this 1909 book named The Up-to-Date Sandwich Book: 400 Ways to Make a Sandwich by Eva Greene Fuller. “We were both just fascinated,” says Barry, who lives in San Jose, California, and has always been a keen cook. “This was, you know, the cutting edge of sandwich recipes at the turn of the 20th century, so it seemed like a fun thing to explore.” And that’s basically what he went after, slowly digging up those oddball creations like the “after-the-movie” sandwich pictured here— a heady mix of hotdog, scrambled eggs and Parmesan.
Weird and wonderful
A more successful bit of the book is the 'Milwaukee sandwich', a hefty dish built from fried oysters, crispy bacon, sliced chicken and tartare sauce, all finished with a lemon slice to cut through the richness. The whole concept for Sandwiches of History didn’t come totally out of left field; Barry had already started some social media accounts reviewing craft beer and another where he sampled crisps.
Finding an audience
Another “interesting” recipe in the book was the cannibal sandwich (pictured), basically raw minced beef on buttered bread, which is said by Barry to be oddly tasty. By then, Barry was really getting into his sandwich project (on weekdays, marketing is worked in by him) but had no idea what a global hit it would later become. Something like “I thought, uh, this might be curious to other people too” was said by him. But this many? Across the whole world? Today, roughly 700,000 followers on social media are had by Sandwiches of History, and more than 1,000 historical sandwiches have been remade by Barry.
A modern twist
After Barry has made and tasted a vintage sandwich, he’ll often redo the recipe with what he calls “plus-ups” to turn an OK one into a great one. Most times, he handles it by slipping in a slice of melted cheese, then a little drizzle of hot sauce or a crunchy pickle, just to lift it up to that next level. But sometimes, the sandwiches start off pretty darn tasty from the get-go. A few memorable and (honestly) surprising picks include a peanut butter and fried egg sandwich (also helped along with a dash of spicy sriracha) and a crispy bacon and banana sandwich from 1965.
History's strangest sandwich fillings
To dig up more odd sandwiches, Barry looks up forgotten fillings online, and then he goes hunting through old recipe books for ideas. To keep it lively, he refuses to do the same book, the same year, or even a primary ingredient, in back-to-back videos. “I’ve done one from 200 BC, I did some from the 1800s, some from the 1900s,” Barry says. Lately, weird flavour pairings like a popcorn, cayenne pepper, sardine, ketchup and Parmesan sandwich from a 1909 book, and a banana and salmon sandwich from a 1967 recipe have appeared.
Sandwiches to forget
And besides those surprise hits, some real food nightmares have also occurred. “Oh my god, the yeast sandwich!” Barry recalls, like in horror. “It was basically compressed yeast cake, mixed with ‘table sauce’ between slices of buttered bread, and I swear it was like biting wallpaper paste. It was awful!”
But somehow that has not stopped him from coming back for more. “It’s the curiosity of, ‘Is this sandwich going to be good?’” he says. “Like, ‘Is this chicken liver and bacon sandwich going to be good? Is the bacon going to bring a pleasant smokiness and kind of soften the iron flavour of the liver?’ It didn’t, but still.”
Changing tastes
There is also, maybe something to be said for trying something new, you know, just testing the waters. Who knows if they’ll actually enjoy an unusual combo like waffles, mayo, ham and turkey, I mean, basically the recipe for that pictured “waffle sandwich”, until they try it. “One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older is that my tastes change,” Barry says. “What I thought was gross in my 20s, I kind of like now. Even foods that I steadfastly do not like, I will try again every once in a while. Just to see if it’s changed,” People clearly love watching Barry work his way through these recipes, because Sandwiches of History is about to enter a new era.
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