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Sandwiches were mentioned in Wisconsin newspapers as early as 1869 when the Dodgeville Chronicle featured a recipe calling for thinly sliced bread topped with butter and “thin bits of ham.” In earlier publications, the term “sandwich” appeared usually in reference to the Sandwich Islands, the deliciously sounding name Europeans and Americans used for Hawaii at the time. 

The concept of the culinary sandwich hasn’t changed much since its early days and with the establishment and growing popularity of delis in the state, one might even ask why there would have been a need for sandwich recipes in the newspapers. We were curious and went on a hunt for sandwich recipes with a twist.

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Ham Sandwich
Do you have some ham leftover from a holiday and are not sure what to do with it? Look no further. The 1912 ham sandwich printed in the Manitowoc Pilot is a mayonnaise-free ham salad sandwich you’ll want to try. The ham is cut up with the help of a food chopper and mixed with a chopped sour pickle, some mustard, butter, and a dash of pepper. It is definitely drier and not as easily spread on bread as your average ham salad, but it’s the ham complemented by the hint of pickle and mustard which gives it a Cuban sandwich-like flavor and makes it a winner in our books.

When it comes to the bread, the recipe doesn’t give any specifics. We chose a sourdough from a local bakery. In 1912, Wisconsinites could by 6 loaves of bread for $0.25 (see Mineral Point Tribune, July 11, 1912) but they still had to slice it at home for at least 16 more years before bread slicing machines entered the market. Hence, if you want to do try this recipe the 1912 way, get a whole loaf or bake your own. 

The Recipe in 2020:

• Bread
• 1½ lbs cold boiled ham
• 1 small sour pickle
• 1 Tbs yellow mustard
• 1 dash pepper
• 2 Tbs butter

Chop the ham and pickle with the help of a food chopper. Add butter, mustard, pepper, and butter and mix thoroughly. Spread on buttered bread of your choice.

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Fried Egg Sandwich

This is not the simple breakfast item with a fried egg on toast it may sound like. This is a deep-fried hard-boiled egg salad mini sandwich you never knew you craved. We came across this recipe in the 1915 Watertown Weekly Leader, which included it in a variety of “MORE GOOD THINGS TO EAT.”

This sandwich consists of a paste of hard-boiled eggs with butter, cream, salt, pepper, and paprika. The paste is spread on thin slices of rolls and the whole sandwich is dipped in a fritter batter, fried, and served hot. The original recipe omits the ingredients for the fritter batter, but we quickly found a recipe in a 1922 issue of the Wausau Pilot. The result is a very greasy but nevertheless tasty and very filling meal. After frying the sandwich, the consistency of the hard-boiled eggs resembles that of scrambled eggs, which led us to think that you could easily add some of the chopped ham from the ham sandwich to the egg paste for a full breakfast sandwich experience.

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The Recipe in 2020:

• Rolls
• 2 Tbs butter
• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• 2 Tbs cream
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Fritter batter
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Egg
  • 2/3 cup milk

Pound eggs to a paste with butter and cream. Season well with salt, pepper, and paprika. Cut rolls into thin slices, butter them, spread with the mixture and make into small sandwiches.

Fritter batter: In a bowl mix flour and salt. In a separate bowl mix the egg and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.

Dip each sandwich into the fritter batter and fry golden brown. Serve hot.

Tip: Don’t worry about getting batter onto the sides of the sandwich. Some batter will drip down the sides while frying. Too much batter on the sides may not cook all the way through.   

Find a creative, historic, and potentially dangerous way to cook your eggs for this sandwich in a campfire here.