Serious Sandwiches: The Chip Butty
Photograph from Gaetan Lee on Flickr
We have all heard (and possibly made) jokes about how bad English food is, especially when compared to its European neighbors, and yet last week, while in the West Midlands of England, I made a discovery that calls all of that into question. Meet the chip butty.
I'm a huge fan of french fries in a sandwich. Israelis stuff their falafels with them, and Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh puts fries on every sandwich on the menu (unless you ask them not to). But, a sandwich of just french fries? That takes it to a completely different level.
For a lot of carb-counting Americans, a chip butty may be tough to comprehend, but it is a pretty simple creation. Take two slices of bread (usually white), smear them with butter (don't be shy), and stuff with french fries—or "chips," as they're known in the U.K. Salt, vinegar, ketchup, cheese, and curry are optional and acceptable additions, but for the purists, it's just bread, butter, and chips.
Although you can find them everywhere in the U.K. now, the chip butty was said to have originated in Liverpool and is much more common in the central and northern parts of the U.K. For reasons that aren't hard to imagine, it's a bit of a pub staple. And though it's not often found on the menu of traditional old-school fish and chip shops, don't let that stop you. Ask for two slices of bread and some butter and make it yourself. And while you do it, hum the Sheffield United "Greasy Chip Butty Song" for inspiration.
To the tune of "Annie's Song," by John Denver:
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 Naa Naa Naaaaa, ooo!
Related: In Defence of British Food
About the author: Zach Brooks is the proprietor of Midtown Lunch, where he blogs about affordable lunchtime eats in Midtown Manhattan. The guy knows his sandwiches.
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15 Comments:
In PA when we had the last election for govenor the hot topic was Primati Bros versus Philly cheesesteak. The hon. Ed Rendel garnered major support for prefering cheesesteak.
I love love love fries on a fried egg "sarnie" with bacon or sausage and some chili sause. MMMMMMMM
Give it a try.
JerzeeTomato at 12:21PM on 10/03/07
Don't forget the Grease Trucks at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. They have "Fat" sandwiches, most of which include fries. They are great after a night of drinking, and if you can eat two, then you can name a new one.
mskilgore at 1:09PM on 10/03/07
I know it sounds wrong, but the chip butty is one of the great British culinary gifts to the world. Make sure the chips are thick cut, not French fries, and they need to be piping hot so that the butter melts. And brown sauce all over it. Makes me miss the UK even more...
britoutofwater at 1:20PM on 10/03/07
Here in New Orleans, the french fry po-boy is not unheard of. Usually it is served dressed with gravy on top. Not really my cup of tea when it comes to po-boys, but it is an option.
Swindor at 1:24PM on 10/03/07
A friend of mine who did her graduate education in England called this the "turducken of carbs."
It reminds me of poutine: French fries topped with fresh cheese curds and covered with hot gravy (usually brown gravy).
corinne at 1:48PM on 10/03/07
This past weekend on a food network sandwich challenge, one guy made a sandwich using a potato knish. So, I guess there is something to be said for using the lowly potato as a replacement for bread.
Mich23 at 3:13PM on 10/03/07
You definitely have to have brown sauce. Next to a cheese toastie, nothing tastes better in the wee hours of the morning.
souldawg at 3:45PM on 10/03/07
Several years ago, when I was (isn't this the height of desperation?) reading the Yellow Pages restaurant section with menus in it, I discovered a potato and egg hero listed at several diner-type spots. No discussion of brown sauce. I'd love to try one; I've done a FF po'boy, which was okay, but not heavenly. Maybe it's the brown sauce. Je nais parlez "cheese toastie" - a grilled cheese sandwich?
lemons at 3:56PM on 10/03/07
STOP. Please I beg of you.
I was born in Rochdale, a small town in Northern Lancashire, England. Chip butties were a normal part of my life growing up. I now travel throughout the US, UK and Europe as if they were one...city?
I feel slightly, no very, very, annoyed that chip butties have been discovered. Why is it that the food of my home could seem so odd?
hextor25 at 4:42PM on 10/03/07
The trick to a good potato po-boy is mayo and good beef gravy. The sandwich from Rocky and Carlo's is heavenly.
Lorin at 6:11PM on 10/03/07
When you're hungry and need to be fed,
Get some frites (still hot); butter and bread;
With a sprinkle of salt;
And some vinegar (malt).
Haute cuisine — this chip butty will spread!
pilgrim4truth at 10:14AM on 03/11/08
Here's some other details:
- the word butty is a welsh word for a sandwich.
- butty is pronounced with the first syllable like "book", not like "putty", and not like "booty". The double "tt" is soft, not pronounced like a "d"
- one of my favourite variations is to make these using triangular ciabatta buns - mmmmmmmm - i gotta go now and make one
ta ra for now then love
trehug at 2:13PM on 03/21/09
correction,
- i just did a little lookup on the old interwebs - it seems the word butty in welsh is more for "mate" or "friend" and the use of butty for "sandwich" seems to be a northern england slang, so - hey, there we go!
best wishes
trehug at 2:18PM on 03/21/09
About 20 years ago I was working in Washington, D.C. I always have my supper at the bar in the hotel, and one evening, I was just finishing off my meal by opening my dinner roll and loading it with fries. a guy down the bar said "Excuse me, you're British, aren't you?"
Hoppy at 4:55PM on 08/14/09
and by the way, I'm Welsh, and "butty" is a term of endearment as in "shw mai butty" - "hello my old friend".
Hoppy at 5:14PM on 08/14/09