Illinois' Most Unique Sandwich Is Loaded With Flavor But No Top Bun

If you're a sandwich aficionado or just looking for a hearty, hangover-friendly bite to eat, consider seeking a unique sandwich from Illinois: the horseshoe. It combines meat, fries, and cheese sauce into one delectable albeit greasy dish. One could argue that it's not a real sandwich since it's generally messy enough to require a knife and fork, but semantic quibbles aside, it's more or less an open-faced sandwich with meat, fries, and cheese.

The sandwich starts with two slices of bread on the plate. Thick-cut regular white bread is fairly standard, or use Texas Toast (more or less the same thing). Next is the meat. Many recipes suggest hamburger patties as the go-to, but the meat choice is pretty flexible. Options from corned beef to turkey or pulled pork can be found on Illinois menus. The french fries go on top of the meat and the whole thing is topped with cheese sauce made similarly to a béchamel (the simplest of the mother sauces). 

Cheddar is a common choice for the cheese sauce, although it's sometimes made with Velveeta — just be careful not to burn it. There's no firm rule on which to use but you'll get a sharper, cheesier taste with cheddar, while Velveeta has the reputation for tasting less cheesy and more like plastic or chemicals; you could also add other melty cheese for extra taste dimensions. Some folks even add hot sauce or Worcestershire for extra flavor or kick.

The horseshoe sandwich originates from Illinois' capital, Springfield, specifically, from the city's now-defunct Leland Hotel. Chef Joe Schweska is often credited as its creator, having put the dish together as a lunch option in 1928, though there were some slight differences from the present-day sandwich. Schweska made it with ham rather than the more popular burger patties nowadays — you could still make it with ham, but considering its saltiness, you may want to use less meat than if you're using ground beef. 

The cheese sauce was based on a Welsh rarebit sauce that featured beer as an ingredient (some present-day recipes still suggest a similar concoction). The sauce was put directly on the meat, rather than on the very top of the sandwich (which, incidentally, originally had potato wedges rather than fries). Some people also credit Schweska's wife Elizabeth with devising part of the recipe, suggesting the cheese sauce and open-faced sandwich approach, although Joe likely made changes. 

As for the name, the original version of the sandwich featured ham cut from the bone in a shape resembling a horseshoe. There are theories that the fries look like the nails of a horseshoe, although you'd have to squint to see that resemblance. The super flavorful sandwich is easy to find at restaurants in Springfield; outside the city, you can find it in places like Chicago, although it's not nearly as common.