Famous Denvers

Unless you’ve been trapped on a desert island for the past century or more, you’ve probably heard of a Denver omelet. But have you heard of a Denver sandwich? Bob, you’re a Denver, what do you think?

Originally called a “Western” sandwich, it’s tough to say which came first here, the sandwich or the egg. People have been mixing things into eggs for centuries, and putting things into bread for even longer, but was this a Denver omelette first, or a Denver sandwich? Either way, it’s origin is commonly associated with the American West.

It’s said that the (commonly Chinese) cooks on railroad crews, when asked for a quick snack, would make egg fu yung out of whatever was on-hand and serve it wrapped in bread for portability.

Sounds a lot like the dreaded St. Paul sandwich of St. Louis fame, doesn’t it?

You know what else it sounds like? The pepper-and-egg sandwiches served by Chicago Italian beef stands during Lent (and in some cases year-round).

As for when the name change from “Western” to “Denver” came around, I can only guess that the city of Denver stood in for the West to anyone from the Great Plains and eastward. It probably also stood in for the East for rugged pioneer types in Utah and Wyoming and points west for whom eating anything fancier than dirt was unforgivably effeminate.

Regardless of history and etymology, we’re talking about a Denver omelet on bread. Ham, onions, green peppers, and eggs. I’m no stranger to making omelettes, nor to eating them as a sandwich filling, making this sandwich a tasty no-brainer.

In fact, such a no-brainer that I’m not sure such a detailed account is called for but here goes.

First, your mise en place: about a half cup each of diced ham, onion, green pepper, and any optional ingredients you want. I added mushrooms ’cause I think they make for a tastier omelette. This is enough for 2 omelettes of 2 eggs each.

I also shredded some extra sharp Cheddar–I like cheese in my omelettes, both for flavor and to act as a sort of binder holding in the other ingredients.

Of course, let’s not forget the eggs.

Start by sauteeing your ham and vegetables together. Some recipes call for the veggies to be cooked longer, some want to leave them crisper. I definitely like to soften up the onion a bit more than the peppers or mushrooms so I added the ham and onion first, then the peppers and mushrooms after they’d cooked a few minutes

Keep that close-by, ’cause once we start cooking the omelette, things will go quickly.

I make my omelettes in a 10 inch non-stick pan with sloped sides that, yes, I know, has seen better days. Even though it’s a non-stick pan, you want to use a lot of butter; melt it over medium heat and swirl it around so it goes up the sides of the pan.

I use 2 eggs for omelettes, which I beat in a bowl before adding to the pan, then season once they’re in the pan. When the edges start to set, hold them back with a spatula while tilting the pan in that direction to get more raw egg in contact with the pan.

When the bottom is barely set, add your cheese and let it start to melt in with the egg. I cover the whole egg surface with my cheese.

Then I cover half the surface with the ham and vegetable mixture.

Gently flip the uncovered egg/cheese side on top of the fillings and voila!

If you’ve timed things correctly, you’ll have some warm, freshly buttered toast on hand at this point.

Fitting the omelette onto the bread may require some surgery. For square bread I’ll usually just cut the center part of the omelette out and pass out the corner pieces to standers-by–there’s usually somebody in my house who’ll finish off an omelette for me. For a more rustic loaf like this, a more creative cut is in order.

Omelettes are soft, and a light touch on toasting the bread is necessary to keep the filling from squishing out the sides of the sandwich, but better that than no toast at all. The combination of soft warm egg, melted cheese, and a crisp, buttered, lightly toasted piece of good bread is an alchemy known to all lovers of your typical American-style breakfast sandwiches.

It’s not special, really, but it’s good and comforting, the way any egg sandwich can be. Since the ham and vegetables are diced and cooked, their contributions are mainly in flavor, leaving the egg texture mostly unbroken, with the cheese serving as the delicious glue it was intended to be. I split the sandwich with my beloved and it was more than enough to get us both through a busy Saturday morning of running errands.