- Onion sandwiches are a simple dish that has been historically cherished in various regions, although they are frequently associated with the Southern United States.
- Food celebrities such as Ben Shewry, Martha Stewart, and James Beard have shared their own experiences with onion sandwiches.
- To make an onion sandwich at home, you’ll need soft bread, raw onions, and either mayonnaise or butter.
Many aficionados argue that there’s an art to creating the perfect sandwich. While many of us see sandwiches as a staple, simple lunch, this food has been taken to gourmet and innovative new heights thanks to chefs who have perfected its formula at restaurants like Turkey and the Wolf in New Orleans or Court Street Grocery in New York City.
Beyond the exciting landscape of sandwich shops today, there are countless specific sandwiches that hold tradition, meaning, or memories for people around the world. Traveling to Philadelphia and grabbing a Philly cheesesteak will undoubtedly be on your itinerary, and if you’re in Japan, you’d be remiss not to snag a 7-Eleven egg salad sandwich.
There are countless sandwiches that many of us are still unfamiliar with, offering valuable insights into food cultures and even history. Among them is perhaps the most humble sandwich of all: the onion sandwich.
What is an onion sandwich?
On an episode of David Chang’s podcast The Dave Chang Show that aired this May, acclaimed New Zealand chef and owner of one of the world’s best restaurants, Attica in Melbourne, Ben Shewry shares a simple memory from his childhood. One afternoon, while helping out on his family’s farm at just eight years old, Shewry’s father pulled out their lunch for the day: a loaf of bread and an onion.
As the chef recounts to co-host and cookbook author Chris Ying, “Dad pulls out from his rucksack a loaf of bread and a brown onion. An unpeeled brown onion. And he proceeds to peel it with a pocket knife and slice thick chunks of it and put it between pieces of bread with nothing else on it.” Although both Shewry and Ying seem surprised by the simplicity of this combination — and the idea of eating big bites of raw onion — the chef’s father is far from the only person who enjoys an onion sandwich.
These delicacies are often linked to Southern cuisine in the United States today, where sweet Vidalia onions are grown in Georgia, but they have historically cropped up across the country and the globe. As Shewry’s tale and the name of this dish suggest, they always feature onion sandwiched between two slices of bread.
My great-grandfather enjoyed sandwiches of plain raw onion and white bread while working on oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana. He packed this combination for lunch out of necessity because it was the cheapest meal he could assemble.
American chef, cookbook author, and culinary icon James Beard popularized an onion sandwich recipe he adapted from two colleagues, featuring soft brioche circles filled with mayonnaise and thinly sliced onions, coated with parsley on the edges. Ernest Hemingway reportedly loved an even more unexpected sandwich starring peanut butter and raw onions. Even Martha Stewart says that she often ate onion sandwiches with her father while growing up.
It’s difficult to pinpoint the precise origin of the onion sandwich. The New York Times reports that “The sandwich started as a bundle of flavors — a Central European-style bite of raw onion on schmaltz-licked dark bread.” The Romans may have enjoyed raw onions with bread for breakfast. Regardless of who first combined these two common ingredients, the onion sandwich has managed to cross continents. While variations of the onion sandwich may differ slightly depending on who makes them, there are a few commonalities: they are always simple, and the onions are never cooked.
How do you make an onion sandwich?
When it comes to the bread for these allium-filled delicacies, you’ll want to choose something soft. A tender loaf like brioche, challah, milk bread, or standard sliced white sandwich bread will contrast nicely with the crisp texture of raw onion.
If you’re a devoted onion lover, feel free to make a sandwich like my great grandpa did, using nothing but onion and bread. However, if you want to add a condiment, most people choose mayonnaise, butter, or both. These two choices are intentional; they’re both rich and creamy, which helps to tone down the natural fiery flavor of the onion.
James Beard’s slightly elevated version of an onion sandwich uses chopped parsley to adorn the bread’s exterior, but this level of detail isn’t necessary unless you plan to serve onion sandwiches at a cocktail party. However, you can incorporate some chopped parsley into the sandwich filling for added herbal flavor. Other optional additions include salt, pepper, and your favorite seasonings.
Of course, the most important part of an onion sandwich is its star ingredient: the onion. If you can find Vidalia onions, they are among the sweetest and mildest varieties, making them ideal for eating raw. White onions are also relatively mild, while yellow onions can work in a pinch. I’d advise against using red onions unless you’re prepared for a fairly potent amount of spice, but if you enjoy the kind of nasal heat that horseradish provides, you might enjoy them. There’s really no wrong way to make an onion sandwich, as long as you have the necessary allium and some bread.
