Forgotten Flavors: 12 Wisconsin Sandwiches You Rarely See
Wisconsin has a culinary reputation built on cheese curds and bratwurst, but hidden beneath the surface are sandwiches so unusual they’ve nearly vanished from menus.
Raw beef on rye, pungent cheese spreads, and regional specialties that once defined local lunch counters now exist only in the memories of older generations. I’m here to drag these forgotten flavors back into the spotlight, one bizarre bite at a time.
1. Cannibal Sandwich
This is the sandwich that makes food safety experts lose sleep and Wisconsinites nostalgic. The Cannibal Sandwich is raw ground beef served cold on rye with onions and a sprinkle of salt.
Your grandma probably served this at holiday parties without batting an eye. Back then, nobody questioned eating uncooked meat straight from the butcher.
Today, health departments practically faint at the sight of it. But old-timers still swear by its clean, mineral taste and the satisfying crunch of raw onion against tender beef. It’s controversial, it’s risky, and it’s absolutely Wisconsin.
2. Limburger Cheese Sandwich
Where most people run screaming from the smell, true Wisconsinites lean in closer. The Limburger Cheese Sandwich is a test of character wrapped in pumpernickel.
Limburger smells like gym socks left in a sauna, but tastes surprisingly mild and creamy once you get past the funk. Pair it with raw onion and spicy mustard, and suddenly you’ve got a flavor bomb that clears sinuses and rooms simultaneously.
This sandwich used to be a working-class staple in Milwaukee taverns. Now it’s nearly extinct because nobody wants to be the person unwrapping that smell at lunch.
3. Butter Burger Sandwich
How do you make a cheeseburger even more indulgent? Add a slab of butter on top and watch it melt into every crevice.
The Butter Burger Sandwich is Wisconsin’s answer to heart-healthy eating, which is to say it’s not an answer at all. That butter adds a silky richness that transforms an ordinary patty into something dangerously addictive. The bun gets toasted in butter too, because why stop at just one dairy product?
Though Culver’s made this famous, old-school drive-ins were serving butter burgers decades earlier. It’s pure Midwestern excess, and I’m here for every greasy bite.
4. Hamdinger Sandwich
Did you know that sometimes the simplest combinations hit hardest? The Hamdinger Sandwich is ham, cheese, and coleslaw piled high on a soft bun.
It sounds basic until you taste how the creamy, tangy slaw cuts through the salty ham and melted cheese. This sandwich used to dominate church picnics and county fairs across Wisconsin, but somewhere along the way it got overshadowed by fancier options.
What makes it special is the texture contrast. Soft bun, tender ham, crunchy slaw. It’s comfort food that doesn’t try too hard, which is exactly why it deserves a comeback.
5. Holiday Raw Beef Special
When December rolls around, some Wisconsin families still break out this controversial tradition. The Holiday Raw Beef Special is basically a Cannibal Sandwich dressed up for Christmas.
Fresh ground sirloin gets mixed with seasonings and served on rye with all the fixings. It’s the kind of thing that horrifies outsiders but makes locals feel connected to their heritage. Your great-grandparents ate this at every holiday gathering, and somehow they all survived.
The beef has to be impeccably fresh, which is why butchers used to prepare special holiday batches. It’s nostalgic, it’s dangerous, and it’s definitely not making a mainstream comeback.
6. Fried Bologna Sandwich
Once a staple of small-town diners and factory lunchrooms, the Fried Bologna Sandwich was Wisconsin’s humble comfort food. Thick slices of bologna were scored and sizzled on a griddle until the edges curled and crisped, then layered between white bread with mustard or melted cheese.
It was cheap, satisfying, and quick, fuel for long workdays and late-night bar crowds alike. While you can still find it in a few nostalgic cafés, most menus have quietly moved on, leaving this simple, smoky favorite tucked away in memory.
7. German-Style Mett Sandwich
However much you think you know about raw meat sandwiches, this one takes it further. The German-Style Mett Sandwich uses raw pork instead of beef, seasoned with salt, pepper, and sometimes caraway.
Mett came over with German immigrants and found a home in Wisconsin’s meat markets. The pork is minced ultra-fine and spread thick on a roll with onions. It’s buttery, rich, and tastes nothing like what you’d expect from uncooked meat.
These days you’d be hard-pressed to find a place serving it due to health regulations. But in the right German deli, you might still get lucky.
8. Working-Class Limburger Spread
This sandwich wasn’t fancy, but it kept factory workers fueled through double shifts. Working-Class Limburger Spread mixes Limburger cheese with mustard and onions into a paste that gets slathered on rye.
The spread made the pungent cheese easier to transport in lunch pails. It also mellowed the flavor slightly, making it more approachable for people who weren’t raised on the stuff. The mustard added a sharp kick that balanced the creamy funk perfectly.
When Milwaukee’s factories closed, this sandwich went with them. Now it’s a relic of a grittier, sweatier era that most people have forgotten.
9. Mildred’s Ham Sandwich
Though it sounds plain, this sandwich has a cult following among people who remember the original Mildred’s Diner. Mildred’s Ham Sandwich was just ham, Swiss, lettuce, and mayo on white bread, but the quality was unmatched.
Mildred sliced the ham fresh every morning and used real mayonnaise she made herself. The bread came from the bakery next door, still warm. It was the kind of simple perfection that can’t be replicated by chain restaurants.
When Mildred retired in the eighties, her sandwich went with her. People still talk about it like it was a religious experience wrapped in wax paper.
10. Early Colby Cheeseburger
When Colby cheese was invented in Wisconsin in 1885, locals immediately started putting it on everything. The Early Colby Cheeseburger featured this mild, creamy cheese long before cheddar became the default.
Colby melts beautifully without getting greasy, and its subtle flavor lets the beef shine through. Old burger joints in Colby, Wisconsin used to serve these with locally-made cheese sliced thick and draped over hand-formed patties.
These days, cheddar and American have stolen the spotlight. But if you want a taste of Wisconsin burger history, track down a place that still uses real Colby. It’s worth the hunt.
11. Hot Beef Commercial
The Hot Beef Commercial, often just called “a commercial” in northern Wisconsin, was the kind of hearty plate that kept people going through frigid winters. Thinly sliced roast beef was piled between slices of white bread, cut in half, and drowned in rich brown gravy with a scoop of mashed potatoes on the side.
It wasn’t fancy, but it was the kind of stick-to-your-ribs meal every supper club seemed to serve decades ago. Today, it’s a rare sight outside small-town diners, but one bite takes locals right back to the family table.
12. Brat Patty Sandwich
Before gourmet bratwursts hit the grill scene, the Brat Patty Sandwich was the go-to handheld at county fairs and taverns. Butchers would flatten bratwurst meat into patties, fry them up, and serve them on a bun with sauerkraut, mustard, and onions.
It delivered all the smoky, garlicky goodness of a brat without the roll-off-the-bun struggle. Over time, it faded behind modern brat innovations, but true Wisconsinites remember when a perfectly seared brat patty was the taste of summer.
