Chip butty

Chip butty
Alternative namesChip barm, chip bap, chip bun, chip sarnie, chip muffin
TypeSandwich
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Main ingredientsBread, butter, chips
  • Cookbook: Chip butty
  •   Media: Chip butty

A chip butty is a sandwich filled with chips. It originated in fish and chip shops in Britain in the 19th.

Sandwich

The chip butty is a sandwich filled with chips, often served with malt vinegar, curry sauce, gravy or ketchup.[1][2] The British food writer Tim Hayward recommended using "undistinguished" soft white bread, as "this is not the place for artisanal sourdough".[3] In The Guardian, Tony Naylor recommended using buttered soft white bread and lightly fried chips seasoned with salt and vinegar, and serving the sandwich with a cup of tea.[2] Naylor wrote that the chip butty was a comforting meal and a means to "transport ourselves to a happier, more innocent place".[2] In 2022, a 2,000-person study carried out at Nottingham Trent University found that the ideal chip butty contained 12 chips.[4]

The Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth created a version with sourdough, triple-cooked chips, mayonnaise and parmesan.[5] In 2020, the fast food franchise Burger King began selling chip butties in New Zealand.[6] In 2024, The Guardian reported that the chip butty had become popular in Australian cafes during the cost-of-living crisis.[4]

Origins

The chip butty originated in working-class communities in Britain the 19th century, though its exact origins are unknown.[5][7] According to the National Federation of Fish Fryers, it was created in 1863 in Oldham, Lancashire, at Mr Lees, the second-ever fish and chip shop in Britain.[5][8] The term "chip barm" began appearing in print in the 20th century, likely the result of the surge in popularity of fish and chips in the 1900s.[5] Yorkshire[8] and Liverpool[9] have also been suggested as potential origins; the word "butty" is said to have originated in Yorkshire as slang for butter,[5] or in Liverpool[10] as a dialect elision of "buttery".[11] In the north of England, the easier access to fuel and the closer proximity to the potato supply of Ireland meant chips could be produced cheaply in large quantities.[5]

Culture

The chip butty is associated with British working-class culture.[2][12][13] The anthropologist Kate Fox wrote in her book Watching the English: "Even if you call it a chip sandwich rather than a butty, it is about as working-class as food can get."[14] "The Greasy Chip Butty Song", a football chant that glorifies South Yorkshire, includes the chip butty as a Yorkshire invention.[5]

In 2010, writers for the American media organisation NPR made a chip butty, having learnt of it from the National Geographic, and concluded that it was "less gross than they expected".[1] In 2018, the American website Food Insider attracted mockery from British social media users when it appeared to discover the chip butty.[5] Similar dishes have appeared in other countries, including the "fake burger" sold by Burger King Japan, the Turkish patso,[15] the South African Gatsby,[4] and the Belgian mitraillette.

See also

  • Crisp sandwich, a sandwich filled with crisps
  • French tacos, a French fast-food item containing French fries (chips) wrapped in a flour tortilla
  • List of sandwiches
  • Mitraillette, a Belgian sandwich filled with chips
  • Po' boy, a sandwich from Louisiana sometimes filled with French fries[16]
  • Primanti Bros. sandwich, an American restaurant known for its signature sandwiches made with French fries between two thick slices of Italian bread.

References

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  1. ^ a b Chillag, Ian (6 December 2010). "Sandwich Monday: English Chip Butty". NPR. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Naylor, Tony (7 August 2020). "How to eat: chip butties". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  3. ^ Hayward, Tim (28 August 2015). "How to Make the Ultimate Chip Butty". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Lam, Lee Tran (11 June 2024). "'It's hard to get wrong – it's chips, bread and sauce!' Why chip butties are having a moment in Australia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Hancock, Sam (12 March 2020). "A Brief History of the Humble Chip Butty". Vice. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  6. ^ Ebrahimji, Alisha (22 February 2020). "Burger King debuts a french fry sandwich and Wendy's isn't impressed". CNN. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ^ Brunner, Raven (11 November 2024). "Gordon Ramsay's Favorite Childhood Lunch Was Classic British Grub". Chowhound. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b Groundwater, Ben (28 January 2024). "In praise of Britain's (greatest?) culinary invention: The chip butty". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  9. ^ Esa, Jessica (13 May 2021). "This Sandwich Is the Ultimate Carb-on-Carb Comfort Food for Bad Days". Greatist. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  10. ^ Sinclair, Charles (1 January 2009). Dictionary of Food: International Food and Cooking Terms from A to Z. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4081-0218-3. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  11. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry (27 November 2014). The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-317-62512-4. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  12. ^ Ashley, Bob; Hollows, Joanne; Jones, Steve; Taylor, Ben (2 August 2004). Food and Cultural Studies. Routledge. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-1-134-49003-5. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  13. ^ Langford, David (9 June 2015). CROSSTALK: Interviews Conducted by David Langford. Ansible Editions. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-326-29982-8. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  14. ^ Fox, Kate (2014). Watching the English (2nd ed.). Nicholas Brealey. ISBN 978-1857886160.
  15. ^ Schleifer, Yigal (11 October 2010). "Birth of the Turkish French Fry Sandwich". Eurasianet. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  16. ^ Anderson, Brett (15 April 2009). "French Fry Po-boy at Parasol's". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
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