A fried brain sandwich is a sandwich of sliced
calves' brains on sliced bread.
Thinly sliced fried slabs on white toast became widespread on menus in
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
,
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, after the rise of the city's stockyards in the late 1880s, although demand there has so dwindled that only a handful of restaurants still offer them. They remain popular in the
Ohio River
The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
valley, where they are served heavily battered on hamburger buns. In
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...
, they are still offered at several "
mom and pop
Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...
" eateries.
Replacement with pig's brains
Brains from cows over 30 months old at slaughter are no longer permitted to be sold for human consumption in the United States.
Some restaurants have taken to serving pigs' brains instead of cows' brains due to concerns regarding
bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of th ...
, commonly known as "mad cow disease".
[ Because pigs' brains are substantially smaller than cows' brains, the amount required for each sandwich increases.][ Each brain must be cleaned before being sliced and pigs' brains produce fewer slices.
]
See also
* Eggs and brains
Eggs 'n' brains is a breakfast meal consisting of pork brains (or those of another mammal) and scrambled eggs. It is a dish of Portuguese cuisine known as ''omolete de mioleira'' (). In Austria, the dish is known as ''Hirn mit Ei'' ("calf's bra ...
* List of delicacies
* List of regional dishes of the United States
The cuisine of the United States includes many regional or local dishes, side dishes and foods. This list includes dishes and foods that are associated with specific regions of the United States.
Regional dishes of the United States
Barbecu ...
* List of sandwiches
Sandwiches are a common type of lunch food often eaten as part of a packed lunch. There are many types of sandwiches, made from a diverse variety of ingredients. The sandwich is the namesake of John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, a British statesman ...
References
{{Sandwiches
Cuisine of St. Louis
Culture of Evansville, Indiana
Cuisine of the Midwestern United States
American sandwiches
Brain dishes
Fried foods
Offal sandwiches