The Gorilla is one of our most widely-discussed sandwiches. It's got a blog post, a "recipe" in our cookbook, and at least one Instagram/Facebook post celebrating the addition of pickles to the sandwich. Often featuring relatively interesting, but ultimately unnecessary, historical context that meanders to discussion of several other (failed, or unrefined) sandwiches that preceded it, and lengthy explanations of the name.
Let's skip all that nonsense this time around, and get right into what makes this sandwich special:
1. The Gorilla was our first Smoked Ham sandwich. It was developed by the staff alongside NWS' first batches of Smoked Ham. It's truly a pillar of NWS culture.
2. It's a real "sandwich eater's" sandwich. Locally made rye bread (from a longtime Smokehauser's recipe), mayo, hausmade mustard, ham, Swiss cheese, lettuce. Sliced pickles were added to the recipe nearly a decade after the sandwich's conception, but are a natural fit, and play nicely with all the other ingredients.
3. Honestly, that just about covers it. The Gorilla is an easy to understand sandwich, made with excellent ingredients.
Now here's the fun part: If you want to know more about The Gorilla, check out the "Sandwiches for Every Season" chapter of our cookbook "Smoke on the Waterfront: The Northern Waters Smokehaus Cookbook," published by University of Minnesota Press or search our website for the blog post "Great Moments in the Smokehaus Lexicon: The Story of The Gorilla" to dive into all those superfluous details.
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Welcome to our collection of recipes, lore, and favorite stories from all of us at the Smokehaus. We hope you find something interesting and useful to add to your food journey.
