Fat Sandwiches for the Big Ten

So as many of know, Rutgers is famous for its culinary pioneering of the "Fat Sandwich." A perfectly collegiate food item defined by shoving absurd amounts of food in between a sandwich roll for a price that is economic to a usually drunk college student. The most famous supplier of fat sandwiches is RU Hungry?, one of the famous Rutgers "Grease Trucks," recently turned store that has been featured in countless food themed TV shows.

The most famous Fat Sandwich is probably the "Fat Darrell" loaded with chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, French fries, and marinara sauce. In 1997 Darrell Butler, a Rutgers student and the sandwich's namesake asked RU Hungry to have a sandwich loaded up with his three favorite side dishes for the same price as the “Fat Cat” (a fat, but not as fat, sandwich) to save money. They agreed and so a legend was born. The modern way to get one named after you is the “5 in 45” (minutes) challenge.

Well, what if every Big Ten member had a Fat Sandwich named after their team? What deliciously unhealthy, regional food items would be in them? Luckily, we at OTE thought about this so you don't have to.

WARNING: THIS POST WILL MAKE YOU VERY HUNGRY GUARANTEED.

(All these are served on a Hoagie roll)

1. The Fat Fighting Illini— Beef burger with bacon, a super orange cheddar cheese, french fries, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo. The most underwhelming fat sandwich on this list.

2. The Fat Hoosier— Breaded pork tenderloin, corn dogs, and chili, with fries, lettuce and tomato. A safer Midwestern take on a fat sandwich. Nothing particularly difficult about it.

3. The Fat Hawkeye— Fried Tenderloin topped with pulled pork, bacon, and sweet corn salsa, tater tots instead of fries, lettuce and tomato. Tasty, but the sweet corn salsa may play spoiler for some.

4. The Fat Terrapin— Crabcakes, fries, hushpuppies, cornbread, a hearty amount of old Bay seasoning, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. A mish-mosh of carbs, something you should really only have in small doses (or maybe not at all).

5. The Fat Wolverine— Two beef hot dogs, onions, chili, french fries, cheddar cheese, mustard.

6. The Fat Spartan— Two Koegel hot dogs, Angelo’s Coney Sauce, cheddar cheese, onions, french fries, mustard. Note the difference in quality between The Fat Spartan and the Fat Wolverine.

7. The Fat Gopher— Golden fried walleye, Swedish meatballs, cream of mushroom sauce, tater tots, lettuce, onion, and tomato. Sounds like it may be nice to some, but probably isn’t.

8. The Fat Husker— Double beef burger with corn fritters, mac ‘n cheese, onion rings, home fries, lettuce and tomato. A comfort food dominated and actually a pretty nice sandwich.

9. The Fat Wildcat— Sliced hot dog and Italian beef, brie cheese, apple slices, artisan cut french fries, almond slices, spinach. A fancy, snobby fat sandwich for a fancy, snobby school.

10. The Fat Buckeye— A dessert fat sandwich! Buckeyes, peanut butter, Nutella, fries, Nilla Wafers, and marshmallows for a sweet treat. The Fat Buckeye just had to be THE different one.

11. The Fat Nittany Lion— Philly cheesesteak (Cheez Whiz or provolone), soft doughy pretzels, pierogies, with tomato sauce, lettuce, sauteed onions, and spicy mustard. This sandwich’s enjoyers probably think it’s the best one here.

12. The Fat Boilermaker— German sausage, friend bologna, sausage gravy, biscuits, fries, lettuce. Sounds appetizing to a small and select few.

13. The Fat Scarlet Knight— The current “Fat Knight” from RU Hungry is cheesesteak, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fries, and marinara. Add in some Taylor Ham/pork roll to make it just that much more obnoxiously Jersey.

14. The Fat Badger— Bratwurst, beer batter-fried fish (cod, perch, or walleye), Italian sausage, french fries, cheese curds, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo. This one sounds like you really gotta wash it down with a lot of beer.

Special thank you to MNWildcat for the inspiration/suggestion.

So which one is your favorite? Would you modify any of them? Will you try to make any of them during your 2018 tailgate?

Thanks for tuning into Rutgers Week 2018 and go RU!