German ham and egg sandwich - Strammer Max

Anyone browsing the menu in a Berlin café will inevitably come across it: the Strammer Max, the German take on a ham and egg sandwich. A slice of bread with an untranslatable name, a dubious reputation, and a taste that leaves nothing to the imagination. Dark toasted bread, ham, cheese, and a fried egg with a yolk that runs the moment you stick your fork in it. Simple? Absolutely. But behind this modest little dish hides nearly a century of pub history - with a "hard" truth behind the name.

In this article, I dive into the origins of the Strammer Max: how a Saxon colloquialism found its way into Berlin's pubs in the 1920s, what the name actually means, and which colorful legends surround it. And of course, I'll share the authentic recipe, so you can put this Berlin classic on the table yourself in fifteen minutes - Spreewald pickles included, because that's simply how it's done in Brandenburg.

How to make a Berlin style ham and cheese sandwich?

What started as a simple breakfast dish in the east of Germany has evolved into classic pub food that is now loved throughout the country. We'll get into the details later. But first, let's make one.

Some preparation

It's a simple dish, so there isn't much preparation involved. Start by taking a tomato and slicing it. The gherkins can be cut lengthwise, so you can fan them out. You can also chop them into pieces or simply serve them whole. Finally, we finely chop some chives for the finishing touch.

Making the Strammer Max

To make a Strammer Max, we use two slices of sturdy brown bread. This can be rye bread, wheat bread, or mixed bread. The main thing is that they are firm, hearty slices of bread. We then lightly toast them. This can be done in a pan, the oven, or a toaster.

Next, we first spread the slices of bread with a layer of butter, which naturally melts right away. Then follows a layer of mustard.

Then we start layering. First comes the ham. On top of that, we arrange the tomato slices. Then come the slices of cheese.

Now for the fried egg. To do this, melt some butter in a pan and fry the eggs until the white is set and the yolk is still runny.

All that's left now is the finishing touch. Arrange the gherkins on the egg white and sprinkle the yolk with the chive rings.

What is Strammer Max?

Strammer Max is a simple, savory dish from German cuisine: a slice of Mischbrot (German mixed-grain bread) topped with ham, often cheese, and one or two fried eggs on top. The bread is buttered or briefly baked in a pan, and the eggs go on top with a runny yolk. That's all there is to it - and that's exactly its strength. The dish originally belongs to the Saxon and Berlin kitchens, but is now known throughout Germany as typical "Hausmannskost" (homestyle cooking) and pub food.

Where does it come from?

As mentioned, the "Strammer Max" has its origins in East German cuisine (Berlin and Saxony). "Stramm" refers to the hard, toasted bread. Max is an ordinary, everyday name. The dish is said to have originated around 1920: a hearty breakfast for the common man. So far the innocent version.

In Berlin, nightlife in the 1920s was famously vibrant - the so-called "Goldene Zwanziger" (Golden Twenties). And after a night like that, you might occasionally need something that makes you feel sturdy and stiff again. And so the Saxon expression for an erect penis - "Strammer Max" - made its entrance into Berlin's pub culture.

Besides this, another colorful legend also circulates: an army cook named Maximilian accidentally received a huge delivery of eggs and improvised this dish as a fortifying breakfast for his soldiers. As punishment - because the soldiers were subsequently more interested in the ladies than in their duties - poor Max had to stand stramm (at attention) for hours on the barracks square. A great story, but there's no historical evidence for it either.

Strammer Max and its brothers and sisters

The success of the Strammer Max inspired a whole family of variations: the Stramme Lotte (with boiled ham instead of raw), the Strammer Moritz (with salami), the Strammer Otto, and the Kalter Otto (with cold roast). These names don't mean anything in particular, but they do make reading a menu rather amusing.

Read more about Strammer Max in the following artickles:

• Strammer Max - Wikipedia.
• The Strammer Max: a German culinary icon redefining the breakfast sandwich (Followfoodiee).
• Germany's Strammer Max (Sandwich tribunal).

More surprising.breakfast

This German ham and egg sandwich is often served for breakfast. But really, you can eat it at any time of day. As lunch, as an evening meal (Abendbrot in Germany - literally "evening bread", the German tradition of a light cold supper), or late at night when you need to recharge your batteries. But let's take a look at some other surprising breakfast recipes to start your day with:

• Healthy breakfast cake with fruit, nuts and oatmeal.
• Overnight Biscoff.
• Stale croissant chocolate pudding.
• Changua with croutons - Colombian breakfast soup.
• Mascarpone pancakes with red fruit compôte.

If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.