- Hangtown fry
Hangtown fry is a type of
omelette made famous during theCalifornia Gold Rush in the 1850s. The most common version includesbacon andoysters combined with eggs, and fried together.cite web
last = Noble
first = Doug
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Hangtown Fry
work = Placerville 135 Years Ago
publisher = El Dorado County Museum
date =
url = http://ci.placerville.ca.us/our_city/about/history.asp
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-04-11 ] The dish was invented inPlacerville, California , then known as Hangtown. According to most accounts, the dish was invented when a gold prospector struck it rich, headed to a local hotel, and demanded the most expensive dish that the kitchen could provide. The most expensive ingredients available were eggs, which were delicate and had to be carefully brought to the mining town; bacon, which was shipped from the East Coast, and oysters, which had to be brought on ice fromSan Francisco , over 100 miles away. [cite news
last = Goldman
first = Marlene
coauthors =
title = Placerville: Old Hangtown
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = TheSan Francisco Chronicle
date = October 22, 1999
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/1999/10/22/placerville.DTL
accessdate = 2007-04-11 ]Later variations on the dish include the addition of onions, bell peppers, or various spices, and deep frying the oysters before adding them to the omelette.
According to the El Dorado County Museum, "No dish epitomizes California and its Gold Rush more than Hangtown Fry. It was created at a location central to the Gold Rush at the same time the great state was being born. And, like the miners who worked the river banks and hillsides, and the population that followed, it is a unique blend of many things, both those produced locally and those that have arrived from elsewhere."
See also
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List of egg dishes References
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