I am always intrigued by local food traditions: Oklahoma and its onion smashburger, Cincinnati and its cinnamon-tainted and noodled chili, Rhode Island with its long list of curiosities. And now I can add Dubuque, Iowa, and its unusual yet simple and satisfying local sandwich that most of us can get on board with: the turkey ‘n’ dressing sandwich.
Taking Over for Grandma
As I spent a weekend in Dubuque, enjoying the abundance of historic buildings, it pleased me to find an old-school butcher shop, Cremer’s Meats. Opened in 1948 by Ralph Cremer Sr., the small local grocery is now run by his grandson, Jeff Cremer. Here, I was told, was the place to find the iconic local sandwich.
I walked in to find Jeff Cremer chatting up the regular customers as he worked.
“Did Cremer’s create this sandwich?” I asked.
Cremer said: “We didn’t; we perfected it. Everybody’s grandma or aunt or somebody’s mom, they would make it from leftover turkey and leftover stuffing; probably no different than in Wisconsin or in Dubuque, Iowa.” Part of the inspiration, he said, was the age-old holiday or event planning question: How are you going to feed all these people?
Where I grew up in Wisconsin, the answer was sloppy joes: Set out the crockpot and some buns, and everyone serves themselves. These days, pulled pork is a fairly common option. But for whatever reason, the menu item that stuck in Dubuque was turkey and stuffing.
It seemed odd to offer such a sandwich at a deli counter.
“Everyone makes it,” Cremer said. “And to their credit, they certainly maybe made [it] better.”
He smiled but then said, like he was reluctant to boast, “Ours is darn good.”
Cremer’s family was active with a local church, St. Mary’s, which was hosting a fundraiser and needed food.
“My uncle said, ‘Well, let’s do a turkey and dressing sandwich,’” Cremer said. “At the time the ice was just starting to thaw. Thanksgiving was months away or months behind us.” But they did it, and the idea took off.
“Nobody’s picked up the baton,” he said. “And when the grandmas and the aunts and the moms went away, it just became a thing where you go down to Cremer’s and get it.” Cremer calls it a comfort food, perfect for graduations, birthdays, and holidays.
“People were coming into the shop and ordering a few turkey and dressing sandwiches for lunch,” he said.
He paused his story for customer entrances, greeting them by name and making relevant small talk. A few purchased short stacks of individual sandwiches in clamshell takeout containers. A burly man in a flannel was taking them on a fishing excursion.
“If you wait until the week of the holiday, we’re going to have it every day, but it could be out by 11 [a.m.], could be out by noon, could be out by one o’clock,” Cremer said.
On the Cremer’s Meats Party Planner menu, among the various choices ranging from pulled pork to sloppy joes, the turkey ‘n’ dressing section stands alone, with the sandwich filling being sold in serving trays with 2-, 5-, and 10-pound options. But the deli stops taking Christmas and New Year’s orders already on Nov. 1.
“We’re selling more of it than we’ve ever sold,” Cremer said.
Turkey ‘n’ Dressing Sandwiches
Stuffing keeps well in the freezer in case this is the week after Turkey Day and you are thinking, “Too soon.” If you already have the “best dressing recipe ever” from your family, just go ahead and skip to the part when you mix in bits of leftover turkey and serve it on buns. Otherwise, here’s a standard recipe for dressing:
- 1 1/2 to 2 sticks of butter (up to 1 cup)
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 large yellow or sweet (Vidalia) onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 24 ounces dried bread cubes (can be stale)
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 to 3 cups (or more) cubed or shredded pieces of leftover turkey meat
- Buns for serving (hamburger, brioche, sourdough, slider, etc.)
Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pan or Dutch oven, then mix in the celery, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper to cook, stirring until the onions become translucent without browning them. Stir in the herbs and cook for another minute. Then, in a large bowl, mix the bread cubes and whisked eggs, then add the contents of the Dutch oven to it and mix well.
Stir in just enough chicken broth to soften up the bread. Then mix in the turkey bits.
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread out the stuffing in a lightly greased 9-by-13-inch pan and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the top is brown a bit. Scoop the dressing into serving buns. Serve warm.
Notes: You can mix styles of bread cubes. More butter equals more flavor and better browning. Toasting the buns is an option, but since this is meant to be an easy meal for putting out a spread of leftovers for a group, you can leave them untoasted for self-assembly.
