Beef on weck

Beef on weck is a sandwich of thinly sliced roast beef, usually served rare, on a kummelweck roll—a round bread similar to a kaiser—topped with coarse salt and caraway seeds. The top of the roll is dipped in the roast jus, and the sandwich is served with horseradish and extra jus on the side.

The name combines the German words kümmel (caraway) and weck (roll). The most common account credits the roll to William Wahr, a German baker who reportedly brought the recipe to Buffalo in the 19th century, a city with large German immigration. A popular version says tavern owners served the meat on the salty roll to encourage customers to drink more beer.

The exact origin is unknown, but the sandwich was already popular enough to be served at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901. Experts consider it to predate Buffalo wings by many decades.

A spokesperson for the Buffalo history museum described it as a sandwich that embodies the city: simple working-class food that lives in the shadow of the chicken wings. In Buffalo, the beef is often sliced to order at the bar.

It is typically served with potato salad, potato pancakes, or pickled beets.