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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Montana
Tenderized pork loin sandwich, battered and fried, served on a hamburger bun with mustard, pickles and onion. It originated in Butte, Montana’s copper-mining town, in the 1920s, and appears in diners across the state.
Traditional dish from Montana
Also known as: Butte pork chop sandwich, Montana pork chop sandwich
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Pork chop sandwich — Montana, the United States
The Montana pork chop sandwich doesn’t use a whole chop, despite the name. It’s a pork loin cutlet beaten to tenderize, dipped in batter and breading, fried until golden and crisp, and served on a round hamburger bun, roughly the bun’s size. The classic assembly is simple: mustard, pickles and chopped onion. Many places also offer lettuce, tomato and mayo, and there are versions with cheese or jalapeño.
According to the story told in Butte, the copper-mining town in southwestern Montana, the sandwich is credited to John Burklund, a Swedish immigrant who in 1924 began selling it from a cart on downtown streets to miners. The snack was filling and eaten by hand, with no plate or utensils. Years later he opened a fixed shop in town, and the sandwich began to compete with the pasty, the Cornish miners’ meat pie, for the title of Butte’s most typical food.
From Butte the pork chop sandwich spread across Montana. It appears in roadside diners, bars and drive‑ins in Helena, Billings, Bozeman, Missoula and smaller towns, each with its own twist: some use a slice of pork tenderloin instead of loin, others change the batter or seasonings.
For those who grew up in the state, the sandwich is part of Montana’s identity, alongside the pasty and huckleberry sweets, the wild mountain berry.
Beaten pork loin cutlet, batter and flour for breading, frying oil, round hamburger bun, mustard, pickles and onion; sometimes lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, cheese or jalapeño.
Hot, eaten by hand, right after frying; usually served with french fries, and some people pair it with a huckleberry milkshake.
Year‑round, as a quick lunch or snack.
Your questions
It’s a sandwich of tenderized pork loin, battered and fried, served on a hamburger bun with mustard, pickles and onion.
In Butte, the copper‑mining city in Montana. Local tradition credits John Burklund, who began selling it to miners in 1924.
No. Despite the name, it uses a boneless pork loin cutlet, beaten to tenderize and fried to the size of the bun.
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