Ireland's Favourite Sandwiches

According to a survey by Deliveroo, the most popular sandwich in Ireland is none other than...the hang sanger. Oh. REALLY?

I set out on a quest to see whether this was true, thinking that there are bigger and better sandwiches out there. Greater sandwiches. Sandwiches made of exaggerated varieties of sauces and smoked meats.

Turns out, you you can dress a ham sandwich up all fancy (like with mustard or coleslaw) or you can dress it down (shove a few Tayto in between the slices of ham) but yes, apparently our favourite sandwich IS ham.

Having said that – my mouth was watering reading some of the lunches the listeners of the Early Breakfast bring with them to work. Also, I think we could all agree on one thing; if it’s not real butter, please don’t call it butter. Same goes for mayonnaise. None of yer cheap, translucent and sweet gick for our sambos, no siree.

• “Hi Paula. Best sandwich ever - tayto cheese and onion with ketchup on Brennan’s Bread!” - Peter from Stradbally Laois

• “I'm in the cheese sanger brigade, but I switched it up this morning and decided to bring eggs this morning and now I'm afraid to open my lunchbox!” - Dave

• “Paula, my fav sambo is brown bread, butter, slice of cheddar and corned beef from Martin O'Dwyer's butcher in Cashel. Top notch.” - Niall in Tipp

• “Paula we roast a chicken every week for wraps for lunch for the week. Chicken salad wraps are your only man!” - Hotrod

• “I'm so with you Paula, I can't stand that spread stuff they call butter,  and the so called mayonnaise is watered down to make it go further. Disgusting!”

• “Paula, sauté some red onion and apples in a pan with butter and honey, then throw it on some delicious crusty buttered bread with some brie cheese!” – Peter, Cork

• “Paula. Every day since primary school (I'm now 41) I've had 4 slices of bread, butter and ham and maybe a pack of HunkyDorys!” - Mick in Wicklow

• “A blaa with ham, lettuce and a bit of mayo is my idea if heaven Paula. Listening in from the UK and my mouth is watering for a blaa!”

• “Morning Paula. Cheese and honey or scrambled egg and marmalade!” – Billy, Dublin Monday to Friday home to Waterford weekend

• “Crisp sambo is my favourite Paula yes with real butter on batch bread!” - Tom

• “Paula I am fussy about the order in which someone puts things into my sandwich. I ask for it in a certain order and if they change it that messes up the sandwich. Is that weird?” - Ailbhe

• “Paula, large dollop of Taco sauce, spicy hot chicken, cheese and sweetcorn. Every day!” - Larry from Waterford'

• “Toasted white bread, cold chicken with Super Valu coleslaw.  Get it inta ya!” - Mark Cavan

• “Wrap with jalapeno relish cajun chicken spicy cous cous, sun-dried tomatoes salad . Yum. Made fresh at 5 this morning late over d feckin things!” - Mick Limerick

• Hot chicken, egg mayo ,red onion and cheese on a roll yummm!” - Tom from Ballybrack

• “Morning Paula, my favourite sandwich would be crusty white bread, real butter, brown sauce, ham, hot chips and bag of Tayto, delicious!” - Daniel Tipperary

• “Talking of sandwiches I got up at 5 to make mine and I'm at work now, my sandwich is happily sitting on the kitchen counter at home, noooooooooooooo!” - Claire in Galway

• “Morning Paula, I remember starting my first job, I was 17 and my favourite sandwich at the time was Chicatees, I got some very funny looks in canteen. Now of course it's ham and cheese with a bag of Tayto on the side!” - Mick in Laois.

• “Paula, to make the perfect sandwich it's anything between two slices of Daniel Doherty bread. Which I just happen to be delivering here in Inishowen!” - Lawrence.

• “Paula I looovvee Toasted Brennan's bread dairy gold butter with crispy rashers, grilled tomato and cheese with a dollop of mayo Hellmans of course - very fancy eh!!”

• “Mornin Wweetpea, my super sambo is Brennan’s white bread, real butter, tuna, sweetcorn, mayo and ham. Trust me, it’s savage, even though the dudes in the deli do often ask if I want ham AND tuna in the same sambo. It’s good stuff I tells ya!” - Davie Dawg

• “A crisp sandwich needs a big hand print to be a proper crisp sandwich!”

• “Paula ham and cheese today, cheese and ham for a change tomorrow all on brown with Heinz red sauce!” – Ben in Wex

• “Hi Paula, tell Clare from Galway who made her sambos at 5 this morning but left them on the kitchen counter to do what I do; make them the night before, put them into the fridge and put the keys on top of them. Never be forgotten again! My fav is turkey, relish, parma cheese, and cherry tomato, they go on straight before I eat them, no soggy bread then! All on home made brown bread!” - Kev in Kerry

• “Sweetpea how about the scene in Gavin and Stacey when the priest is asking them what kind of sandwich they like? You kinda remind me of that priest this morning! From Jayo (and for me it's scrambled egg on a soft blaa)”

• “The ham sandwich is the most popular due to its longevity in the lunchbox. I see people bringing sandwiches with coleslaw, egg mayo etc and when they open them up it's like a big lumpy puddle of muck!! The ham sambo still looks as fresh as it did when I made it!! There u go!” - Lenny
• “Hey Paula. 2 slices of white bread, butter, coleslaw, fish fingers, potato waffles, cheese and marmalade. Delicious! Don’t think of it as marmalade, think of it as orange chutney. Yum!” - Bill

• “Sausage, hash brown, ketchup on brown bread! Savage!”

@sweetpmac rustic roll fresh Parma ham fresh mozzarella rocket with a drizzle of pesto

— alan mcgough (@hookieal) September 6, 2017

Has to be a tayto crisp sambo 😋😍😁

— Mick Murray (@mickmurray1987) September 6, 2017

Mornin @sweetpmac nuthin beats the contents of Christmas dinner in crusty bloomer late on Christmas night, cranberry sauce included! NOM 🍗🥂

— Curious Tori (@Tori_H_) September 6, 2017

@sweetpmac ham...good quality cheese....red onion...and Ballymaloe relish...with Tayto on the side... #nohamhere🙁 larry in Arabia.

— Lawrence Kilbane (@dooega76) September 6, 2017

Hi @sweetpmac as you can see i love my sandwiches,homemade all the way pic.twitter.com/jKmqJBdhRD

— Pamela Brophy (@PamelaBrophy02) September 6, 2017

@sweetpmac Brennan's saucepan, dairygold butter,roast chicken with salt&vinegar Tayto on the side. Nom Nom Nom!

— Sarah Morris (@sazzybm) September 6, 2017

Waterford bla with luncheon or red lead as we calls it down here 😛

— David power (@Daithipower81) September 6, 2017

@sweetpmac ham and cheese with salad but made with really fresh grinder bread

— duncan o cleirigh (@blackwaterdunc1) September 6, 2017

Cheddar cheese, tomato and onion on fresh batch with a scalding cup of tea 😉

— TBMPT (@BarryMurphyPT) September 6, 2017

@sweetpmac cease and desist with sambo talk #hankmarvin if you keep going you will be fined a macsweeney beenie

— alan mcgough (@hookieal) September 6, 2017