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Elvis Presley may be most famous for his music, but later in his life he became known for his love of rich, southern cooking. His penchant for peanut butter, bacon, and sugary desserts became legendary. It even led to the creation of several cookbooks like Graceland’s Table: Recipes Fit for the King of Rock and Roll and The Presley Family Cookbook. Presley’s favorite foods were well known to his private chef, Mary Jenkins Langston, who later spilled the details of his diet to the public.
Bacon is a constant among Presley’s culinary favorites. A peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich became known as an Elvis Sandwich, or simply The Elvis, because of Presley’s love of the snack. The sandwich is completed by frying it in butter or bacon fat. Peanut butter and bacon are also combined in another of Presley’s favorites, the Fool’s Gold Loaf made by the now-closed Colorado Mine Company. The Denver-based restaurant invented this mammoth sandwich, consisting of a hollowed-out loaf of French bread filled with the contents of one jar of peanut butter, one jar of grape jelly, and a pound of bacon.
Legend has it that Presley and his friends took his private jet from Tennessee to Denver one night just to purchase these sandwiches. The group bought twenty-two Fool’s Gold Loafs and spent two hours eating the sandwiches while drinking Perrier and champagne.
Other favorites like enormous fried breakfasts and burnt bacon sandwiches only affirm Presley’s love of fried pork. His biographer, James Gregory, wrote that any woman hoping to date Presley should not develop expensive tastes, and should expect breakfasts of sausage, bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, and homemade rolls.
If Presley was not able to get his bacon fix at breakfast, he would have it for lunch. Burnt bacon sandwiches were another invention of Presley’s, made with mayonnaise, black olives, chopped pecans, and sprinkled with crumbled bacon bits.
Bacon and peanut butter were not Presley’s only indulgences. He also loved classics like hot dogs and cheeseburgers. Langston, his private chef at Graceland, made a point to mention “Party Meatballs” as a favorite of her late employer. The meatballs were filled with cheese and wrapped in crispy bacon. Hot dogs topped with sauerkraut were another of Langston’s specialties. She recalled sneaking Presley a couple of these when he was in the hospital and tired of the cafeteria food. Langston also made cheeseburgers for her clients on a regular basis. The last meal she cooked for Presley before his untimely death was in fact a cheeseburger.
Simple and delicious were often the name of the game with Presley. He often requested dishes that his mother made him as a child. He allegedly ate coconut cake every night, one of his mother’s specialties. The cake is covered in chewy coconut flakes, which Presley also always kept a bag of in his pantry. Presley’s mother’s meatloaf was another staple of his diet. Her recipe was whipped up for special occasions and Sunday dinners.
Try out some of these scrumptious eats and see if you can handle a diet fit for a king. Proceed with caution and make sure to have some antacids on hand.
