So for several years now I've been meaning to recreate this sandwich for April Fools day. However, every time it would make it's way back around, I would forget. Or just not have all of the needed ingredients and tell myself that I'd try again next year. Well I'm tired of waiting and I'll probably just forget again next year. So in keeping with the spirit of April Fools, what better way then to celebrate it on it's incorrect day. Happy April Fools!

So the Sinner's Sandwich comes from a video game known as Deadly Premonition and although this game looks like it came out on the Dreamcast, it actually came out on the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3. I am also convinced that this game at one point in time was intended to be a Twin Peaks video game adaptation as it draws way too many similarities. But this isn't about the game, it's about the sandwich in question to this particular scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-41YUSZ9VAg

Just in case you were too lazy to watch a 3 minute long YouTube video, I'll give a quick rundown. Our main character, Detective Francis York Morgan is sitting down to order lunch at a diner accompanied by one of the towns police officers, Emily, who is helping him on a murder case. York orders the special while Emily orders the steak. While waiting for their orders, a man in a wheelchair named Mr. Stewart is wheeled in by his translator to pick up his own order. The usual, one turkey, strawberry jam and cereal sandwich. Having overheard the conversation, York remarks, "Sounds like the Sinners Sandwich. Self inflicted punishment to atone for past sins." Mr. Stewart's translator responds to York, ensuring him that if he'd tried the sandwich that he would find it most enjoyable. A regular "Green Eggs and Ham" argument ensues, but York has a hunch that he wouldn't like it. Mr. Stewart's translator retorts that an FBI agent that makes decisions based on intuition is the sign of a bad investigator. Feeling a little silly, York agrees and gives the sandwich a try. To York's utter surprise, the sandwich is so good that he changes his order to it. Emily's jaw drops.

So what is the Sinner's Sandwich exactly? The game states that it is a turkey, strawberry jam and cereal sandwich. But is this intended to be it's only ingredients? After all, when you order a turkey sandwich, it's not just two piece of bread and a single slice of turkey. I've been pondering the full extent of this sandwich for quite some time now. According to the the official Deadly Premonition Wiki, the Sinner's Sandwich consists of white bread, butter, sliced turkey, strawberry jam, and cereal. No mayo or mustard or any other condiments, but what kind of cereal? I was surprised to find that the exact cereal for this sandwich is chocolate rice krispies. Not even regular rice krispies, but the cocoa krispies, which isn't even that common of a cereal to find. Sometimes my store carries it and sometimes it doesn't. I got lucky this time and bought a box with the sandwich in mind.

The Wiki didn't specify what kind of bread to use, but I was trying to think how it would be served at a diner. So I just went with some nice bakery fresh sliced Italian bread that I lightly toasted with a thin layer of melted butter. I also used strawberry preserves instead of jam because I like them more. As for the turkey, I've only seen two videos on trying to recreate this sandwich in person, and both creators cooked full turkeys for this. I guess they've never been to a diner before, because every diner I've been to serves a turkey club with deli sliced turkey. I guess they were doing a "go big or go home" style to their recreations, but I've never ordered a sandwich with a massive slab of meat in the middle. So I just kept it simple and used classic deli style sliced turkey.

With the preserves spread on both sides of toast, it was easy to coat it with the cocoa krispies. I tried to make as even of a layer on each side and pressed down a bit. Finally came the turkey. Using 4 slices, I folded each one across filling the sandwich, then folded it like a taco to ensure no cereal would fall out. With the sandwich complete, there was only one step left. Gotta get that good cross-section as every diner slices diagonally across. That horror zoom in on the sandwich in the video looked like it was also garnished with a dollop of jam and more cereal. But I felt as though the sandwich was ambitious enough without getting my fingers sticky. So I didn't.

Hoping for the best but expecting the worst in terms of taste I dove in for my first bite. Although I didn't leap backwards out of my chair like York did, I do agree that the sandwich is surprisingly fantastic. It's really tasty and reminds me of a lighter Thanksgiving/holiday sandwich. I will admit that the jam and turkey overpower the cereal, but it adds a nice crunch to the sandwich that's a shockingly nice texture. Having no problem whatsoever finishing the sandwich, I will unironically be making myself another one of these sometime soon.

I also liked the idea of making joke food and may try other crazy food combinations in the near future as well.