In the later years of his career, “The King” was known for his rather “chubby” figure and his iconic food carvings like the Fool’s Gold Loaf (hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with the contents of one jar of creamy peanut butter, one jar of grape jelly, and a pound of bacon.)
Elvis died in 1977 when he was only 42 years old. The cause of death was a heart attack, which according to pathologists, was the result of his extremely unhealthy lifestyle.
The doctors said that his early death was inevitable, as the superstar abused prescription drugs and enjoyed the high-calorie food. Among his favorite meals were the peanut butter and jelly sub, the bologna BBQ surprise, meatballs wrapped in bacon, but the number one on his menu was reserved for the peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich.
This sandwich is known today as The Elvis Sandwich, or simply The Elvis. It is made with toasted bread slices on which peanut butter is spread. The other two ingredients are sliced or smashed banana and bacon. The last item was not always included in the sandwich, but The King preferred his food rich and greasy, so bacon often found a place between the bread slices. The King’s mother, Gladys Presley stated that Elvis would eat sandwich after sandwich.
She described the preparation method in a book, and it goes like this: the pieces of Hawaiian bread are grilled, then the peanut butter is spread, before adding half a banana and a piece of bacon. The sandwich is then grilled in bacon fat. Elvis did not cook, and the cooking was done by his mother and Mary Jenkins Langston, who cooked for Elvis for 14 years.
Presley made this sandwich almost as famous as himself. Many variations of it have been made, and it’s served in restaurants all around the globe. One version of the sandwich was sold under the name The Memphis, as per the city where the rockstar lived.
The Memphis had added honey, and the bacon was replaced with bacon strips. Another variant of the sandwich is the peanut butter banana club sandwich, which contains the usual ingredients, but has lettuce, brown sugar and lemon juice added as well.