Extreme Eats

David M. Ewalt, Forbes.com

These foods may well kill you. But what a way to go.

There's a scene in the 1980 film Fatso when an overweight character poses the following question to his friends: "Did you ever suck the jelly out of a jelly doughnut and then fill it with chocolate swirl ice cream?"

Most people react to that query in one of two ways: They either say to themselves, "That's disgusting!" or "That's disgusting ... I want one!"

If you are one of the latter, don't feel ashamed. It's not unusual to have a weakness for over-the-top foods. The act of eating a sugary, fatty, sinful snack can cause your body to release endorphins, compounds that promote relaxation, improve mood and minimize pain. These chemical substances are known as opioids--the same sort of thing found in serious narcotics. So while the idea of firing back a couple of Häagen-Dazs-hacked doughnuts may be enough to make a dietitian choke on her muesli, it's a sensible indulgence compared to shooting heroin.

In Pictures: Extreme Eats

Extreme Eats

from Forbes.com
The Luther Burger

Named after late R&B singer Luther Vandross, this sinful sandwich consists of a bacon cheeseburger served between two glazed Krispy Kreme donuts. The increasingly popular concoction has been served up at locations as diverse as minor league ballparks and Google's employee cafeteria.

Mike Epstein/Satanslaundromat.com

from Forbes.com
The Fool's Gold Loaf

Elvis Presley made famous a meal known as the Fool's Gold Loaf, reportedly his favorite: To construct one, mix one jar of peanut butter, one jar of grape jelly, and a pound of bacon. Scoop the mixture inside a hollowed-out loaf of fresh-baked bread, smother the outside in butter and bake.

Supersizedmeals.com

from Forbes.com
The Hamdog

At Mulligan's Tavern in Decatur, Ga., discriminating gourmands can try this over-the-top treat: A hot dog wrapped inside a hamburger patty, deep-fried, covered with chili, cheese and onions, served on a hoagie roll and topped with a fried egg.

AP Photo/John Bazemore

from Forbes.com
Deep-Fried Pizza

The Scots are pioneers in the world of extreme eats--first they popularized deep-fried candy bars, and then moved on to whatever other fat-filled goodness they could find. Deep-fried slices of pizza have now made their way from the pubs of Edinburgh to restaurants like the ChipShop in Brooklyn, New York.

Chipshopnyc.com

from Forbes.com
Turducken

Consisting of a boned turkey stuffed with a boned duck stuffed with a boned chicken, Turduckens are an increasingly popular Thanksgiving main course. Louisiana-based Hebert's Specialty Meats claims they invented the hybrid bird in 1985--and now sell over 10,000 a year.

AP Photo/Chuck Burton

from Forbes.com
The 100% Bacon Burger

Barbecue how-to Web site Peppers and Smoke invented this beauty, which consists of a patty made from ground 100% hickory-smoked bacon. Cook in a skillet, add two slices of pepper jack cheese, and serve with Habanero potato chips.

Peppersandsmoke.com

from Forbes.com
The Philly Taco

In Philadelphia, hungry booze hounds looking for an alcohol-absorbing snack after the bars close have popularized the Philly Taco, one of the city's famous cheesesteaks wrapped up inside of a big slice of cheese pizza.

slashfood.com

from Forbes.com
The Beer Barrel Belly Buster

Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, Pa., boasts that it makes the world's largest hamburger--the "Main Event," which weighs 123 pounds. But if that sounds like too much, try the "Beer Barrel Belly Buster" -- at a comparatively slim 15 pounds, it includes 25 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes and two onions.

Dennysbeerbarrelpub.com

from Forbes.com
Levee High Caramel Apple Pie

The Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery in Kimmswick, Mo., uses over 18 apples in this towering, 13-pound treat, which is topped with a caramel pecan sauce.

Theblueowl.com

from Forbes.com
Beer-Battered, Deep-Fried Bacon Double Quarter Pounder

So many amazing extreme eats are born on a dare--including this self-explanatory treat, created by an adventurous Australian gourmand.

Danamania.com

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With such a strong biological reward driving our appetites, it only makes sense that people love to indulge. And it's natural that inspired eaters don't want to settle for the same old buzz--and have created all sorts of hybrid, high-fat, freaky foodstuffs.

Extreme eating is a global phenomenon. The Scots pioneered the field of deep-fried candy--first using Mars Bars, then eventually moving on to Snickers, Cadbury Creme Eggs and basically whatever other fat-filled goodness they get their hands on. And the French came up with the idea of fattening a bird's liver by sticking a funnel in its beak and literally pouring food down its gullet.

But the American propensity to do things bigger and badder does mean that some of the most world's most extreme eats hail from the U.S.A. Just look at the Turducken, the biggest thing to happen to American holiday eating since the Pilgrims invited the Indians over for a drink. Consisting of a boned turkey stuffed with a boned duck stuffed with a boned chicken, Turduckens are an increasingly popular Thanksgiving main course. Louisiana-based Hebert's Specialty Meats claims they invented the hybrid bird in 1985--and now sell over 10,000 a year.

Some of America's biggest culture icons have made their mark on the extreme foods scene. Elvis Presley made famous a meal known as the Fool's Gold Loaf, reportedly his favorite: To construct one, mix one jar of peanut butter, one jar of grape jelly and a pound of bacon. Scoop the mixture inside a hollowed-out loaf of fresh-baked bread, smother the outside in butter and bake. Elvis would eat the whole thing in one sitting--and once flew from Memphis to Denver in the middle of the night to get one from a restaurant called the Colorado Mine Company.

Late-night binge eating is, unsurprisingly, a frequent source of new extreme foods. In Philadelphia, hungry booze hounds looking for an alcohol-absorbing snack after the bars close have popularized the Philly Taco, one of the city's famous cheesesteaks wrapped up inside of a big slice of cheese pizza. And blogger Will Young won 15 minutes of fame in 2004 after a "drunken, silly weekend" in Las Vegas ended in the consumption of a "100 x 100," an In-N-Out cheeseburger made with 100 meat patties. It cost $97.66, took eight people two hours to finish, and consisted of about 19,490 calories.

Eating a burger four feet high may sound excessive. But that's kind of the point of these extreme foods. We know it's wrong, we know we're overdoing it and we enjoy it anyway. Feeling like a Roman Emperor at the spring bacchanalia is just part of the fun.

Of course, like any of the more popular deadly sins, gluttony is best taken in moderation. A Turducken a day will buy you a one-way ticket to ill health -- and your cardiologist a new boat.

In Depth: Extreme Eats