The Mississippi Slugburger - How to Make America's Strangest Hamburger - Food Wishes
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- I'm excited to show you my take on one of America's strangest hamburgers, and certainly the hamburger with the strangest name. But don't worry, this is 100% slug free. The name comes from the fact that these used to cost a nickel, and way back when, the slang term for nickel was "slug." Enjoy!
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My mom used to make these when I was a kid to make the meat go farther. She would add onions. If things got worse we would have fried bologna on white bread with mustard. We knew we were in trouble when dinner was pancakes and homemade syrup. We didn't have a name for these burgers but they were pretty good.
That mention of fried bologna took me back... I loved fried bologna & onions, on white bread, with a dash of mustard! You took me back six decades in an instant!
I like mixing in corn and onion into my taco meat to stretch it a bit.
Did u grow up in the Great Depression?
Did the fried bologna thing more than a few times growing up. We also did chicken wings, which sounds odd today, but back in the day before the hot wing craze went nationwide, wings were one of the cheapest parts of the chicken.
I'm more than a little interested in what homemade syrup was.
This reminds me of our tacos at home growing up, my folks always made them with boiled chopped potatoes to stretch the beef for the eight of us. They were amazing, better than just beef alone.
I love potato in soft tacos, but prefer onion filler in my hard tacos.
I add in pre cooked brown basmati rice as it remains firm, has a nutty flavour that melds well with beef. I can stretch 1 pound of ground beef to feed 4 people and leftovers for lunch all round. It’s also a lot healthier.
great idea!!
It's the same thing with making sausage, people will talk about how something's 100% meat, but sometimes, those fillers that are added in are what make it better, whereas just meat can be a little boring and homogenous.
When my Mom makes tacos, she grates a half a potato and half an onion. There’s something about the taste and texture that’s amazing.
"There were times in the past where people couldn't afford burgers made out of pure beef." Seems to me those times are coming back around. Very timely upload.
If you're going to add filler Id say use onions.
Oh my god ur being so dramatic lmfao prices only go up buddy boy take a level 100 Econ class before u start makin boomer comments
@@tynj4173 You have 2 yil. Joe biden. Joeeee biden.
@@tynj4173 more like Putin
@@kg7219 You clearly don’t understand the severity of the recent inflation problem. The total amount of dollars in the us economy jumped from 16 trillion to 24 trillion since Joe Biden took office. I’m in my 20s and think anybody who still uses the word “boomer” in 2022 is cringy af
Have you ever tried making these burgers using oatmeal as the filler? I learned to do this from my Mother-In-Law while I was then dating my wife. I use 80/20 burger, and a small diced onion instead of onion powder. The oatmeal tends to absorb all of the meat and onion juices and makes a very moist and flavorful burger.
That actually sounds pretty good! Thank you for sharing :)
I make my meatloaf with oats, it's pretty nice especially since my wife is gluten intolerant
I mean, it might be delicious, but the minute you add binders to the blend, you're making meatloaf, not a hamburger.
@@SentientPickle That's ridiculous. A loaf is a shape. By your definition, meatballs and many types of sausages are meatloaf.
@@SentientPickle I agree! But I DO enjoy the crusty edges on a meatloaf!
This works GREAT with any box of "stuffing/dressing" that you find after major holidays. You know the ones. They go on clearance, and it raises a couple of pounds of burger to something incredible. You will have to experiment with your beef/fat/moisture ratio, but it only takes a little bit of mixing to 'feel' when to stop adding little splashes of water/beer/milk.
I do this with ground turkey and dried cranberries-thanksgiving burger
Thats kinda brilliant. Those mixes last forever too.
I do that too. Poultry stuffing instead of bread crumbs
Helps if the stuffing is blended more
$3 for a box of filler or $3 for another pound (or half a pound extra these days). Thats not smart.
Chef John, good budget meal, 45 or so yrs ago my grand parents lived in Jackson , Mississippi & we called them mud burgers as it was like making mud pies as a kid, fillers were what you had on hand
Weirdly one of my favorite meals is meatloaf made with oatmeal. I tried it at our local hot spot and it's crazy good.
@Rob B is just
@Rob B We called that cow patties as well but we used to go to the diner for slug burgers
We used oats or crushed saltines. I remember going to restaurants and seeing burgers described as 100% beef with no filler.
My mom in south LA used saltines too. Just having hamburgers was a treat!
I've been away John. I missed you. I said I'd make whatever it was that you were publishing today. I'm making this tonight.
Let us know how it turned out
I would also like to know
Yes, please tell us the results.
That's really rolling the dice, but you got lucky. IT COULD HAVE BEEN SQUAB.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894 squab is delicious!
Awesome! This is how my grandma always made these in AL. Money was tight her whole life so it wasn’t any big deal adding filler to things. Thanks for the good video!
Wow! I’m from Alabama and my grandmother made these too. I just thought it was something unique to my family.
C.F. Penn Hamburgers in Decatur, Al was known for their version of these.
Perfect timing for a cost effective recipe during this historically high inflation. Thanks Chef!
No matter what you mix in, it's still more real meat than ANY fast food burger.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894 This is mostly a lie, you know that, right? Fast food burgers are real meat. They just get processed more.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894 what do you think is in fast food burgers?
LIAR
I’m not sure I’d call it historically high inflation but it’s high nonetheless!
Mississippi has a LOT of garden slugs. They’d everywhere. When we first moved to Mississippi years ago, this Yankee honest to God at first really thought slugburgers were made with real slugs. They even have a Slug Fest! 😄
Gah! I'm from WA, so I thought of the same thing. So relieved to find out the actual reason.
Corinth Mississippi is where the slug burger is so famous. I tried one there at the instance of my aunt and uncle. I couldn't eat it because of the name and the fact that I didn't know how it was made. Ironically, I make my burgers and meatloaf just like the video except I don't use quite the amount of bread and I add an egg to hold it together. Meatloaf I just add diced onions and of course salt and pepper. Topping is a mixture of ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. I believe meatloaf needs to be made simply.
@@norinesloan4735 Oh, Corinth, No wonder I'd never heard of a slugburger. That's way up north and I'm all the way down on the coast.
I've found a box grater works pretty well for making bread crumbs. The bread might need to be a bit more dry though.
I knew you couldn't resist mopping up that cayenne from the plate with one of those bites. Good looking recipe. Similar to something my dad used to make at home. Thanks, Chef!
Kudos for putting this video out when people are feeling the pinch.
Looks crunchy. 👍
Mississippi here 😀 and enjoyed this video ❤️ the slugburger originated in Corinth… Alcorn county…upper eastern north MS. Two restaurants claim to be the first…the White Tally Cafe and Bourrum’s Drug Store. Both great places. Milled soybeans was the original filler. Your looks good but a little thicker 👍 slugburger meat mixture can be found in the local grocery stores in NE area along ground round. There’s a yearly Slugburger Festival in downtown Corinth. Ever think about doing your take on another famous Mississippi side….fried dilled pickles ???
Yes, by a man named John Weeks who came from Chicago. One of his descendants (Willie Weeks) was still running a cafe selling them in Booneville until he died a few years ago.
I experienced the slugburger at Bourrum's several years ago. Very tasty. That and those buy 'em by the dozen hot tamales from the little drive-up place (forgot it's name) were highlights of our time in Corinth.
That festival sounds lit :D
fried pickles are from Mississippi? They've taken right off in Canada. Like seriously i imagine almost every bar with snacks has fried pickles on the menu (always dill).
I always thought it was something we invented. Not because of some sense of patriotism (canada is empty and cold) but because we have disgusting snack food habits. When i lived near detroit i loved eating in the states because of how much you guys change food to fit different areas and cultures. In canada usually the more popular restaurants have just found a new tricky way to add butter and people primarliy patronize diners that cook homestyle food, or fast food chains.
@@zachweyrauch2988 Nobody really knows exactly where, only that they are a Southern U.S. thing. Wikipedia says they were popularized first in Arkansas.
This is really interesting. My stepfather was Swedish, and when we were kids, we were really poor. We grew every vegetable you can think of, and canned everything we didn't eat right away. He used to make this sausage that he called "curve". I genuinely don't know how to spell it. Anyway it was spiced beef or pork meat, (I can't remember which) with a whole lot of peeled and boiled potatoes. The ratio was probably similar to your slug burger, probably a 1 to 2 ratio of potato to meat. This would all be run through a meat grinder and then mixed up. Then we would run it through again with the sausage making attachment on the grinder, and stuff up some sausage links. Basically using the potatoes to extend the meat. Then of course we would fry them up. They were delicious!
My family is Norwegian and Swedish and we have something similar but we stuff the sausage/ potato/onion mixture into a sewn bag and boil it not make a sort of boiled meatloaf and served with butter on top it’s so good!!
That's an interesting way to get potatoes into the kids.
Excited to see you make this. You never disappoint. Thanks
Your timing is impeccable Chef John. With the current financial boondoggle, this is a great service to many, so thank you. I don’t know how families are feeding their children, with the price of every so outrageous and salaries not matching. Cheers!!!
If you are interested, look for the channel "The Wolfe Pit". He started out long ago as a BBQ channel, but for the last year or so he has been running a series of "Eating on a budget" meals, which are great if you are short on funds, and good in any case.
I second the wolfe pit, he's also very good about showing what is a good deal for the money and what is an expensive boondoggle at the dollar tree. He's super nice too
@@lwilton thank you, I’ll check it out!
My aunt use to make frikadellen like this, she used lard rather than oil, breadcrumbs from german rye loaf and a 70/30 beef pork blend. They where amazing and even using the recipe she gave me i have never managed to make any as good as hers. She learned the original recipe for her mother during the great depression which had 40% meat, 40% potato bread and 20% onion with spätzle. Thanks for the recipe and the fond memories it triggered, Take care, God bless one and all.
Funnily, I made a couple slugburgers a few days ago, having learned the technique from burger scholar George Motz. Though to be lazier, I used premade breadcrumbs. And my toppings differ from the original mustard and pickle chips, as I went for a few leaves of crispy lettuce and BBQ sauce.
I love this. The crust alone is worth it. Simple is the best a lot of the time.
Mustard and pickles is what I like on my burger anyway! This looks delicious!
Me too-all the way mustard and pickles!
Same here. Never cared much for ketchup on my burger, but mustard and pickles are a must!
I have a recipe for taco meat from a burger place I worked for when I was in high school. It took me forever to get the recipe. It's about 1/3 minced fresh potato? We make it up every Halloween and give out free tacos for treats. They are delicious! We've made it famous all over again.
I'd love to see that recipe...tacos and potatoes are two of my favorite things.
@@a2ndopynyn it's a little bit labor intensive. You run medium-sized potatoes through a food processor until the pieces are the size and shape of rice. Add approximately 1/2 cup per pound of 80% meat or so. You can play with that. The secret recipe is actually in the joy of cooking, I think the 1965 version? But I think almost any homemade taco seasoning will do. The secret ingredient is anise. Add about a 1/4 a cup of dried onion. Has to be dried. This is retro. Some cracked black pepper, cayenne or chili flakes..sweet paprika turns it reddish, potato just kind of melts into the burger. You don't even know it's there. I think that's it. That's pretty close. I make it up in batches on the stove and throw it all in a electric roaster to keep it warm. It's better if it can sit a day. But it doesn't have to.
I think you mean fer-ESH-Lee minced potato.
@@ConstantCompanion Hey, thanks! I'm not sure I could avoid having liquid potatoes using a food processor, but the side of the box grater used to make finely shredded cheese should work just fine. I will check this out!
Yup! Also Jane Brody (NY Times Food) in her cookbook a wonderful recipe for 1/2 the beef tacos. Shredded new potatoes. The easiest and best way I made tacos for family
*_Thank you!!_* From Mississippi myself, I am pleased you have brought your own version of this on here!
Where I come from, we add onion and milk-soaked stale bread to ground beef cutlets for filler. (We don't make a sandwich out of it, but the beef patty is basically the same). Interesting to see how different cultures have the same ideas.
Where are you from?
That’s how I make meatballs.
@@mrsean1999 Sacramento CA
Saw the seasoning of the meat in the beginning and I was like... "Where's the Cayenne?!!"
Then I saw the Cayenne towards the end and was like...."Thank youuuu..."
Thank you I will actually try this one out. You really do bring that spark that motivates me to venture out and try a new recipe.
That looks incredible, about a Brazilian years ago my parents would serve these up with rice and gravy or bean, they ran a diner near the bus station in New Orleans, grew up with it. Thank you Chef for some great memories.
What makes this one really exciting is the number of fillers you could use and how those will completely change the experience. I'm thinking about making these but with potato chips instead of bread.
I have never heard of slugburgers. It is similar to the technique that my mother used for hamburger steak. She also always used softened white bread to make hamburger patties for hamburgers and cheese burgers. I’m going to try these. “You are the Phylis Diller of your slugburger filler”-that’s hilarious! Thanks, Chef John.
You always write whole books.
@@dr.heidenreich3953 who's buying half a book?
@@willywonka7812 The muffin-man
@@dr.heidenreich3953I’m wordy, I know. I try to be brief but sometimes I have a lot to share. 🤷🏾♀️
@@willywonka7812 😆🤣😂
That looks delicious. I love crispy and crunchy textures and that looks like it would hit the spot. Thanks x
A few years ago I had the chance to travel abroad for work in Europe and Asia for about nine months. When I got back to the states, the first thing I thought when taking a bite of my favorite food was, “Why is this so salty?” Until then I didn’t realize how heavily salted American cuisine tends to be. I follow Chef John’s recipes faithfully with the single exception of using about a quarter of the salt and everything is still just as delicious.
I grew up in a salt free family, yeah, Americans use WAY too much salt.
I'm so glad you're doing recipes that are budget friendly. I really appreciate the new ideas.
his prison loaf is yummy ... and similar high-in-filler premise
(and a hilarious video)
Tbh, this seems like an odd way to make the classic meatloaf sandwich. I really love the idea of browning the patties and I think that would be a cool thing to do with slices of meatloaf for a sandwich.
Here in Mexico we have our own version, the butchers use the left over trims and mixed them with fine bread crumbs and heavy seasoning more in the garlicky side. They turn out very crispy.
So excited to try this recipe! 😋
I made your meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It turned out great. Gonna make my way through your recipes
i love the burger and the history lesson! please do more historical ones, it's really interesting!
Well, I grew up in Mississippi and I never knew this is what they were called. I still make mine this way only I use a tiny bit of water to moisten the bread so it sticks together better. Not too much or they'll crumble apart. Glad you shared this.
Thanks Chef John. When I was a child, we had a babysitter that made burgers like these. They were good!!
My Brother in Law, Bo(short for a near unpronounceable Swedish name), made burgers like these on a camping trip. They, again, had some odd Scandinavian nomenclature that, if memory serves, translated to 'Amsterdam Burgers.' The same pickles and mustard, pickled onions as well I believe. And mayo, gotta have mayo...
Dang CJ! That is amazing. I do this with my turkey burgers (using crushed club crackers) but never thought to do it with my beef burgers. Will definitely do this next time. Thanks again for all of your hard work and effort for our information and entertainment. 😀
Similar to what we ate a couple times a week as kids growing up in Northern Ontario (never even heard of Mississippi at the time, let alone slugburgers). The way mom did it, you'd take those 5 or 6 slices of bread, and hold them under a slow running tap till they were sopping with water then SQUEEEEEEZE to make a softball sized blob that was moist but not wet. Work it into the beef (or mooseburger) with an envelope of Onion Soup mix . Served up with elbow macaroni sauced with a can of tomato soup - its still comfort food I crave to this day.
Sounds really good-thanks for sharing!
This is a beautiful piece thank you for sharing
Growing up in the South West corner of Missouri in the 1940s and 1950's a common way of extending "expensive" ground beef was to mix in cooked oatmeal for hamburgers. This is one way the local hamburger joint managed to sell 5¢ hamburgers.
McDonalds opened their first restaurant in Springfield, MO in the early 1960"s with 13¢ pure beef patty hamburgers. By then this was cheap for a hamburger, even one with a patty as thin as the ones in the McDonald burgers.
We always use oatmeal for our meat loaf. Do try it - it's fantastic.
Anybody need to make their meat stretch even more? I suggest adding cooked brown lentils.
This is a classic from my wife’s hometown of Corinth, MS. They are $1, flat as a pancake, and ALWAYS have onion with the mustard and pickle. This looks like it would be juicer and more satisfying. Thanks chef John
Yeah, I'm curious to try this one. I lived in Corinth for about 12 years and could NEVER get ANYONE to divulge a recipe because I was a "Yankee" (I'm a Floridian, but go figure). Nothing I've ever tried comes close to a White Trolley Slug, and finding Soy Grits is a pain.
Thanks for this throw back in time. Being from the Midwest I would never have known about these burgers but I lived in rienzie Mississippi back in 1980. Just south of Corinth where the slug burger was started. There was an old trailer parked along side the sold that sold only slug burgers. I remember at that time thay were 50 cents. You went in one door and out the other with a burger chips and a coke for a buck. Always a line to wait also.
I'm from Mississippi, I am 31, and I've never once in my life heard of this burger.
Look very delicious 😋🤤 I love deferent kind of burgers
Thank you, Chef John 👍🏻 I love burgers so I will definitely be trying this.
Thanks for this recipe. Keep them coming!!
When I was a kid you could use the "slug" from an electrical box (punch out) as a nickel in the big ball bubble gum machines! Probably going to hell for that (among others)!
Nowadays you get 20 nickels for only a buck!
Awesome looking burgers, never heard of a slugburger before.
I remember these! I loved living in Mississippi!
That looks awesome! Mississippi has the most interesting food!
Paper-thin smash burgers with grilled onions and cheese next please
People could definitely use this type of content nowadays. Great idea for a video!
For real depression era recipes, try Grandma Feral's channel.
Thanks Chef John. Great job. Good info. God bless.
Simple ingredients yet a delicious outcome. Will try it out.
We, here in MS, have an old slug burger restaurant that was moved to a local museum. It's not used anymore, but from my understanding, it was amazing. Lol. Next up, the dough burger! 😍
What is that?
@@mackenziedrake a dough burger? 😍 I'm happy to explain.
As a Mississippi native I appreciate this timely video. With the price of groceries, it looks like this recipe might just come in handy. TY
Boden has left the chat
what does being from Mississippi have to do with anything lol
I have been doing this for 25 years simply to stretch out the ground beef. My kids think this is the normal way to make burgers. Panko works well too.
Throw in some Italian seasonings, serve it on a bun with some mozzarella and tomato sauce and you have nice Italian burgers. Mamma mia!
My parents used saltines & onions. It’s the only way I knew how to grill burgers before you could buy Patty’s & what’s amazing to me is that my kids much prefer these over the pre made patty’s. 😀
*_Wow, I love the dish. This is looking so good and tasty!!!_* 😍😍😍
A bit surprised that there is no diced onion in there as filler - you can grow your own onions but you have to buy bread or flour.
Tried that but the patty tended to fall apart. However, since I love onions I would slice a 3/4 inch thick slice and grill that along with the patty. Worked pretty well. Cheers.
@@justinbailey6515 Should work if you grate the onion and then squeeze out the onion water.
From someone allergic to things in the celery and onion family, it's nice NOT to see onion in everything. ;) Bet a 1/4 cup total of chopped mix-ins like onion or ham, or whatever you love to eat, would work here. Recipes are like music, take it, and make it your own. (Chef John would come up with a good one-liner! Lol.)
Wow this looks amazing!!! I am going to have to try this!
Can't wait to try this, thank you for sharing.
I live the story of thus recipe! Looking forward to trying this!
To honor the Great Depression, I suggest making it a double, with 1 slugburger patty and 1 Okla Onion Burger patty. And yes, mustard and pickle..
That Okla Onion Burger that Brian made today did look pretty good, didn't it?
Oh yeah, with mustard and pickles!
Making me hungry!!
I freaking love simple burgers like this. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Get yourself a copy of _The Great American Burger Book_ by George Motz. It has a couple of complicated burgers in it, but most of them are simple ones like this. If you search for George Motz on CZcams, you should find some of the recipes.
I just love your recipes!
First saw this in EmmyMade's channel. Reminds me of a very cheaply made meatloaf that one decided to fry instead of bake.
There is another variation, the doughburger, that specific to Northeast Mississippi. I'm pretty sure it uses flour. At Latham's in New Albany, MS, it is fried in a bit more oil in a cast iron skillet until the exterior is nearly black. Those are a light on the small side but I think that is to aid in cooking.
and another variation that's still called slugburger that has the meat cut with mashed soybeans and corn meal. Also from the northeast MS area, I was living in Ripley MS when I encountered them. Lots of soy farms in that area, so the beans were super cheap, especially if you were a soy farmer yourself. :) there's dozens of variations on this i'm sure. everyone's gotta make due somehow when money's tight.
Slug burger are pork. Dough burgers are beef. And everyone I know just uses flour for both.
I’m from Corinth, Mississippi! Where these came from. That is so amazing. I’ve been watching you for 10 years and I’m so happy you found our slugs!
They are still $1.09 each.
My former husband was from Corinth, Mississippi and he was crazy about slug burgers. We used to make road trips just to grab a bag full of these. They were a delicious treat. Thanks for the memories.
Delicious 🤤
If potato flakes why not instant mashed potato flakes?
Thanks Chef John for showing this Mississippi favorite. I'm from Northern Alabama and often travel to Northern Mississippi where they serve these burgers. It's a true local treat. If I'm not mistaken, Corinth MS actually has an annual slugburger festival. Very cool that you show these kinds of local delicacies. I've been watching your channel for EVER! If you could find a way to make greens like the "Hollywood" restaurant in Rome NY I'd love that. Used to go there and get Steak & Greens and they were so wonderful.
This looks awesome! I will try them tonight. I hope they are still good with butter pickles. Thanks, Chef!
My old landlady wants me to do these tonight. Thanks again chef John, I'm not a big fan but she loves your voice lol. You're the best
I am sure he appreciates knowing you are not a big fan……..
@@tonymarselle8812 lol. I'm not a big fan of his voice but his recipes are spot on. I know that when I perform them it will be the best
You missed the opportunity to add flavor by using some bacon grease to fry these in.
Excellent point and bacon grease falls into the spirit of stretching the dollar and lots of flavor..
Yes oh yes!
@@phyllisholmes2120 bacon grease is worth its weight in gold in my kitchen..
This burger looks quite interesting! It's worth a taste! Thank you!
I'm making these, but with cheese on top and sweet vidalia onions~ Yummy!
I've tossed in some italian breadcrumbs into burgers before. Turned out great.
A timely recipe for sure, during a time when we're all paying the price for the gov't printing free money for so long.
The $350 spent at the grocery store makes you look for ways to stretch things. Thank you.
The food prices are global.
@@truth4004 Add an 's' to Canny's "Gov't" and their sentence still holds true. 😆
My nana used to put bread in her burgers. I really liked it.
Mister and Mississippi are my favorite couple in 2022.
The original Krusty Burger
That burger must be good because you ate the whole thing before the end of the video haha. You usually take a bite or two and then have some glamor shots of the food haha.
Yup I noticed that too!
Might be the best channel on CZcams. Great video
A little Comeback sauce and some onion and chefs kiss perfection!
Great recipe as usual. These are great! If anyone wants to know the history of this or any other hamburgers check out George Motz on the burger scholar he's knows his stuff! :)
💯
To me, it sounds like it would be good with day or 2 old homemade southern cornbread...
Looks delicious, will definitely give them a try
Made these yesterday using Impossible Burger (plant based) and they were great!!! Loved the crunch and flavor. This will be a regular. I froze some after cooking to see how they reheat. Thank You
Looks good , thanks for sharing , God bless !
Made with real organic free range organic slugs!
😂
Looks very nice, and simple recipe
There is no consistency or audible punctuation in this mans speech pattern or cadence and it’s both torturous and hypnotizing at the same time.
I would definitely call these "nickel burgers" if you're serving or selling these to others who aren't familiar with the name's history
you would hide the truth from your loved ones