AN OLD NEW BURGER
Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
There’s more than one way to eat a burger, and thank goodness for that. What do you do for a favorite burger? Do you go to a favorite diner chowing down on a patty melt, trying a smashburger at a trendy new spot, or grilling a big juicy patty at home? They all sound good. The Southerners have and always will love a good burger. While burgers aren’t a Southern invention, there is one burger that is 100% unique to the South and it’s the slugburger, also known as the Mississippi slug-burger. A slug burger sounds gross, but the name came from the the saying that a nickel is called a slug and these new burgers were being sold for a nickel.
A slugburger is a burger made from combining soy grits, flour, cornmeal, or breadcrumbs with beef and/or pork. The patty is fried in oil, then sandwiched between buns with typical condiments including pickles, chopped onion, and mustard. They’re eaten in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, but are most commonly associated with a small pocket of northeast Mississippi.
The tiny town of Corinth, Mississippi even hosts an annual Slugburger Festival which will last from July 9-11. The event is named after the original Corinth creation. The story goes that in 1917, a man by the name of John Weeks started making and selling burgers from a mobile cart on bicycle wheels. Weeks wanted to save a little money on his product, so, at his request, a butcher mixed potato flakes and flour into his ground beef. The Slugburger was born. Being that it is a staple of the southern town of Corinth and offers a lot of fun for families why not celebrate it each year?It’s about more the history than just burgers. Anything that has lasted over 100 years deserves a festival, right?
What is there to do at the festival? For starters, there are the ever-popular musical performances. This year’s musical guests have yet to be announced officially, but they will be sure to bring a good time and an entertaining show!
Another favorite musical aspect of the Slugburger Festival is Slug Idol. Yes, you guessed it. Locals display their vocal talents in order to be named the best singer in Corinth.
There are more than just music and slugburgers to be enjoyed. There is a carnival, too, which features fun rides for the family.
This year’s Slugburger Festival also includes a car show that showcases lots of souped-up rides. The cruise-in is fairly new to the festival, only in its third year – but it’s proven to be a crowd pleaser! There are five classifications in the show; modified rides, original rides, street rods, rat roads, and even motorcycles and tractors are featured. It is quite a hit with Mississippi’s car lovers.
There are also vendors among the cruise-in rides! Hometown vendors will be sprinkled around court square – you never know what you might find! It sounds like fun.
Did any readers live through or recall the Slugburger? I wonder if there is any places close to here that makes and sells them?
In case you want to make a Slugburger, here is a recipe I found:
Preheat a deep fryer with cooking oil to 350 degrees F. You can also use a cast-iron skillet and fill halfway with cooking oil.
In a large mixing bowl, add the crumbled bread. In a small mixing bowl, combine the salt, pepper and onion powder. Gradually add the seasoning mix to the bread, mixing until evenly distributed. Gradually pour the beef stock over the bread, mixing until the bread is moist and all of the liquid is absorbed. Add the ground beef and knead until thoroughly mixed.
Take a handful of the mixture and roll it into a ball, then flatten out into patty and place it on a clean surface to flatten out to about a 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Fry the patties until cooked to desired doneness: soft: 1 1/2 minutes, crispy: 2 to 3 minutes, well: 4 minutes and cremated: 5 minutes.
On each steamed hamburger bun, add a fried patty, some Mustard Mix, chopped onions and Red Pepper Mix for some spice.
Mustard Mix:
Yield: 9 1/2 cups
In large jar with tight sealing lid, and add the mustard, 1 1/2 cups water, oil and black pepper. Close the lid tightly and shake vigorously!
Have you ever tried these? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny For Your Thoughts.
