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Printable recipe below! Jump in and let's make this depression era recipes of Slug Burger recipe that got us through hard times!
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0:00
Guess what, folks? Pony Express just
0:02
wrote in.
0:04
[Music]
0:06
Got some fan mail from Mac. Well, this
0:09
is just for effect. Uh, he sent us an
0:12
email, but I want to read it to you.
0:15
I've lived in Florence, Alabama for over
0:17
20 years, living close to the
0:19
Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee
0:21
area. We grew up eating a burger
0:23
everyone called Slug Burger. It
0:26
originated in Mississippi during the
0:28
Great Depression. And I wanted to share
0:30
this with you in case you'd like to give
0:32
it a try and maybe even like to make a
0:34
video out of it to share this unique
0:36
burger and a little bit of southern
0:38
history with the others. Hey Mac, that's
0:41
a great idea. So let's do it. young too.
0:46
[Applause]
0:47
[Music]
0:53
Ribe eyes, prime rib, big old steaks of
0:57
any kind, they always got all the glory.
0:59
But folks, let's look back on history a
1:01
little bit and look at this slug burger
1:04
because it's what helped the nation
1:06
survive during the Great Depression and
1:07
the Dust Bowl. And I can't wait to try
1:10
it out. Now, our story begins down south
1:12
in a railroad town of Corinth,
1:14
Mississippi. Right around the 1910s, a
1:17
man named John Weekes rolled into town
1:19
after spending some time up north in
1:22
Chicago. Now, he wasn't a fancy chef,
1:24
just a hardworking fellow who knew how
1:26
to make a dollar go a little bit
1:28
farther. While up in Chicago, John had
1:30
learned a trick from German immigrants,
1:32
folks who knew how to stretch meat in
1:34
lean times. They'd grind in fillers like
1:37
breadcrumbs, potato flour, even soy
1:40
meal, and blend them with the meat. John
1:42
brought that know-how back to
1:44
Mississippi. He set up a burger stand
1:46
and started mixing ground beef with soy
1:48
grits, sometimes cornmeal or flour.
1:51
Instead of grilling up these patties,
1:53
he'd deep fried them until they were
1:54
crisp and golden on the outside. They
1:57
called it a slug burger. Now, a slug
2:00
back in them times was slang for a
2:01
counterfeit nickel. And for just a slug,
2:04
you could walk away with a hot burger
2:06
and maybe a bottle of soda pop, too. You
2:09
know, food back then didn't just feed
2:11
your stomach. It fed your soul. It gave
2:14
you hope, help you get through the dark
2:16
times. Now, before we get into this slug
2:18
burger, let's talk about an old meal
2:20
that always was at my table when we were
2:23
growing up, but a side dish back during
2:25
the Great Depression in these dark days.
2:26
What was it? Copper pennies.
2:31
[Music]
2:38
Well, didn't take long to chop them up.
2:41
And did you see how that hash knife
2:42
works so easy? You just roll it around
2:44
there. Therapy for your soul. It is. We
2:47
did a video not long ago on old tools
2:49
that Cookie had. We still use that on
2:51
the wagon all the time. But we got all
2:53
them carrots in there. And I remember my
2:55
mother always told us when we was
2:57
little, you know, I can get y'all to eat
2:59
carrots out of a roast or I can fix them
3:01
this way and y'all eat them like
3:02
dessert. To me, this was sort of like a
3:04
dessert because when you got this all
3:06
made, you could take a biscuit and sop
3:09
that juice that was on these carrots. Oh
3:11
my gosh, it didn't get no better than
3:13
that. But we'd grow them carrots at home
3:15
in the garden. Mama always had a big and
3:17
she'd put them up sometime fruit jars.
3:19
They'd be in the cellar. But when she'd
3:21
pull them fresh right out of the garden
3:22
and she'd make copper pennies, you could
3:25
smell it in the kitchen when you come in
3:27
there. Oh. So, we're going to add a
3:28
little water. Not much, just enough to
3:31
sort of cover the bottom of it because
3:33
in goes next what? Butter. Now, I don't
3:37
remember how much butter my mother put
3:38
in there, but she made her own butter
3:41
and this is pretty close to that. And
3:44
she always used brown sugar. Now, to me,
3:47
that's what it made it taste sort of
3:48
like holiday, but there ain't nothing
3:52
better to this to me. We're going to get
3:53
this to cooking. Now, we may add a
3:56
little more brown sugar to it when we
3:58
get close to the end, but I'll get it on
3:59
the fire.
4:01
[Music]
4:07
Big news is coming and I'm asking y'all
4:09
a favor. We have been working on a
4:11
project for about 8 years and it is
4:14
something me and Shan dreamed of, but it
4:16
showcases something that we love. And
4:19
we're going to have a video come out at
4:21
6:00 p.m. Central time. We're going to
4:23
give you the full scoop on what's
4:25
happening. So, set your calendar, put a
4:27
reminder on your watch or tape it on
4:29
your butt, cuz it is going to be big
4:31
news.
4:39
These sweet and tangy carrots were
4:41
popular during the depression when folks
4:43
needed food that could be made ahead of
4:45
time, didn't spoil fast, and used
4:48
whatever they had in the root seller or
4:50
the pantry. Why' they call them copper
4:52
pennies? Well, just take a look. They
4:54
look like a jar full of spare change.
4:57
And back then, folks needed every cent
4:59
to count. This dish could sit in the ice
5:02
box for days and only get better over
5:04
time. Smart cooking from a time when
5:06
nothing went to waste.
5:16
easiest thing to put on the table. It is
5:18
copper pennies. Now, when I had it over
5:20
at the stove, added some brown sugar.
5:22
But folks, you can cut the water back
5:25
just a little if you want it thicker
5:26
than that. But I guarantee you when we
5:28
served it, everybody was ready to get to
5:31
the bottom of the bowl where the juice
5:32
was and put that biscuit in there. Thank
5:35
you, mama, for this dish.
5:37
M
5:39
m. It's so good. I tip my hat to the
5:44
greatest generation that ever lived,
5:46
those that went through the dust bowl
5:47
and the depression. But back in the
5:49
depression and war years, there were a
5:51
few different ways to fix them,
5:53
depending on what you had on hand and
5:55
the season. The classic copper pennies
5:57
used bold carrots that were marinated in
5:59
vinegar, sugar, and tomato soup with
6:02
sliced onions and peppers.
6:05
Pretty
6:09
simple to put together. Potato flakes,
6:11
little ground beef. But back in the
6:13
1930s, the government was pushing a
6:16
wartime protein that they needed people
6:18
to eat. Needed to know that it was a
6:20
meat substitute. Maybe that was soybean
6:22
meal. Even grits were coming involved.
6:25
But today, we just going traditional
6:27
with potato flakes and some ground beef.
6:30
Now, I'm going to go ahead and dump that
6:32
in there.
6:33
Now, traditionally, that's all there was
6:35
to it, folks. Some people might have had
6:37
a little cornmeal, some people might not
6:40
have. So, you just follow along and use
6:43
whatever you got at home. But, we're
6:46
going to get this all mashed together
6:48
because this is going to make this go
6:51
further than it would. And it was all
6:52
about pinching pennies and stretching a
6:55
dollar for the most it was. Or even like
6:57
we said before, that slug.
7:01
A lot of times if you think, "Oh, I done
7:03
got way too many potato flakes in there
7:05
or cornmeal, whatever you're using, and
7:07
it's going to be a little dry." Some
7:08
people might have went out there to the
7:10
hen house, got one of them
7:12
cackleberries, snuck it back in there,
7:13
and cracked it in there and mixed it
7:15
with it. Some people also use broth in
7:17
this method. So, I don't think we're
7:19
going to have a trouble being dry
7:21
because we got 8020 ground chuck here,
7:24
which is 80% lean, 20% fat. We ain't
7:28
talking about being on a diet today.
7:29
We're talking about getting by on a
7:30
nickel. Little salt and pepper. That was
7:33
all they would have had. They had just
7:35
put them on there after they got them
7:36
made. But me, I'm going to kick it up
7:39
about three notches here with a little
7:41
chili powder. We're going to go once and
7:43
then we're Oh my gosh, there must be
7:45
some humidity.
7:48
So, we're going to give it a little
7:49
shake
7:52
and a little shake of garlic powder.
7:57
Then we're going to mix again and we're
7:58
going to season it one more time. It's
8:00
really, I think, the beginning of a
8:02
meatloaf, maybe. Now, we're going to
8:04
season it again. Then we're going to go
8:06
to making us some of them patties. In
8:08
1929, the stock market crashed and the
8:11
bottom dropped out of the economy. We're
8:13
talking soup lines, dust storms, and
8:16
whole families living on next to
8:18
nothing. The Great Depression stretched
8:20
through the 1930s and hit every corner
8:23
of this country. But it hit hardest
8:25
where folks had the least to begin with.
8:28
Out west, the Dust Bowl stripped the
8:30
land bare. Back east, banks were closing
8:33
and taking folks life savings with them.
8:36
And down south, where this story is
8:38
rooted, families were lucky if they
8:40
could put beans and bread on the table,
8:42
let alone meat. But here's where the
8:44
slug burger truly made its mark. It
8:47
wasn't just a gimmick anymore. It became
8:50
a symbol of how folks adapted. Diners
8:52
and lunch counters across Mississippi,
8:54
Alabama, and Tennessee started serving
8:57
them up, especially in meal towns and
8:59
railroad stops. For just 5 cents, a man
9:02
could get something hot, crispy, and
9:05
filling.
9:06
[Music]
9:24
Back in the day, they were always deep
9:26
fried. Whatever kind of oil they had
9:28
laying around there, lard was probably
9:30
the number one thing. But they would
9:32
always usually coat them with just a
9:34
little flour on both sides. Not much.
9:36
Give them a little of that crust because
9:37
everybody said they was so crisp. But as
9:40
it evolved, people were beginning to pan
9:43
fry. You would even see some on a flat
9:45
top griddle. But today, we going with
9:48
the old-timers. We are. We're going to
9:49
flour them just a little, put them over
9:51
in the hot grease, and see what happens.
9:53
But remember, when you're deep frying a
9:55
piece of ground beef, you need to make
9:56
them pretty thin, so they'll fry pretty
9:58
quick without burning that outside. Now,
10:00
before we put that flour on there, salt
10:02
and pepper, give it a little pat into
10:04
the meat. Season pretty heavy. We did
10:06
because we're just seasoning one side.
10:08
So, a little sprinkling
10:11
of flour. And then we'll come back and
10:14
rub that in and turn it over on the
10:16
other side.
10:18
Be preheating your oil to 350Ā°.
10:23
Any good high temp cooking oil will get
10:26
you by. See if one of them will come off
10:28
there. Little flour on this side. Then
10:32
we're going to check the oil temperature
10:33
over there with the chef's temp and see
10:35
where we're at.
10:39
[Music]
10:47
[Applause]
10:50
grease is at 347 it is. When you get
10:53
these got the flour on it, give them
10:54
just a little pat. Get that excess off.
10:57
Right down in the oil they go. And we is
11:00
deep frying hamburger meat. Who would
11:01
have ever thought it? We're going to try
11:04
to get golden brown on both sides and
11:06
good and crispy. But remember, we got to
11:08
keep that meat done in the middle, too.
11:10
So, I can't have no overcrowding. So,
11:12
it's looking like one at a time in the
11:14
Dutch oven today.
11:17
[Music]
11:26
[Applause]
11:27
[Music]
11:36
[Applause]
11:40
There's always a lot of good help when
11:41
they smell meat, whether it's frying,
11:44
smoking, or on the grill of any Fact,
11:46
they're always here. You break out the
11:48
vegetables, then let's go take a nap
11:49
somewhere.
11:51
[Music]
11:52
[Applause]
11:55
[Music]
12:08
Slug burgers became a staple in what
12:10
we'd now call bluecollar diner culture.
12:14
Every little town had a counter
12:15
somewhere serving them up with a smile
12:17
and maybe a handful of pickles. It was
12:20
food for the common man. No frrills,
12:22
just sustenance and soul. And you know
12:25
what folks didn't forget? Every July
12:28
they still hold a slug burger festival
12:31
right there in Corinth. There's music,
12:34
cookoffs, carnival rides, and plenty of
12:36
those crispy burgers served just like
12:38
John Weekes made them a hundred years
12:40
ago.
12:45
[Music]
12:58
copper pennies and a slug burger. It's
13:01
going to be a glorious day. I can
13:03
already tell now. You see me when I was
13:04
frying them and I sort of doing a
13:06
shallow deep fry. Take that spatula and
13:08
sort of splash some of that hot oil up
13:10
there on the top. helps them brown
13:11
quicker on both sides. Did have to turn
13:13
them over once. You just cook them till
13:15
they're good, golden brown, and crispy.
13:17
Everything is good to go. I am going to
13:20
just I have never eaten anything like
13:21
this in my life, but I'm listening for
13:24
the crunch.
13:28
[Music]
13:37
You know, I'm amazed. I really am. The
13:39
crispiness, I think, is what sells it.
13:42
But then I thought I was eating a
13:44
hamburger that had potato chips in it
13:45
because them potato flakes sort of swell
13:47
up a little and when you deep fry them,
13:50
ain't no more Happy Meal Drive up
13:52
window. You can get your French fries
13:53
and your burger all in one place. Right
13:55
here you can. Very good.
13:59
I hope y'all enjoyed because I love to
14:01
go down history and this is something
14:02
I'd never eat before in my life. I
14:05
really I am fascinated by it. I am. I'm
14:07
going to make them a regular here at the
14:08
house. But folks, remember that apron I
14:10
got? You can't get full on fancy. You
14:13
know, it ain't got to be fancy. It's
14:15
just got to be good and filling. But
14:18
what even makes it better than that and
14:20
brings it to the best meal ever is when
14:22
you gather folks around the table with
14:24
you. We're all resilient. We all can
14:26
make it. Hard times might be coming, but
14:28
hey, you throw some food on the table,
14:31
invite the neighbors over, grab a hand,
14:33
bless it. Good things is coming your
14:36
way, folks. 6 pm central. Big
14:38
announcement is coming. We want to share
14:40
it with family and friends because y'all
14:42
are our family and friends. It's going
14:45
to be a glorious day. It is. You can
14:46
even make a slug burger before 6:00 gets
14:48
here. Have a watch party. But it is with
14:51
great pride, honor, and privilege that I
14:53
tip my hat to all the servicemen and
14:55
women and all the veterans who have kept
14:57
that old flag of flying. We commend you
14:59
all. We do. Rest of you, get on in here
15:02
for a dust bowl depression era hug. I'm
15:04
going to shake the dirt off of me.
15:07
God bless you each and everyone and I'll
15:09
see you down the slug burger trail.
15:12
[Music]
15:26
[Music]
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