Burger (Mississippi Slugburger or Weeksburger)

Slugburger is an American burger variety with origins in Corinth, Mississippi. Despite its unusual name, it is not made with slugs, but gets its name from the Depression-era practice of combining ground meat with fillers such as potato flour or soybeans. Slugburger was first named Weeksburger, after its inventor, John Weeks. The burgers originally cost a nickel and nickels were called slugs at the time, so the name slugburger has remained unchanged until today. Meat patties are typically fried in Canola oil and served topped with pickles, mustard, and onions on a small hamburger bun. Today, slugburgers are still popular in the Mississippi area and there is an annual Slugburger Festival held in Corinth since 1988. Originally these hamburgers were made using potato flour as an extender. Today, the beef mixture contains soybean grits. The Slugburger is made into small patties, which are fried in Canola oil. They are traditionally served topped with mustard, dill pickles and onions on a small 5" hamburger bun.

Slugburger:
cooking oil or liquid shortening, for frying
10 loaves day old white bread, crumbled
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp. onion powder
1 gal beef stock
5 lbs ground beef
50 hamburger buns, steamed
yellow mustard
sweet pickles
15-20 sweet Vidalia onions, chopped
cayenne mix

Cayenne Mix:
½ cup cayenne pepper
4 tsp. hot paprika
4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 pinch sea salt

Preheat a deep fryer with cooking oil to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). 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 ¼" thick. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Fry the patties until cooked to desired crispiness, from 1-5 minutes.

On each steamed hamburger bun, add a generous helping of mustard, a fried patty, cayenne mix, chopped onions and sweet pickles. Spread some more mustard on the top burger bun and serve.

Makes 50 burgers.