Brief History of the Hamburger
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National Hamburger Day on May 28 is close to Memorial Day. We all love hamburgers so why not celebrate this day by learning about hamburger history, try some new hamburger recipes, or eat at a local restaurant. Many restaurants will be offering hamburgers at discount prices that day so you can enjoy eating out instead of cooking.
Raising beef came about when they began raising domesticated cattle in Mesopotamia about 10,000 years ago. In the 12th century Hamburg Germany became an independent city with a large export trade business. It was know for high quality beef products.
In 1845 in Virginia the meat grinder was invented by G.A. Coffman. At the Seymour Fair in Wisconsin a worker put meatballs between two slices of bread calling it a sandwich. In 1891 a couple made a flame broiled patty made of beef to celebrate Fourth of July.
Fleisch Studio in 1931 created the character Wimpy for the popular cartoon Popeye. The character was always eating hamburgers or asking for help to buy them. They opened a restaurant called Wimpy's after the cartoon character.
In the 19th century hamburger or beef products became popular for meals and to treat digestive problems. Many consumers grinded their own meat at home and made hamburger patties. Many food trucks and restaurants served hamburgers in different ways. A burger on a bun was served at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.
The author Upton Sinclair gave ground beef a bad reputation with his book The Jungle. It revealed the meat packing industry's unsanitary conditions and how they added fillers, preservatives, and meat scraps to meat sold to the public.
In 1921 two men opened White Castle restaurants and helped change the image of the hamburger. The two men were Edgar Igram and Walter Anderson. They reversed the bad image of ground meat by running a clean, healthful, and sanitary restaurant. They grinded their own meat and hired medical schools to promote the health benefits of eating beef burgers.
In 1948 the McDonald brothers who ran a barbecue restaurant since 1940 switched to hamburgers in 1948. Ray Kroc bought out the chain in 1961 and added milk shakes to the menu. This made it one of the largest food chains in the world. In 1967 they introduced the Big Mac hamburger that became one of the most popular burger in the world.
A late start hamburger chain was Wendy's started by former chef Dave Thomas. It opened in 1971 and developed a drive through window. He started franchising in 1972. The chef wanted to create a better burger than the typical fast food restaurant chain.
References:
A History of the Burger From Ancient Rome to the Drive-Thru by Hannah Walhaut, Food and Wine 2022
Where Hamburger Began and How They Became an Iconic American Food by Nate Barksdale, History, January 2021
The World Is Your Burger-A Cultural History by David Michaels, Phadian Store
How to Celebrate National Hamburger Day
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Go to your favorite fast food restaurant to eat burgers with friends and family.
Try a new local restaurant that makes burgers using grass fed beef or try a burger you never had before.
Buy hamburgers at your local supermarket and cook them on the grill. Invite your family or friends. Some meat department make special hamburgers patties using different ingredients.
Buy ground beef or grass-fed beef and make your own hamburgers from recipes in cookbook or online
Place to look up burger recipes online: Taste of Home, Food Network, Food and Wine, Epicurious, The Spruce Eats and All Recipes.
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Favorite Hamburgers in the US
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There are many regional styles of hamburgers in the United States that are popular with consumers. Below is a short list of different types of burgers.
Green Chili Burger
Chili Cheese Burger
Blue Cheese Burger
Bacon Cheese Burger
Onion Burger with sauteed onion, pickled onions, or raw onions
Steamed Burger
Patty Melt
Mushroom/Swiss Burger
Double or Triple Burger
Traditional Burger with tomato, onion, lettuce, ketchup or mayonnaise
Cajun Burgers
Jalapeno Burgers
Recipes:
Photo Source: af Wikipedia
Irish Cheddar Spinach Burgers
This can be cooked on the grill or baked in the oven. You will need a bowl or container, measuring cups, spatula, measuring spoon, cooking tray or pan, parchment paper or tin foil, grater, cutting board and knife.
Ingredients:
1 lb. grassfed beef or lean hamburger meat
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 or more strips of bacon
1/4 cup grated Irish cheddar cheese
slices of cheese for tops of hamburgers
Hamburger rolls, regular or gluten free bread
Ketchup or mustard
Instructions:
Defrost the hamburger meat and put in a bowl or container. Add 1 egg and mix well with hands or spoon. Soak the spinach in warm water for 5 minutes. Drain and dice very fine. Add to hamburger and mix well. Add one teaspoon of garlic and mix in.
Grate cheese on plate using a hand held grater. Add the cheese to the hamburger mixture and mix in well. Add olive oil and mix evenly. On a baking pan add parchment paper or tin foil. Shape the hamburger meat into three to four balls and flatten into patties using a fork. Arrange bacon on sheet pan to cook with burgers
Heat the oven to 350 degrees on bake and cook about 10 minutes on each side. Serve with fries and coleslaw. Serve hamburgers on rolls, top with strip of bacon and ketchup. Serve with fries and coleslaw. Serves 3 to 4.
Slugburgers
Slugburgers come from Mississippi and were made in the Depression era as a way to stretch meat. Ground beef was often mixed with potato flour or regular flour to make more burgers. They are traditionally small burgers served on small rolls that kids and adult will enjoy. The meat can be broiled or grilled and put on small rolls topped with dill pickles, mustard, and onions.
You will need a bowl or container, measuring spoons, pan or baking sheet to cook burgers, knife, cutting board, baking sheet, parchment paper, tin foil, spatula to turn burgers. containers, and serving plate.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. of grass fed or regular ground beef
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon pepper and salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
A bag of small dinner rolls
1 white or red onion sliced
Dill pickles sliced thin
Yellow or Dijon mustard
Mix the ground beef in a bowl with the egg, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix well using spoon or your hands. Wash your hands before and after handling meat. Shape the beef into round patties. Line a baking sheet or pan parchment paper or tin foil. Make the patties small about size of a large cookie. Flatten with a fork broil them in the oven or on grill for about 5 to 10 minutes on each side. Turn once with spatula.
Peels the onion remove the skin and discard. Slice into thin slices and put in a bowl. Remove a few pickles from the jar and slice thin put in container. Cut the dinner rolls in half put on plate Serve the slug burgers on dinner rolls topped with onions, pickles, mustard. Serves about 6. Serve with potato salad, fries, coleslaw, or macaroni salad.
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