Features
1C • Daily Corinthian
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Slugburgers remain Corinth’s culinary king BY MARK BOEHLER editor@dailycorinthian.com
Its history is debated. Some will argue the origin of the name. And just what it’s made of can sometimes be a mystery. Only one fact remains certain. Slugburgers are the culinary king of Northeast Mississippi. From Ellie’s in Iuka to R & T’s Burger Shoppe and Weeks’ Diner in Booneville; from Pat’s Cafe north into Selmer, Tenn., and throughout the heart of the Crossroads area in Corinth, diners and cafes are serving up slugburgers to the locals who crave them and visitors who want to give ‘’em a try. There’s even a festival every second weekend in July which produces some popular collectable T-shirts for every new owner to learn how to answer the question which certainly follows the shirt, “And no, they aren’t made from slugs.” “The slugburger is a year-round local delicacy,” said Kristy White, director of the Corinth Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “It seems more and more travelers are basing their trips in part or around culinary activities such as farmer’s markets, cooking schools or food festivals. ... Here at the tourism office, we hope to use the already wonderful, culinary resources we already have to attract a segment of that market to Corinth.” Also known as cereal burgers, dough burgers or hamburgers in regional towns close to Corinth, the slugburger name and its beginnings are unique to Corinth, the Slugburger Capitol of the World.
What is a slugburger? It’s history dates back to 1919 when John Weeks returned to Corinth from a trip to St. Louis, where he got a German recipe for hamburgers. Weeks opened a cafe that year in Corinth and eventually five Weeks brothers were selling the hamburgers, which began to spread throughout the region. One brother bought an old trolley car in Memphis and a tradition began of serving the hamburgers in those. Those “burgers” were a beef mixture with extenders such as potato flour. Wind the clock forward and at some point after World War II, the term slugburgers entered the cafe scene to separate it from ordering all beef burgers. “I can remember a time when you went to a cafe and ordered a burger, the default was a slugburger,” said John Orman, president of Main Street Corinth. “If you wanted what we think of as a hamburger, you ordered a beef burger.” “It gets the term slugburger because it was sold for a ‘slug’ nickel,” he added. The term slugburger was definitely a Corinth distinction which has grown to surrounding towns. Redius Massengill and Bill Davenport were owners of the White Trolley and believed to be the first to use the term slugburgers. Redius later owned Massengill’s Slugburgers. “People would come in and buy five to six dozen slugburgers and take them back to the farm,” said Massengill’s granddaughter, Laura Holloway. “They were just 10 cents each and remained that price into the ’60s. You could feed all the farm hands for a few dollars.” As slugburger meat demand grew, meat markets
began to produce the mix, first McEwen’s Meat Market and later Gray’s Meat Market, owned by former McEwen employee C.F. Gray.
Where are the slugs? It begs the question and the answer lies in today’s meat markets. And one cafe turning out a fresh mix each day is guarding its recipe. The beef mix with potato flour has changed to beef mix and other extenders. Suitor’s Meat Co. of Rienzi produces “Old Fashioned Hamburger” mix for both individuals and supermarkets. Gardner’s Supermarket in Corinth orders 50 pounds twice a week from Suitor’s, according to Linda Glidewell in the meat department. For $1.59 a pound, one and two pound packs are available. According to the Suitor’s label, the mix includes beef, wheat flour, salt and soy protein concentrate. Rickman’s Meat Market is a huge supplier for the Crossroads area and boasts its slugburger mix contains 50 percent pork. It’s among the market’s most popular items, according to Linda Rickman, who owns the business with husband Jeff. “People have come from everywhere to buy our brand,” said Mrs. Rickman, who adds soy, flour and salt. “The pork gives the slugburger a sweeter taste.” The market makes between 300 to 600 pounds a day, three days a week. Individuals can purchase any amount and 10-day bags are sold to cafes and diners. “It’s a good, cheap meal to have,” added the meat market owner. “You can easily get five burgers out of a pound.”
Don’t try this at home If there was an “ode to a slugburger” and its complex ingredients, how to cook a slugburger, how to serve it and the condiments to place with it complicate the culinary scene. The only given is to serve it on a white bun. Period. No bread. Nothing fancy. Most slugburgers are deep fat fried — especially in Corinth. Some diners cook them on a griddle with a side order of oil, but the old-fashioned Southern way of dropping the mix into some hot vegetable oil is more the rule. Slugburgers come with a standard mustard, sliced dill pickles and white onion, chopped or sliced and always raw. To eat it any other way, one must make the change when ordering, thus giving up to the waitress the rookie slug eater “ain’t from around here.” Cheeseslugs are on most menus and will be topped the same, as is a doubleslug. To understand completely the slugburger experience, one must visit a Corinth diner. Not all restaurants and cafes serve up the delight, but many do. There’s even a more recent Slugburger Cafe on U.S. 72 on the west side of town not far from the Welcome to Corinth sign, a clue of things to come past the fast food chains. But there’s history to experience in some and step no further than Borroum’s Drug Store and the White Trolley Cafe. Please see BURGERS | 3C
Staff photos by Mark Boehler
Borroum’s waitress Lindsey Taylor serves up a common grill order — two slugburgers dressed the traditional way with onions, pickle and mustard with a side order of French fries.
White Trolley Cafe Manager Jeremiah Dees serves up several slugburger orders at the restaurant on U.S. 72 in Corinth.