Fried onion burger
A fried onion burger, also called an Oklahoma onion burger, is a regional burger style and specialty of Oklahoma cuisine. The dish was created in El Reno, Oklahoma, in the 1920s by a restaurateur searching for a way to stretch ground beef with a less expensive ingredient in order to cheaply feed striking railroad workers during the Great Railroad Strike of 1922. Its primary ingredients are thinly-sliced onions and ground beef.
Background
[edit]According to restaurateur and food historian George Motz, El Reno sits within the American Burger Belt, which reaches from Texas to Wisconsin and where traditional American burgers were created.[1]
Origin
[edit]The burger was created in El Reno during the Great Depression by Homer and Ross Davis, a father and son, at their restaurant Hamburger Inn near the intersection of Route 66 and U.S. Route 81 as a way to stretch ground beef with less expensive onions to feed railroad workers during the Great Railroad Strike of 1922.[2][3][4][5][6] The Davises named it the Depression Burger and sold it for five cents.[7][8] The dish spread throughout western Oklahoma.[2]
Other burgers with onions were created around the same time and for the same reasons. According to food historian John T. Edge, the inclusion of a large amount of onions "bespoke a frugal impulse that is more universal than local...the taste for burgers laced with onions was wrought during the days of privation".[6] Extending ground beef with onions also predates the onion burger; the 1883 Boston Cooking School Cookbook included a recipe that called for mashing two or three onions into a pound of ground beef.[6]
Ingredients and preparation
[edit]A half an onion is sliced thin and piled onto a small thick patty of ground beef, set onto the hot grill, and pressed hard to form a large thin patty with the onions embedded into the meat.[7][9] The burger is approximately half onion.[10][11]
The burger is seared for a short time on the first side, and when flipped, the onions cook and caramelize.[7][1] Buns are untoasted and are steamed on top of the grilling burger before assembling the sandwich.[7] Garnishes include American cheese, pickles, and sometimes condiments.[12][2][8][13]
Popularity
[edit]As late as 2016 the burger was not well known outside of El Reno.[14] The burger became better known outside of the area in the 2010s and 2020s; according to J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the burger became known outside the area due to the work of Motz.[15][4][16][14][7]
The city of El Reno holds a Fried Onion Burger Day festival annually on the first Saturday in May.[17][8]
Nic’s Grill in Norman and its onion burger were featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on August 7, 2009.[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Motz, George; Zimmern, Andrew; Brearton, Kristoffer; Young, Douglas (2016). The great American burger book: how to make authentic regional hamburgers at home. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang. ISBN 978-1-61769-182-9. OCLC 921863985.
- ^ a b c Yagoda, Marie (26 September 2022). "How the Oklahoma Burger Became a National Treasure". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Montoya, Stephen (26 February 2024). "Hooker's Grill Celebrates 100 Years of the Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger". Fort Worth.
- ^ a b Wells, Pete (2024-04-16). "Restaurant Review: Hamburger America Is Deliriously Messy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Danilovich, Nico (2022-10-14). "The Humble Origins Of Oklahoma's Onion Burger". Tasting Table. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ a b c Edge, John T. (2005). Hamburgers & fries: an American story. Thorndike Press large print nonfiction. Waterville, Me: Thorndike Press. pp. 24–30. ISBN 978-0-7862-7929-6.
- ^ a b c d e López-Alt, J. Kenji (2022-07-19). "The Burger J. Kenji López-Alt Can't Improve (Only Tweak)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ a b c Brandes, Heidi (27 June 2023). "The 'Depression Burger' of Route 66". BBC Travel. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "How a Depression-Era Patty Filler Paved the Way for Oklahoma's Favorite Burger". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Lopez-Alt, J. Kenji (23 September 2022). "Oklahoma-Style Onion Burgers Recipe". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Stanfield, Amanda (22 August 2023). "Oklahoma Onion Burgers". Southern Living. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "Oklahoma Onion Burgers Recipe". NYT Cooking. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Rapoport, Adam (2018-10-23). "I Thought the Smash Burger Couldn't Get Better—Then I Tried This". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ a b Alexander, Kevin (2016-08-18). "The Tiny Oklahoma Town That Invented America's Most Under-Appreciated Burger". Thrillist. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ McCarthy, Amy (2023-01-25). "Heaps of Grilled Onions Are the Secret to This 96-Year-Old Oklahoma Burger Icon". Eater. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Fortney, Luke (2024-01-10). "Gotham Burger Social Club Serves New York's Best New Burger". Eater NY. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "There's A Small Town In Oklahoma Known For Its Truly Epic Burgers". Only in your state. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "Season 7, Ep. 3". IMdb.
Further reading
[edit]- Edge, John T. (2005). Hamburgers & Fries: An American Story. Penguin. pp. 25–29. ISBN 978-0-399-15274-0.