SLUGBURGER | HARD TIMES -- recipes from times of food scarcity

Slugburgers hail from Corinth, Mississippi. For thirty-one years they have been celebrated at the annual Slugburger Festival held there. Made with ground meat and extenders such as soy grits or cornmeal, these burgers were once sold for 5¢ which was also known as a "slug,' hence the name "slugburger." I'm fixing up two recipes for my first taste of a slugburger. 🤓 New videos every Thursday and Saturday 8 pm EST.

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This video is NOT sponsored. I just wanted to taste a slugburger. 😎

[RaggaBaby]

Omg when you stopped and listened to that bird I was just like: "I wished I could be happy like her"...

[ShanecaRene]

Oh dear God..I thought Emmy was eating slugs..with her fierce palate one can never be too sure what's going in her mouth lol

[DarkAndEpic]

Re: Meal extension

When I was younger, I remember my dad trying to figure out a way to stretch leftover chili for 4 of us for dinner. He ended up adding a couple of boxes of mac & cheese to it...and I definitely make that for dinner in the winter time, to this day. SO good.

[MrMegaManFan]

I can’t believe how deep the rabbit hole goes when you discover this channel - from prison recipes to MREs to poverty feud, and all presented by the most chipper happy going host imaginable. Never change Emmy, you’re great!

[bakujahn]

Emma’s the only YouTuber I know who gets excited when a bird interrupts them.

[CattailCat]

When I was in sixth grade, once every week a student from my class was chosen to go help the lunch lady so I recall when it was my week to help her, one day she made sloppy joes and her extender apparently to have enough sloppy joe filling to feed all the kids she added oatmeal to the hamburger and ketchup mixture I think it was. LOL of course I was sworn to secrecy by the lunch lady never to tell any of the kids that the oatmeal had been added and I never did till now :-). But the burgers were good oh, the oatmeal seem to mix right in with no problem and the kids never knew except me. Now I don't eat any meat or fish yeah, but I just had to share that bit of a nostalgic with you. I love all of your videos they're very informative and excellently presented. Thank you very much for all that you do, PS be careful of food poisoning, I do worry about that when you taste those Foods. :-)

[patrickporco]

Mix onions oats Worcestershire or steak sauce with ground beef for a fat juicy burger..very popular in the 60's

[mrpink]

My grandmother was part of the Weeks family and I grew up in the Corinth area. Little known fact about the old fashioned slug burger was that when meat was less available they would use congealed chicken or pigs blood from local butchers to take the place of some of the meat. This made it more like a black or blood sausage without the seasoning.

[tribalroselr]

Hard times and depression era can happen anytime in any person's life. Making food stretch and still taste great was a skill. These become comfort foods we crave whenever we get lonely and nostalgic.

[Toklineman]

If I were doing #2 with corn meal, I would put in a splash of beef stock: that corn meal was a lot drier than the bread crumbs, and the stock would help moisten it (and provide some beef flavor) that would result in a less dry sandwich.

[SammytheBeak]

Both my birds were talking right before you stopped and said, "did you hear that bird?"
I honestly think they like your videos as much as I do!

[moldymaude]

I thought Bugmas came early this year. Not disappointed though.

[TheApoohneicie]

When I was very little I went to visit my dad in Corinth, and he took me to a tiny shack that served slugburgers. They were AMAZING. I’ve always wanted to have another, but I lived in the Carolinas. Imagine my surprise when one of my fave people posts a video of a wonderful childhood memory.

[dancingnature]

My mom used to put two slices of bread in her meatloaf. I used to think it was some Depression era thing and left it out once. Changed the taste completely!!!!

[Ichithix]

When I was a kid my parents always stretched the burger meat with rice, with some egg as binder and a little bit of onion and bell pepper cooked in, they were a bit like mini meatloafs. I loved them.

[alo]

Growing up with 6 brothers and sisters, mom was a food stretcher to make sure we were fed. I've actually eaten this type of burger several times in my life. Moms not with us anymore but I'll still make these from time to time for my family. I love you mom.

[mandimahoney]

I saw the name and immediately knew what you were talking about! My nanny (grandma) made those all the time. She used a combo of bread and cornbread. Those were the Best! Miss you nanny!

[sweettartz]

When I worked at BK I always wondered why the old timers always ordered their Whoppers with only pickle, mustard and onion. This makes a lot of sense.

[MrTheMighty]

I'm from Corinth! I grew up eating slugburgers, and was surprised to stumble upon this video because I honestly didn't think anybody outside of about 30 miles of here had heard of them. I do feel like I outgrew them as I entered adulthood, but I definitely ate a LOT of these from the White Trolley and the flea market cafe. I've always gotten a kick out of telling people from other places about them, and it was awesome to see you had all the facts - or at least how we tell it here! Thanks, Emmy!

[moxiedawn]

I actually love "extending" the burger meat as a routine, not just for hard times. The reason is for that crispy/crunchy edge to the burger. Oats are also a great extender, particularly for meatloaf. I think when you are combining the meat with the bread or cornmeal or oats is the best time to add additional spices, like that red pepper or some ground black peppercorn. And I usually add a splash or two of worcestershire or other marinade.