Slugburgers, hamburgers in which the meat has been supplemented with bread, meal, or crackers for filler, come from a triangular region that cuts across northern Alabama, northern Mississippi, and southern Tennessee and roughly corresponds with
the Tennessee Valley. They're called slugburgers in
Moulton, Alabama;
Decatur, Alabama; and
Corinth, Mississippi; doughburgers in
Tupelo, Mississippi; and breadburgers in
Cullman, Alabama. This regional take on the hamburger
became popular during the Great Depression, when the price of meat made it necessary to use fillers to extend supply. Though the exact origin of the term is disputed, it is most commonly held that Slugburgers got their name from the coin used to pay for them: when each burger cost 5¢, you could pay for one with a nickel which was then also called a slug. Corinth, Mississippi, has held
an annual Slugburger Festival since 1988. Take
a photographic tour of the Slugburger Trail.
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posted by ocherdraco
on Sep 18, 2009 -
78 comments
