Slug Burgers?

[mlsandy]

John T Edge wrote a great piece on slug burgers in an Oxford American issue perhaps last year or the year before.  I believe there is a place in Mississippi (and perhaps it was Corinth) where Slug Burgers were still king.  John T's conclusion, if I may paraphrase, was that they tasted like dirt.  I'll probably take his word on this subject!

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Most people in and around Corinth would take great exception to any reference to slugburgers tasting like dirt. There are always differences of opinion when it comes to taste- most local restaurants serving slugburgers also offer "beef burgers" which are conventional hamburgers. If you observe patronage at any of these restaurants you'll notice the slugburgers outsell the "beef burgers" 20 to 1.

You really shouldn't form your taste opinions based on other's second hand prejudices. The slugburger festival is held each year the weekend following the Fourth of July. This year its coming up July 8th-9th. The featured entertainer is Mac McAnally, originally a local nearby Tishomingo county native. Come taste the real thing and form your own opinion.

Milton Sandy, Jr.

Corinth, Misssissippi

Edited July 4, 2005 by mlsandy (log)

[highchef]

doesn't Zwolle LA have a tamale queen??

Cameron has a fur queen...ever see a nutria skinning contest?

There's a rice festival somewhere around here...rice queen ...sounds a little vanilla.

Then there's every little mardi gras queen from every krewe in every city in Louisiana (except maybe for those above Alex..)

[joiei]

Brooks, would the Queen of the Destin Fising Rodeo count? I think they refer to her as Miss Destin.

[Mallet]

a slug is also a unit of weight, equal to about 32 lbs. Just how big are these things anyways ?

[mlsandy]

a slug is also a unit of weight, equal to about 32 lbs. Just how big are these things anyways  ?

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Slugburgers around Corinth are usually just the size of regular hamburgers around 3 or 4 ozs. Served on a plain white bread regular size hamburger bun they usually stick out a little over the edges with a crispy texture due to the breading component of the meat mixture. The onion, pickle and mustard contrasts with the crisp texture of the fried meat patty. They are usually mashed thin before being dropped into the deep fat to fry.

Off the top of my head, I can't see too much connection with the slug weight but you never know.

Milton Sandy, Jr.

Corinth, MS

[Mayhaw Man]

There's a rice festival somewhere around here...rice queen ...sounds a little vanilla.

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That would be in Crowley.

Louisiana is not like your state, it's not like any state. Check out our Festival Queens

And don't fool yourself, the Stateliness of the Queen is not directly related to the seeming baseness of the Festival Criteria. For example, check out the Swine Queen. You'll see.

[Lan4Dawg]

I will take two festival queens to go w/ a side of runner-ups and a couple of Miss Congenialities for later.

Fuss was queen of some festival or another down near Covington many, many years ago and claims that she has never yet used it on her resume`. I maintain that she is just not creative enough.

Back to the subject at hand how ever.....

the main thing I remember about Corinth, MS is that I had read in several WBTS guide books that the town was "dry". Thinking that meant that I could not get a drink & would have to bring my own I had the usual assortment packed for "traveling purposes". When we were checking in to the B&B the owner was helping us w/ our bags and mentioned that the county was "dry". I responded that I had read that hence I had brought my own. He told me that the county was "DRY" which according to the county law (at least at the time) was that any one caught w/ liquor was subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and a night in jail. Not wishing to argue the point I returned every thing to the trunk and became a tea-totaller for the couple of days we were there. Hopefully the statute of limitations has run its course and the good public officials of Corinth will not be at my door step in the a.m. about that which was in my trunk.

[mlsandy]

Back to the subject at hand how ever.....

the main thing I remember about Corinth, MS is that I had read in several WBTS guide books that the town was "dry".  Thinking that meant that I could not get a drink & would have to bring my own I had the usual assortment packed for "traveling purposes".  When we were checking in to the B&B the owner was helping us w/ our bags and mentioned that the county was "dry".  I responded that I had read that hence I had brought my own.  He told me that the county was "DRY" which according to the county law (at least at the time) was that any one caught w/ liquor was subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and a night in jail.  Not wishing to argue the point I returned every thing to the trunk and became a tea-totaller for the couple of days we were there.  Hopefully the statute of limitations has run its course and the good public officials of Corinth will not be at my door step in the a.m. about that which was in my trunk.

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Corinth has a peculiar history in regard to liquor. The whole state of Mississippi was dry until 1966 when Prohibition was finally repealed. Mississippi had a "blackmarket" tax on beer. Actually had a revenue stamp for an illegal product. This is not to mean liquor wasn't available- it was just bootleg everywhere. Corinth is very near the state line of Tennessee/Mississippi and the area where most of events in the book and movie "Walking Tall" were based. Corinth has a rich "honky-tonk" history involving liquor and bootlegging.

After 1966, Corinth was wet for about 10 or 12 years- wet being liquor was legal in the city, beer was not. A countywide election was held and liquor voted out. The city then held an election and voted in beer. So for the last 25 years or so, beer has been sold in Corinth but no liquor. Enforcement is not that rigorous in the city and most people who drank liquor still drink it, just not openly.

Milton Sandy, Jr.

Corinth, Mississippi

[suzilightning]

John T Edge wrote a great piece on slug burgers in an Oxford American issue perhaps last year or the year before.  I believe there is a place in Mississippi (and perhaps it was Corinth) where Slug Burgers were still king.  John T's conclusion, if I may paraphrase, was that they tasted like dirt.  I'll probably take his word on this subject!

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and it looks like this included in his newest book "Hamburgers & Fries: An American Story"