In the 1920s and 1930s Oklahoma was in the throes of The Great Depression and the Dustbowl both. It was a very difficult time financially and many people in Oklahoma were having a very difficult time even feeding their families. Millions of Oklahoman’s left the state with many fleeing to California looking for a better life. The term Okie is used with pride in Oklahoma to this day but in 1930s California it was actually a very derogatory term for the migrants who flooded the migrant labor and farm labor jobs. The images of Okies leaving the state headed west with mattresses tied on the tops of their cars or hopping trains are something quite powerful to behold. Their resilience was impressive but the people who stayed were just as, if not more resilient. This was a time when people discovered the best way to cook opossum for instance or, at the very least stretch whatever food they had to its furthest.
During the 1920s in Ardmore, there was a restaurant called Hamburger Inn, run by Ross Davis. In order to keep costs down, they developed a proto-smash burger which featured more onion than meat. On the Origin of the dish, in his book, Hamburger America, George Motz quotes Mart Hall from Sid’s in El Reno.
It was back in the twenties, back during the Depression. Onions were cheap then and hamburger meat was expensive. Same as it is now. But we were a lot poorer then. So Ross came up with this idea of adding onions to the burgers and smashing them into the meat with the back of his spatula. He called them Depression burgers and he’d smash a half-onion’s worth of shreds into a five-cent burger…
While they were made all over the western half of the state, Johnnie’s in El Reno started in 1946 and Sid’s is there as well. This small city, adjacent to Oklahoma City, is considered to be the standard-bearer for this cornerstone of Oklahoma cuisine.
It was basically poor person’s food, prepared simply but wonderfully and served economically. That is still the way it is done, at least if done properly. They should be served mustard, ketchup or mayo, a pickle or two and a side of french fries typically, but tater tots and fried pickles have both become very popular in present-day Oklahoma. The side is typically iced tea or lemonade in the summer, but, one can always get really fancy and mix them for an Arnold Palmer.
This recipe is just the basic idea of how to make them. You can obviously adjust the recipe size up or down and these are estimated quantities. I stick to a ratio of 1/2 an onion per patty and the patties around 1/6th pound each.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. Ground Beef
- 3 Medium Onions (white or yellow are fine, no need for anything fancy like a Vidalia since the subtleties will be cooked out anyway)
- Black Pepper (To taste)
- Salt (To taste)
- Old Bay Seasoning (To taste, not traditional but AWESOME in these burgers!)
- 6 Hamburger Buns
- Real Butter (To spread on the buns and for the onions)
Method:
- Slice all of the onions paper thin on a mandoline (This can be done by hand but takes more time and knife skills)
- Add salt and pepper to the ground beef and form balls about 1/6th of a pound each
- Make very thin patties out of the balls ( I usually dust them with Old Bay at this point)
- Put some butter in a skillet and add about 1/2 an onion per patty that you are cooking at a time (It looks like a lot, trust me, that’s the point)
- Let the onions caramelize and cook down a bit, then separate them into piles the size of the patties if you want (This can make it easier but isn’t necessary
- Put the patties on top of the onions and smash them down (the steam from the onions cooks through the burgers and makes them truly exquisite!)
- Put some butter on the buns and toast them on a griddle or griddle pan (This is necessary so they don’t become a soggy mess when you serve them)
- Top with the condiment of your choice and a couple of pickles and the side of your choice (Fried okra or pickles are true Oklahoma classics!)
Fried pickles recipe
These are always a huge hit and are super easy. They also are impressive and LARGE!
Ingredients:
- 10 Pickle Spears
- 4 Eggs
- 4 oz. Heavy Whipping Cream
- Flour
- Garlic Powder to (taste)
- Black Pepper (To taste but we like a lot)
- Old Bay Seasoning (To taste but we like a lot)
- Peanut Oil
Method:
- Mix the flour black pepper and garlic powder
- Mix the eggs and cream
- Dust the spears with Old Bay Seasoning
- Dip the pickle spears in the flour, then the egg mixture, then back into the flour
- Fry them in peanut oil at 375 degrees until golden brown and crispy
- Remove to a draining rack so they stay nice and crispy
Put it all together and enjoy Oklahoma Great Depression Onion Burgers!
