Corinth, Mississippi – The Slugburger Capitol of the World!
Slugburgers – are they really that good? Or when that unique flavor touches your taste buds do they stir-up old memories of days gone by, you either like this taste… or leave it in the trash. I love it.
It’s kinda like when the restaurant critic in the movie Ratatouille took a bite of his favorite dish and the taste immediately took him back to memories of his childhood.
I am of course describing a Slugburger, a “burger” that was created out of necessity and sold during the depression for a nickel – a “Slug Nickel”.
So, let’s start with the name, “Slug.” The burgers were sold for a nickel back then, and the slang word for a nickel back in the day was “Slug,” which naturally led to the name “Slugburger.”
The metal slugs or knockouts I’m familiar with were usually leftover plugs from electrical junction boxes… let me explain, electricians use metal boxes, referred to as “junction” boxes, for wiring light switches, receptacles, etc., these junction boxes are made out of stamped metal. To make a hole in a junction box to insert the electrical wire, there are pre-punched holes, they hang on by a thin piece of metal, you next take a hammer or the end of a screwdriver and knock a hole out, the leftover piece of coin-shaped metal that is knocked out of the box were often referred to as a slug.
Years ago the metal for the junction boxes was thicker, and very close to the size of a U.S. Nickel, and might have been used to trick a parking meter, or to get a soda, (they were 15¢ back then) you could slip that slug in just right and maybe put a little spin on it, and fool that machine into taking that slug… for a nickel. Yes, eventually the vendors caught on and the machines haven’t been able to take slugs for years, but it was a thing.
So, now you know what a Slug Nickel is, and where the name Slugburger came from, and if you’re from Corinth, Mississippi, well, you’ve probably heard the rest of the story, but here’s the condensed version – back in the early 1900’s when we rationed food, an extender was added, the original filler was probably potato flour and added to make the hamburger meat go a little farther, the hand-formed patties were fried up in a pan of hot lard, (no Crisco back then) slap it on a bun with mustard pickle and onion and eat it warm, I always squirt a little extra mustard on mine.
