Stewed burgers. I'm really curious as to how many people know about them.

Submitted by aquaticquiet t3_10j7yv0 in Pennsylvania

So my SO's family were friends with a guy who made the best stewed burgers ever. (Apparently.) I assume he made them in a crockpot because I think he delivered them in one whenever he made a batch for them. That might be a false memory though. Anyway, when he was sick my SO's mom asked him for the recipe but he said he was taking it with him and did indeed do that.

I never tried them but I randomly remembered they were a thing like yesterday after years had passed. I googled them and I found literally only one recipe. Apparently it's very specific to a few areas in PA?

So anyone ever had them? Got a family recipe you're open to sharing? I kind of want to take a shot at making them.

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Leather_Sprinkles865 t1_j5j7aqx wrote

Cook the burgers halfway then put them in a casserole dish. Sautee 1 onion with garlic and butter put over top of burgers, sprinkle with more garlic, bottle of ketchup with a little Worcestershire sauce, cover and bake for a while. I think I was told they can go in the crock pot too. Never heard of them either but tried them last year and got the recipe. They were so easy and a hit with the family.

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heeroguy t1_j5jau69 wrote

coney island pottsville baby

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aquaticquiet OP t1_j5jc83q wrote

I haven't been there in years. I imagine they're getting more customers since the Sheetz is gone at the moment.

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heeroguy t1_j5jcdsp wrote

haven't been there since it has been torn down, i usually send my wife after practice =)

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Cogatanu7CC95 t1_j5jts65 wrote

There is actually a website with the recipe on it from a Schuylkill resident, has a lot of the region's recipes, and most of em family recipes; which makes it easy for me to make my favs since I no longer live in Schuylkill. https://www.acoalcrackerinthekitchen.com/

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Dark_passenger666 t1_j5k47bm wrote

>Stewed burgers.

That is a great website. Brings back a lot of memories from my youth in the Anthracite region.

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Educational_Leg626 t1_j5mu9ck wrote

This woman has helped me feed my western pa husband coal region style. He was eating the wrong pot pie for 30 years, it was so hard to watch.

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ltahaney t1_j5j1cux wrote

Probably an adaptation of central/eastern European kebab type things like cevapi (Balkans) or kotlety (Poland)

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dalex89 t1_j5j6tpa wrote

Sounds like meatballs

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philpalmer2 t1_j5jo2hg wrote

Why take the recipe to the grave? That’s just odd

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aquaticquiet OP t1_j5kq2bp wrote

No idea. People are weird about recipes sometimes I've noticed.

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FaithlessnessCute204 t1_j5u2799 wrote

I have one that’s going with me because it’s so easy I don’t want people realizing just how low effort I’ve been over the last 20 years

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artificialavocado t1_j5izuen wrote

Yes. My brother makes them they are amazing. He does them on the grill and then puts them in a crock pot. You don’t even need a roll you can eat them with some potatoes and some corn or whatever. I think he just uses beef broth or maybe au jois.

Edit: if you are in the Skook maybe they are some coal region thing? I never thought of them as being a regional food.

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aquaticquiet OP t1_j5j1u37 wrote

I am in the Skook, unfortunately. I've heard of them throughout my life but never realized it wasn't a nationwide food until I also noticed no one really talks about or makes them anymore. Granted I don't talk to a lot of people. 👀

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artificialavocado t1_j5j5h4y wrote

That’s like the one silver lining of living around here. The local foods are pretty damn awesome and you can’t find much of it once you leave the coal region. That reminds me I wanted to try getting over to Shenandoah this week to get a few pounds of kielbasa. That stuff is the best. Shenandoah was feeling a little too stabby the last time I was over there lol.

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aquaticquiet OP t1_j5j5t8k wrote

Haha. I have heard the place in Shenandoah has people come from out of state for their Kielbasa so maybe it's worth the risk of getting stabbed?

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ColleenKessock t1_j5jj7uu wrote

Can confirm. Stab risk is much lower than the satisfaction provided by Kowalonek's kielbasa. I often encounter people from out of state with very long lists when I go there

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GraffitiTavern t1_j5m49ik wrote

Same thing here but for South Central PA, PA has so many fun regional quirks

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Luvs2spooge89 t1_j5jecqg wrote

I’ve only had them twice, both times at a picnic in the coal region.

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pasupermoto t1_j5ix8d1 wrote

Yes. Made with stewed onions and a red sauce

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j5j56gb wrote

Interesting.

Found this recipe:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/274604/stewed-burgers/

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infernaldragonboner t1_j5jazc8 wrote

I’m having a weird flashback to my grandmother (from the suburbs outside of Philadelphia) making what she’d called “California cheeseburgers” that were actually burger paddies without buns with tomato sauce. I wonder if this was the origin of that. I googled California cheeseburger and I just see a bunch of stuff about in-n-out and stuff.

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jek39 t1_j5jg5yz wrote

That sounds like a depression era meal. My grandmother (also Philly burbs) used to make “muscle makers”. Slice of white bread, yellow mustard, sprinkled with sugar.

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dalex89 t1_j5jhhpv wrote

In Georgia we had sugar sandwiches, just slightly toasted buttered bread with some sugar sprinkled on

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allthingsparrot t1_j5jzvuy wrote

My grandmother (from Philly) used to make SOS aka Shit on a Shingle. Creamed beef on white bread lol

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dalex89 t1_j5jl9ts wrote

I think the mainstream perception of Cali cheeseburgers is just a regular cheeseburger but with lettuce, tomato and onion, maybe mayo.

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infernaldragonboner t1_j5jsh04 wrote

Yeah I think this may have just been a within-family name for the dish. I know she moved to California with my grandad for a bit before they got married so it may be that they ate it a lot out there and named it that, but that’s just speculation on my part

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steampunkedunicorn t1_j5lluji wrote

I moved here 3 years ago from California and the lack of lettuce, onion, and tomato on burgers was an unwelcome culture shock.

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ontimpaul t1_j5jiabu wrote

Sounds like a Burrys Burger! They used to be a staple at the York Fair. If i remember, the recipe has diced onions, ketchup, Worchestershire sauce, and grape jelly. Most folks just call them Crockburgers. I love them!

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LadyNorbert t1_j5jthua wrote

I literally never heard of them until this post and the comments are fascinating.

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ConcreteThinking t1_j5kvl5o wrote

Sometimes referred to as Sale Burgers in southern pa because they were common at church bizarres, public sales and the like. The burgers I know of were half cooked in a frying pan or flat-top then stacked in crock pots or steamer trays. Sauce was ketchup thinned down 1:2 with water and seasoned with a little each of mustard, Worcestershire sauce, minced onion, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar. Then they stewed for a while in the liquid.

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THRlTY t1_j5ld3g7 wrote

Thanks to this thread I'm also only just now learning that stewed burgers are a local thing. They should be more widespread, stewed burgers are great

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Aguyontheinterwebs t1_j6cmud2 wrote

My mom used to make them for cookouts and family gatherings. They're made in a cockpot like you mentioned. In true Skook fashion, we only get together when someone gets married or when someone dies, so they've been at every wedding and funeral get together. I can ask my mom how she makes them.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j5jhzjj wrote

Stu.burger is on insta. So is stu.burga

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