This is more a reminiscence than a recipe, and you can blame – and ultimately thank – Ann Whitaker for it. Ann was an Abilene High classmate – a year behind me – and when she contacted me via Facebook, she flashed a huge credential: "My aunt and uncle owned Baum's."
Immediately, with those words, there appeared a complete memory of a Baum's No. 4. Baum's was a drive-in hamburger joint on South 7th, complete with carhops, at the corner of Ross or Meander, one of the streets in that stretch. This was in the era of 1957-61. The Baum's No. 4 was a hamburger with chili and cheese. The flat bun was six inches across and the meat was pressed flat and broiled. The complete name of the place was Baum's Broiled Burgers. Memory tells me that before it was Baum's, it was Buck's. But memory, half a century later, can be tricky. The No. 4 may in fact have been the one with barbecue sauce and thin-sliced onion. Which means the No. 1 would have been the chili and cheese. I ordered both, regularly.
You may have picked up on the adjectives "flat" and "thin-sliced" as signatures of stretch cooking. Profit margins being what they were – and are – you don't have to go any farther than a McDonald's or Burger King to see the principles at work. And they did work, at Baum's, or I wouldn't have this holographic vision, complete with aroma, of a No. 4, a hamburger I last ate in the Kennedy Administration.
At home, to this day, I always get flat, wide buns (my present bun of choice is the Orowheat Onion bun, eight to the package, and they freeze wonderfully) and 80 percent lean beef, pressed into flat patties. I slice the onions very thin, more for reasons of nuance than parsimony, and for chiliburgers and chili dogs, I use canned chili, no beans, Hormel or Wolf (the best, available online). You should never use homemade chili on hamburgers, hot dogs, or waffles. Canned has far the better generic texture and taste for mixed use.
The same holds with the barbecue burger. Homemade barbecue sauce is far too sophisticated to spoon onto a hamburger. The redder and cheaper the better. Smash the patty flat, season with salt and pepper, and either fry them in a skillet or grill them outside. It is a good idea to toast the bun, not for flavor so much as strength. These things can get soggy. Put some mustard on the bottom bun, then the patty, then chili (not TOO much) and then grated cheese, and also onion if you like. For the barbecue burger, you can use mustard or sauce on the bottom bun (Baum's always used sauce), then the patty, then some more sauce, then the thin-sliced onion.
Sorry, this recipe comes without carhops and real French fries, or 15-cent gas. In the Baum's days, four guys could chip in a quarter each for gas and we could cruise all night.
Your chili, dog, bun, talk has me craving a West Virginia hot dog! What's that? you say. Well, it's a hot dog with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. Fans have their own variations. Some prefer no onion or possibly no mustard but for me it has to be just like this... steam the bun, boil the dog, mustard goes on the bun first (I like a lot), then the dog, then chili (all meat recipe with lots of kick), then the slaw. The slaw has to be sweet and simple. Then chopped onion tops off the masterpiece that should be nearly impossible to fit in your mouth. You have to build for strength, eat them fast and plan to have more than one. They tend to fall apart but that's half the fun of eating one. You have to have a second, just to take another stab at building it just right, with the hope the second (or third) one won't fall apart before your on the last bite.
ReplyDeleteThey are such a staple in WV you can order one at the local Dairy Queen.
So I would have to say I disagree with your canned chili requirement. No self respecting West By God Virginian would use canned chili on a WV hot dog.
I think I'll be having WV hot dogs this weekend! Thanks for sharing.