Sid’s Diner is packed around lunchtime in El Reno, a small industrial town on Oklahoma’s section of Route 66 just west of Oklahoma City. The majority of customers in the establishment are chowing down on a sandwich that was created out of necessity but made well-known by affection, while the air is filled with the pungent aroma of crisping onions and hamburger grease.
Working the flat iron grill is Adam, the new owner of Sid’s Diner who will succeed his father Marty Hall. He places the beef mince patty, which has been moistened with a jumble of sweet onion slivers, onto the searing fire. He flips the burger onion-side down after the meat has reached a good, crispy crust, allowing the fat and the grill to work their caramelization magic.
In his lifetime, Marty estimates he has flipped five million hamburgers. He has built a living by creating the renowned Oklahoma fried onion burger, which consists of a small beef patty stuffed with grilled, caramelized onion and served on a crispy flat-grill bread. Even better, he created his own “onion burger spatula” using a masonry trowel.
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He lost one wife as a result of flipping burgers, but he also gained another one. His own three children—Adam, who is now in charge of the restaurant—were raised around the scent of onion burgers and had diner blood coursing through them. And it’s all down to the Oklahoma fried onion burger, which emerged from the Great Depression’s scarcity and gained the endearing moniker “Depression Burger” in the process.
The 1930s Great Depression in America resulted in high prices for hamburger beef. A young man named Ross Davis and his father established the Hamburger Inn in the sleepy town of El Reno, securing a prime spot alongside the newly constructed historic Route 66 road just as the economy collapsed.
The fried onion burger custom made famous during the Great Depression is continued by Adam Hall of Sid’s Diner (Courtesy of Adam Hall).
The fried onion burger custom made famous during the Great Depression is continued by Adam Hall of Sid’s Diner (Courtesy of Adam Hall).
Davis recognized that while hamburger meat was expensive, onions were inexpensive, as could only those who struggled through the Great Depression. He used the onions to stretch the beef a little bit further by frying up some sliced onions and smashing them into hamburger patties with a spatula. People adored the “Depression Burgers” he nicknamed them.
For Depression Burgers, customers still throng El Reno’s original fried onion burger eateries including Sid’s, Johnnie’s Hamburgers and Coneys, and Robert’s Grill. Every first weekend in May, the El Reno Main Street Association blocks the streets for Fried Onion Burger Day, where an estimated 30,000 people come to see the fire brigade prepare an 850lb fried onion burger. This is because the burger is so adored in the neighborhood.
Depression Burger popularity
Oklahoma experienced hardships during the Great Depression of the 1930s, just like many other states in the United States.
The Panhandle region of extreme northwest Oklahoma was being blown away, along with western Oklahoma. This was the Dust Bowl. Due to poor farming methods, the land had turned into a sea of sand and wind, and supplies of goods like meat were scarce.
During the Great Depression, everything was incredibly expensive in Oklahoma. But onions were inexpensive to raise, according to Larry O’Dell, the Oklahoma Historical Society’s director of development and communications. And when someone has a good concept, others will steal it. I imagine that word of the fried onion burger quickly spread throughout the state.
Onions cut into thin slices are placed on top of the burgers, which are then turned over to allow the onions to caramelize and cook into the beef (Credit: Choate House).
Onions cut into thin slices are placed on top of the burgers, which are then turned over to allow the onions to caramelize and cook into the beef (Credit: Choate House).
Although Davis is credited with creating the Depression Burger, the El Reno neighborhood as a whole embraced the Route 66 speciality. According to Shana Ford, executive director of El Reno’s Burger Day Festival, “This became what is considered to be the local delicacy in El Reno, and eventually, acquired taste spurred localized tradition.” “Fried onion burgers are what we are known for in the neighborhood, everyone agrees,”
In 1988, El Reno began its Main Street initiative. Shortly after, the Burger Day Festival debuted and quickly gained popularity, drawing tourists from all around Oklahoma and beyond. Everyone in attendance receives a bite of the 850lb Big Burger, which is made up of 350lb of meat, a 350lb handcrafted bun, 150lb of onions, and tons of pickles and mustard.
Ford boasted, “We have a 10 foot circular grill for the burger that flips, and a 12 foot convection oven for the rising and baking of the bread.
The fried onion burger was invented in El Reno. It has been passed down from one generation to the next, and we have made the best improvements to it.
Without taking into account the tens of thousands of burgers that Sid’s, Johnnie’s Hamburgers, Coneys, and Roberts cooked, The El Reno Main Street sold out of burgers for the first time ever last year. It’s been a fantastic weekend, Ford added. The fried onion burger was invented in El Reno. It has been handed down from father to son, and we have mastered it to the highest degree.
Every May, El Reno hosts an event called Fried Onion Burger Day that involves an 850-pound onion burger and draws around 30,000 people. (Credit: El Reno Main Street Association)
Every May, El Reno hosts an event called Fried Onion Burger Day that involves an 850-pound onion burger and draws around 30,000 people. (Credit: El Reno Main Street Association)
The ideal hamburger
At an early age, Marty Hall founded his burger business. He was born in El Reno and began working as a dishwasher at the age of 13 at a little burger joint named Johnnie’s Hamburgers and Coneys. The owner, Otis Bruce, ordered him to peel onions as his first task.
Marty stated, “I have never peeled so many onions in my life. I picked up how to make onion burgers there.
At the age of 19, he acquired the Dairy Hut, a nearby eatery where he served the renowned El Reno fried onion burger along with freshly cut fries and ice cream. Before establishing Sid’s Diner (named after his father) on an undeveloped corner in El Reno in 1989, he owned the Dairy Hut for 13 years, flipping burgers every day.
And ever since, business has been thriving. It’s incredible,” Marty gushed.
These days, Marty and Adam will prepare your fried onion burger along with any other fixings or condiments you like. The official method to consume the crispy burger, however, is simply with a little mustard and a couple slices of pickles, claim the Halls.
The fried onion burgers at Sid’s Diner are made to order, but according to the Halls, the ideal way to consume them is with some mustard and pickle slices. (Thanks to Adam Hall)
The fried onion burgers at Sid’s Diner are made to order, but according to the Halls, the ideal way to consume them is with some mustard and pickle slices. (Thanks to Adam Hall)
Marty claims that he uses an 80/20 grind of fine ground beef and extremely thinly sliced Spanish yellow onions to create the ideal burger. I mix salt and pepper in equal amounts. When we season the grill, we cover it with that pork salt (slabs of pork belly that have been severely salted) and burn it for around 30 to 40 minutes.
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The fried onion burger may have originated in El Reno, but a little town could not contain its deliciousness. Tucker’s Onion Burgers is comparatively new to Oklahoma City, which is home to the state’s capitol. The first of Tucker’s five restaurants, owned by Keith and Heather Paul, debuted on NW 23rd Street in Oklahoma City along the original Route 66.
It reminds me of the time when families would travel Route 66 and stop for burgers and shakes. We sought to put our own spin on that.
The fact that the original Tucker’s site sits on Route 66, often known as “The Mother Road,” is one of the things we appreciate about it. Our restaurant has that old 1950s vibe, Heather added. “It reminds me of the time when families would travel Route 66 and stop for burgers and shakes. On it, we wanted to put our own spin.
Heather strolled to a greasy spoon diner named The Western Cafe as a child in Oklahoma City, where she grew up in the shadow of the fabled onion burger.
She remarked, “I think probably everyone has an emotional tie to certain foods. I have a little bit of an emotional tie to the fried onion burger.” “Tucker’s is distinctive because it goes beyond the local. Located in Oklahoma. Who doesn’t enjoy hamburgers? Even if you’re not a fan of onions, it’s still really good.
In Oklahoma City, Tuckers’ original location along Route 66 still serves the double onion burger. Submitted by Heide Brandes
In Oklahoma City, Tuckers’ original location along Route 66 still serves the double onion burger. Submitted by Heide Brandes
Other eateries all around the state boast about their fried onion burgers, and most locals have a favorite place to get the dish. The sole female-owned restaurant in El Reno, Johnnie’s Hamburgers and Coneys, is well regarded. When Lacey Brickey was just 14 years old, she began working there. Later, she and her husband William purchased the business.
Since opening in 1946, only the amount of beef has been increased, according to Brickey. We use a quarter pound of meat, and we manually measure the onions. Many long-time customers still tell us that the burgers here still taste the same as they did 80 years ago.
The crispy, caramelized onion specialty, albeit originally from Oklahoma and developed out of necessity, has gained popularity in burger establishments across the country. Even elitist gourmet periodicals have praised the common sandwich. However, the sandwich is actually a taste of Oklahoma’s past and present for locals.
“We were raised on it. I ate onion burgers as a child. In addition to being excellent, O’Dell said that many generations have grown up eating it. I have no other way to put it except that it reminds me of Oklahoma. It has a familiar flavor.
