Attack of the Jumbo Cornburger

Well, it was not quite an attack.  In fact, it was actually quite nice.  I made the Jumbo Cornburger recipe as printed in the August 1955, issue of Better Homes & Gardens magazine just the other day.  A big thank you to a Mrs. Reed W. Payne of Centralia, Illinois for submitting it to the magazine – if she is still living.  If not, well, um, I don’t know.

Anyway, I was very skeptical about this recipe.  It sounded a little odd – corn on the inside and beef on the outside?  The corn filling makes up the “burger” part and the ground beef makes up the “bun” part. 

Aside from an 8-inch pie plate, I did not have the 8-inch round baking dish the recipe instructed me to use.  I thought about using the pie plate then decided to go with a 9-inch round casserole that was hiding in my cupboard.  And let me tell you, when you look at one pound of ground beef and you have to split it in half so you have enough to make a top and a bottom “bun”, you get a little nervous.  I panicked and added ½ cup of old fashioned oatmeal to increase the amount of ground beef I had to work with and I am really glad that I did.  I am also glad that I went with the 9-inch casserole over the 8-inch pie plate because with two thin layers of ground beef and the corn filling, it would have been more than the pie plate could have handled – even if I had not added the oatmeal.

I was going to serve my Jumbo Cornburger with a nice salad but when it came time for dinner, I decided I did not feel like eating a second salad that day so I just toasted a slice of my homemade bread and sprinkled a little garlic powder and fresh Parmesan cheese on it and it worked out quite nice.  My picky eater gobbled up his wedge of the Jumbo Cornburger and declared that it was, “really good” several times!

Jumbo Cornburger

Serves 6 – 8

“Bun” Ingredients

·        1 lb ground beef

·        1 beaten egg

·        ½ cup old fashioned oatmeal (Not in original recipe)

·        ½ cup seasoned tomato sauce (I used plain and mixed in a few of my favorite spices from the cupboard – garlic & Italian seasoning)

·        1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

·        1 teaspoon salt

·        Dash of pepper

“Burger” Ingredients

·        1 ½ cups drained, cooked corn or canned whole kernel corn

·        ½ cup dry bread crumbs

·        ¼ cup diced green pepper (I skipped this as I am not a fan of green pepper)

·        ¼ cup chopped onion (I added extra to help make up for the ingredients I skipped)

·        2 tbsp chopped pimento (I skipped this as I am also not a fan of pimento)

·        ½ tsp salt

·        ¼ tsp sage

Other Ingredients

·        ½ cup grated cheese (I used a sharp cheddar)

·        Sour Cream (Optional)

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 350°F.

2.   Combine Beef, egg, sauces, salt and pepper.

3.   Spread half of beef mixture in an 8-inch round baking dish.

4.   In a separate bowl, combine corn, bread crumbs, green pepper, onion, pimento, salt and sage.

5.   Spread corn mixture evenly over top of the beef layer in the dish.

6.   Spread remaining beef mixture evenly on top of the corn mixture.

7.   Bake at 350°F for 45 – 50 minutes or until beef is nicely browned and cooked through.

8.   Remove from oven, sprinkle with shredded cheese, return to oven and bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

9.   Serve plain or with a dollop of sour cream.

Comment below if you have ever been pleasantly surprised with a new recipe!