Hamburger America: Dyer's Burgers
This clip is an excerpt from burger documentary Hamburger America by filmmaker and burgermeister George Motz. The complete video is available on DVD at Mr. Motz's website, HamburgerAmerica.com
Burger documentarian George Motz visits Dyer's Burgers in Memphis to investigate the joint's unique deep-fried hamburgers.
"Back then, they didn't have the flat tops and all this, so they cook in a cast-iron skillet," Dyer's owner Tom Robertson says. "As you cook more burgers, the grease grows, and eventually it becomes a deep-fried hamburger. We strain and process our grease daily, but we've never thrown it out and started over, so somewhere in there's molecules from 1912. That's what makes it so good."
Further Reading
Dyer's Burgers [Roadfood.com]
Hamburger America [Director George Motz's website]
7 Comments
11:37AM on 12/06/06
So I'm no food scientist or health inspector, but are there any dangers in reusing that oil from 1912? And what's the advantage of deep-frying a hamburger versus the "normal" method? Does it make it more tender? Does it just taste like a big ball of grease? These are the questions I am left with after watching this hamburger video.
5:39PM on 12/06/06
Having eaten at *three* of the Dyer's I feel imminently qualified to comment. I ate at the original on Cleveland when I first came to Memphis. It was in a shack, a shack that *still* in 1984 had "black" and "white" entrances. Oh , the signs were down but it was obvious what the past had held. There is none of the original "grease" at any of the Dyer's now. There was a big press deal when they moved to Bartlett and had a police escort for the "grease." This was when the feuding over just who was the "real" Dyer's began. Then the original closed and moved just up the street on Cleveland. Owned by Vietnamese. They still made the burgers, but added Vietnamese items to the menu. Then they closed. The one downtown came along late in the game and I actually have no idea who owns it since there have been various people claiming to be derived from the original for years. Don't know if you detailed any of this history in your audio as I keep mine turned off as I find audio annoying. I used to get a bag ful of these burgers for my professional class since I consider them the absolute ultimate greaseburger. Hey, this ain't something I am particularly proud of - just something I happen to know a little about.
5:43PM on 12/06/06
Oh, and the original Dyer's had a sign on the wall that read: "We dip 'em, McDonald's don't." This alluding to the fact that insiders could get their bun dipped in the grease the burgers were fried in.
10:25AM on 12/07/06
I love it that they call it grease. Not oil, not even drippings. It's grease.
Also I think I just learned the secret to getting a nice, flat, round hamburger patty. My handformed ones always end up as too thick pucks.
10:55AM on 12/07/06
Hambuger America certainly influenced my recent trip to the States, trying to eat at as many burger joints featured in the film.
Dyers has to be the second most memorable of them all. It's quite the experience to sit at the counter and wonder if you're breathing in calorie-infused air. The way they pound those things into the ground then fry them until you're sure they're overcooked. But the moment you bite into those greese monsters, you realize why people still come into here after all these years. (Despite the multiple owner/locations.) It's just that good.
But I have to add, the fries were better than the burger, and that's saying a lot. They were phenomenal.
2:17PM on 12/07/06
Well, the fries at the Vietnamese incaranation were atrocious. While I do love Vietnamese food, the egg rolls and fries were done in the same fryer. Somehow the pairing didn't work.
4:47PM on 02/02/07
I lived in Memphis years ago and had the good luck of having a friend take me to the original. I was skeptical at first but after taking the first bite, I fell in love with their burgers. The double/double was the best I have ever had.
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