Slumgullion

It’s a landmark day; I looked up the meaning of Slumgullion for the first time. My folks made this simple hamburger, onion, tomato, macaroni dish for years and I never once thought about the name. My assumption was always that it was made the same in every household. The poor might be able to afford it, its economy was probably part of what helped keep the middle class in the middle and if the rich never had it, well, sorry for them. It is the ultimate comfort food hot or cold (I’m munching it cold for breakfast this morning). Far predating Hamburger Helper, it’s simplicity makes you wonder why folks fall for those prepackaged ingredients full of chemicals you’re body doesn’t need and cardboard that requires recycling. (It just occurred to me that, mid century, our "recycling bin" was a burning barrel-and we lived in the city.)

Ah, but back to Slumgullion and its commercially generated spawn, Hamburger Helper. Does the fact that Slumgullion and its like are so easy to make from scratch say something about the Hamburger Helper fans being challenged by larder stocking skills? Do many people think one meal at a time? Actually, my culinarily creative husband is an inveterate one-meal-at-a-time thinker. “How do I know what I’ll be hungry for a week from now?” he laments when chided. It works, though, because I’ve become a larder stocker. It's something he takes advantage of and I don’t say anything about because he isn’t going to change and he’s such a good cook. Slumgullion doesn’t take a fancy larder, though. No capers needed.

One evening enjoying a gourmet dinner out with friends the subject of Slumgullion came up. “My Mom made that!” a friend exclaimed when told of the ingredients but we called it (I can’t remember the name he used but it was as odd sounding as Slumgullion, starting with a T, I think.) Since then, I've asked alot of people about Slumgullion and everyone with whom I’ve used the term instantly knew the meaning. It might have been made with slight differences in their households but there was a universal understanding. I don’t hang with the super rich, so I don’t know if they were Slumgullion deprived.

Here is our family’s recipe for Slumgullion. You could fancy it up with chopped olives, Parmesan cheese and other stuff, I guess, but plain is still amazing. I do cheat a bit and use Marinara sauce instead of plain tomato sauce. I’d love to hear of other approaches to it and of other names given to the concoction. And, by the way, the first offering of the definition I found bothered me a bit (the word cesspool was in there somewhere) but the last definition fit it to a T – meat stew.

Slumgullion

Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger
1 large onion, chopped
Tomato sauce (I would guess 2 14oz cans. I used a jar of marinara sauce and about 4 Tbsps. tomato paste because I have good larder stocking skills.)
2 cups elbow macaroni (that’s 2 cups when uncooked)
1 Tbsp. sugar
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Brown the hamburger and chopped onion. Drain excess grease. Dump in tomato sauce, cooked macaroni, sugar and salt. Stir together and heat.