A slinger is an
American Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
diner
A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
specialty typically consisting of two eggs,
hash browns
Hash browns, also spelled hashed browns, are a popular American and British breakfast food, consisting of finely chopped potatoes that have been fried until browned. Hash browns first started appearing on breakfast menus in New York City in th ...
, and a
ground beef
Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder (American English), mincer or mincing machine (British English). It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, m ...
(or other type of meat)
patty
A patty or burger (in British English) is a flattened, usually round, serving of ground meat and/or legumes, grains, vegetables, or meat alternatives. Patties are found in multiple cuisines throughout the world.
In British and American Eng ...
, all covered in
chili con carne
Chili con carne (also spelled chilli con carne or chile con carne and shortened to chili or chilli; ), meaning " chili with meat", is a spicy stew containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), tomatoes an ...
(with or without beans) and generously topped with cheese (
cheddar or
American) and onions. The eggs can be any style. Hot sauce is usually served on the side. The slinger is considered to be a
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...
late-night culinary original. It is described as "a hometown culinary invention: a mishmash of meat, hash-fried potatoes, eggs, and chili, sided with your choice of ham, sausage, bacon, hamburger patties, or an entire T-bone steak.
Variations
There are numerous variations of the basic slinger:
*"Top one": has a
tamale
A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tama ...
served on top of the slinger.
*"Vegetarian": uses
veggie burgers and veggie chili.
*"The Tobey"/"the Hoosier": slinger that has white
gravy
Gravy is a sauce often made from the juices of meats that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or corn starch for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a simple mix of salt ...
instead of chili. (Named after a customer at Tiffany's Original Diner.)
*"Ying and yang": slinger covered in half chili and half gravy. A customer favorite at Tiffany's Original Diner, and named by manager Tom Gray. (The yin and yang is both light and dark in color.)
*"The Jared": slinger with equal amounts of chili and white gravy.
*"The JP slinger": slinger with hamburger patty, extra onions and extra chili.
*"Devil's delight": slinger without the hamburgers patties at Courtesy Diner.
*"Chicago style": served with white bread toast on the side, burgers are specified as "cheeseburger patties", eggs are specified as over easy, and must contain grilled onions.
See also
*
St. Louis cuisine
*
Garbage Plate, the Rochester, New York-area style plate piled with diner type foods.
*
Horseshoe sandwich
The horseshoe is an open-faced sandwich originating in Springfield, Illinois, United States. It consists of thick-sliced toasted bread (often Texas toast), a hamburger patty or other choice of meat, French fries, and cheese sauce.
While ham ...
, Springfield, Illinois open-faced sandwich covered with fries and cheese sauce.
*
Hot hamburger plate, an open-faced sandwich covered with fries and gravy.
*
Cincinnati chili
Cincinnati chili (or Cincinnati-style chili) is a Mediterranean-spiced list of meat-based sauces, meat sauce used as a topping for spaghetti or hot dogs ("coneys"); both dishes were developed by immigrant restaurateurs in the 1920s. In 2013, Sm ...
, a Midwestern style of chili often served piled high.
*
Loco moco, Hawaiian dish with many foods served on rice.
*
Poutine
Poutine () is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims regarding it ...
, a Quebec dish, made with French fries, topped with brown gravy and curd cheese.
References
Cuisine of St. Louis
Egg dishes
Potato dishes
Food combinations
American breakfast foods
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