The Flavorful History of the Hamburger

Close your eyes and envision a hamburger. Whether it's overflowing with lettuce, tomatoes, and a generous squeeze of ketchup, you can be sure that the classic image in your mind includes a bun. Without it, you’re left with just a hamburger patty, which was once called a hamburger steak (or hamburg steak).

Ever wondered who created the first hamburger? You’re not alone. Below, uncover more intriguing details about the hamburger’s evolution—from its origins in minced beef and suet recipes to White Castle’s iconic “sliders,” and beyond.

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From Hamburg Sausage to Hamburg Steak

How a dish named after a German city transformed into one of America’s favorite foods remains a puzzle wrapped in a riddle, all served up on a sesame seed bun.

The earliest mention of what would become the hamburger appears in a 1763 English cookbook. In Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse outlines how to make a Hamburgh sausage. The recipe involves combining minced beef with suet, spices, wine, and rum, stuffing it into a gut, and then smoking and drying it. While the final steps turn it into a sausage, the minced beef, fat, and spices could easily be considered a hamburg steak, a dish defined as salted and smoked minced beef.

The first recorded mention of hamburg steak dates back to the 1870s when it began appearing in restaurants. In San Francisco, a menu from the Clipper Restaurant between 1871 and 1884 listed Hamburg beefsteak for 10 cents, the same price as stewed mutton, tripe, or salmon. A tenderloin steak, however, was priced at 20 cents.

Hamburg Steak vs. Hamburger: What’s the Difference?

In simple terms, a hamburger is a sandwich served on a bun, while hamburg steak is a standalone dish (though it was often served with bread on the side). But who was responsible for turning a hamburg steak into “the hamburger” by placing it on a bun? The answer takes us on a journey across the country, with several contenders. According to the Library of Congress, Louis’ Lunch Wagon in New Haven, Connecticut, served the first hamburgers in 1895. However, their hamburger sandwiches were served between slices of bread, which isn’t quite the true version of the hamburger.

There are additional fascinating clues. In 1891, The Boston Globe published an ad for a butcher shop that was offering a cookbook with a recipe for “hamburger on toast.” Then, in August 1893, an ad appeared in the Reno Gazette-Journal for hamburger steak sandwiches at a local saloon, boasting that they could “replenish an empty stomach and fortify even Satan himself.”

One frequently told story claims that Fletcher Davis, a fry cook from Athens, Texas, popularized the hamburger sandwich at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. However, in Josh Ozersky’s The Hamburger: A History, the author suggests that this tale was invented by Frank X. Tolbert, the late columnist for the Dallas Morning News.

Who Is Responsible for the Creation of the Modern Hamburger?

It’s highly probable that hamburgers evolved naturally from restaurants serving hamburger steak with bread on the side in the late 1800s. Chances are, many burgers quietly appeared on buns, their delicious aroma unnoticed, lingering in forgotten lunchrooms.

In 1916, Wichita, Kansas fry cook Walter Anderson created a sturdy bun with a crisp outer crust, perfectly designed to withstand even the juiciest hamburger. By 1921, the Original Slider was introduced to the world.

Apologies to Mickey D, Wendy, and all the nameless owners of lunch wagons and picnic-goers. For now, though, Anderson—the founder of White Castle, the first fast-food hamburger chain in the U.S.—can proudly claim the title of the inventor of the modern hamburger.