pizza burgers

I am looking for anyone who know anything about the pizza burgers that we use to get in school back in the 60's and 70's. They did not have a tomato base but a meat base and it was on as open faced hamburger bun... I have looked everywhere... Help

I'm not sure this resembles what you're talking about, but I do have a recipe from the 70's early 80's for pizza burgers using hambuger, spaghetti sauce, etc. that is served on an open-face hamburger bun. Don't laugh when you see it but it's actually quite tasty and it freezes very well.

Aunt Judi's Pizza Burgers
1lb hamburger
7oz can Spam (yes Spam)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sage
2 tsp oregano
15oz jar spaghetti sauce (or your favorite homemade)
4oz pkg shredded mozzarella
Parsley flake (optional)
Burger Buns

Brown the hamburger & drain. Grind Spam in a blender or use a grater. Mix the meats w/ the remaining ingredients. Combine well. Spread on each half of the burger buns and bake 12 minutes @425.

If I'm lyin' I'm dyin' -- it's a pretty good fast meal and I'm sure it's right out of the 60's, right?

Try ground up pepperoni mixed with tomato sauce (dash of garlic, salt, pepper and onion wont hurt either - Food Processor works great for this). Top the burger or mix it in before cooking.
(I know you said no tomato base, but everything in the 70's related to pizza had it).

Found this quote that may help you. Someone talking about a pizza burger franchise from the 1950's, 60's.

"The Pizza Burger was a Trade Mark and franchise I had to buy and obey all the rules that went with it. We had a special bunch of herbs and spices that came in a packet. We had to put some of that in with ground pork patties and mix some with the Pizza Sauce. We grilled the pork patty then spread some sauce on that, then chopped onion then a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese topped with a small square of American cheese and covered till melted. Then served on a bun."

My mother use to buy frozen patties back in the 60's called pizza burgers. I think they were a pork pattie with a mozarella cheese filling, and a hint of sauce.

Oh my goodness,andyh40-those are still available and I,too,ate them in the 70s.I have yet to pick up a box of them, although I am sooooooo tempted.

I am also looking for the "authentic" Pizza Burger recipe from my catholic school in the 60's. It was not actually a "burger" at all, that is, not a patty. It was a soft emulsified kind of mixture. I suspect that SPAM was a part of it. I remember them being orangish in color so maybe an American or Cheddar cheese layed or sprinkled on top. I have found numerous recipes and have narrowed it down but I am still searching for the EXACT recipe.

timlahr, Check out post #2. It has SPAM in it.

I'm late to this thread, but back in the late 70s my sister worked at a local Tastee Freez sandwich/ice cream shop that served a pizza burger. It was a highly seasoned breaded meat patty with a slice of mozzarella in the middle. This was deep fried and served on a bun with marinara sauce. If anyone knows where to get these now, I'd love to try them again. 

Try this recipe...
Ingredients:

1-1/2 lbs. 85% lean ground beef 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper 12-18 slices regular or turkey pepperoni 6 slices provolone cheese ketchup potato bread hamburger buns

Preparation:

1. Prepare grill or heat a cast iron grill pan on the stove over medium heat.
2. Combine ground beef, salt and pepper. Form into 6 patties, being careful not to overwork the meat. 
3. Grill burgers 4-5 minutes. Flip.
4. Top each burger with 2-3 slices pepperoni and a slice of cheese. Grill to desired doneness, another 3-8 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F .
5. Place burgers on buns. Squirt with ketchup. Serve immediately.

Serve these pizza burgers with mustard potato salad and Ramen noodle coleslaw.

ann peeples


Oh my goodness,andyh40-those are still available and I,too,ate them in the 70s.I have yet to pick up a box of them, although I am sooooooo tempted.

Is there a brand name?

I will find it-very off brand but very popular back in the day. And I KNOW I have seen them recently.....

ann peeples


I will find it-very off brand but very popular back in the day. And I KNOW I have seen them recently.....

Ann,
 
Most of the Milwaukee area  Pick n' Save stores sell them.... I have bought them there many times.  They come in a box of 6 or 8.  I can't think of the manufacturer and it is driving me nuts.  !!

ann peeples


I will find it-very off brand but very popular back in the day. And I KNOW I have seen them recently.....

Thanks! Hopefully they are in some grocery store in the Atlanta area!!

Here at the Copps (Roundy's) they have Supreme Meats brand...in red and green box...hope that helps.

The pizza burger we get here in the Midwest is a seasoned breaded meat patty with a slice of mozzarella. The brand is Fred's. I believe on the box they also call them a beef patty.
 

Yes! Its the Supreme Meats brand, Kevin. Thanks Wintahaba!Been around for years.

ann peeples


Yes! Its the Supreme Meats brand, Kevin. Thanks Wintahaba!Been around for years.

Thanks, wintahaba and Ann!! I'm guessing they might be a bit hard to find in the ATL but I'll try! We have a chain of grocery stores called Ingle's that has a lot of things you won't find elsewhere, it's where I get my Slawsa fix as well as spiedie sauce!!

ann peeples


Yes! Its the Supreme Meats brand, Kevin. Thanks Wintahaba!Been around for years.

These?
 
http://www.megafoods.com/...ers/1-ct/072635000106/

My husband's aunt and cousin work in a school cafeteria here in PA and they use Bologna instead of Spam.  And Yellow American Cheese instead of Mozzarella.  Yummy!!!

Yes, Kevin, those are it!!!

Maybe there would be some older drive-ins or diners that you might get lucky at.  Here's an example in Winona MN, which is the same town that has a write-up in the Roadfood Restaurant column, Bloedow's Bakery.
 
If anyone local should see this, I have to warn you the Lakeview's food is pretty mediocre, they seem pretty indifferent about it.  But they are usually busy.  Maybe in part it's because the root beer is good, and it's just the idea of the place.  Plus we have a lot of college kids here, and what do they know?? (just kidding!)
 
Scroll down to Specialty Sandwiches.  They say it's the original!
 
They also have something else I've never seen anywhere.  They call it a "shrimp patti", and it is actual cut up pieces of shrimp packed together with some kind of binder into a patty and deep fried.  Different than on the east coast, where the shrimp is in individual pieces.  This is all in one piece, like some fast food deep fried fish sandwich.  It's actually not bad.  Expensive for what you get.
 
But the place has been around since 1938, so good or bad, they're Roadfood!
 
http://www.lakeviewdriveinn.com/menu.html 
 

Maybe there would be some older drive-ins or diners that you might get lucky at.  Here's an example in Winona MN, which is the same town that has a write-up in the Roadfood Restaurant column, Bloedow's Bakery.
 
If anyone local should see this, I have to warn you the Lakeview's food is pretty mediocre, they seem pretty indifferent about it.  But they are usually busy.  Maybe in part it's because the root beer is good, and it's just the idea of the place.  Plus we have a lot of college kids here, and what do they know?? (just kidding!)
 
Scroll down to Specialty Sandwiches.  They say it's the original!
 
They also have something else I've never seen anywhere.  They call it a "shrimp patti", and it is actual cut up pieces of shrimp packed together with some kind of binder into a patty and deep fried.  Different than on the east coast, where the shrimp is in individual pieces.  This is all in one piece, like some fast food deep fried fish sandwich.  It's actually not bad.  Expensive for what you get.
 
But the place has been around since 1938, so good or bad, they're Roadfood!
 
http://www.lakeviewdriveinn.com/menu.html 
 

Hey, I hit the Daily Double!
 

And I meant to mention they follow the upper Midwest tradition of calling a sloppy joe a barbecue, BBQ.  Of course it's not the real stuff, but that's how we roll.  Some places, back to the fifties, still call it a Spanish burger.
 
And they do have the walnut burger, a local thing that originated in the beautiful little river town of Trempealeau, halfway between Winona and La Crosse.  At the original inventor, the Trempealeau Hotel, they offer either the burger or an appetizer of Walnut Balls.  I prefer the balls, as you get more crust, which to me makes all the difference.
 
Click on the lunch menu,  it's in the 'smalls.'
 
http://www.trempealeauhotel.com/trempealeauhotel/default.asp?ID=29&PageData=393
 
 
 

Could what some of you are describing from the 50's and 60's been a prepared and frozen beef or pork parmesean patty as the base? Those use to be pretty popular back then. My dad was in the marine maintainance business during that same period and he used to handle meats and provisions on the side. He'd bring home boxes of these frozen patties that were supposed be baked in an oven. The meat didn't cook up firm, but sort of mushy with an orangeish color from the breading depending how long they were baked. They definitely had some sort of italian seasoning to them. I wasn't crazy about these and used to get them between two pieces of bread like a burger, but it sure didn't have the texture of one. If these were done on a sheet or H&R pan in an oven and topped with a prepared pizza sauce and cheese and put out on a steam table to be served on a bun like an open face sandwich, this would sound near identical to what some of you are describing for that period of time.
 
The only product I ever remember actually being called a "pizza burger" were those infrared oven cooked sandwiches in the plastic bags by Stewart and Landshire sold in gas stations, dept. store concessions, and convenience stores before microwave ovens were around. They were the same mystery meat rubberburgers as the regular hamburgers or cheeseburgers except they had some seasoned, red sauce on the patty. If there was any cheese on those, I don't recall it.