 A "hangtown burger" made using a hangtown fry, a ⅓-pound chuck steak, sriracha sauce of roasted red peppers, and baby arugula | |
| Place of origin | Placerville, California |
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| Main ingredients | Eggs, bacon and oyster |
Hangtown fry is a type of omelette made famous during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s. The most common version includes bacon and oysters combined with eggs, and fried together. [1]
Oakland Mayor, Visiting Newspapermen, Other Dignitaries to Sample "Hangtown fry" Breakfast
"Hangtown Fry," a delectable breakfast dish which had its origins at the Cary House in the early mining days and has since appeared on tables of the nation's leading hotels and restaurants, will be served to members of the visiting press delegation, Oakland's Mayor Clifford Rishell and other dignitaries attending the Wagon Caravan Breakfast at the fair grounds Sunday morning.
Mayor A. H. "Sandy" Murray, who issued invitations to the mayors of Oakland and San Francisco to attend the Caravan festivities this week end, has been assured that Mayor Rishell will be present. Mayor Robinson of San Francisco had an important prior official obligation.
Lloyd Raffetto, owner of the Raffles Hotel, says the story of the origin of Hangtown Fry, though well known here, is worthy of repetition.
A well-heeled miner who has been panning a rich sand bar for several weeks and eating his own sorry cooking came into the Cary House and demanded:
"What is the most expensive meal you serve to a hungry man for breakfast?"
He was told that fresh eggs, then selling for about a dollar apiece and hard to get, was considered the No. 1 breakfast, or that a breakfast of fried oysters might be considered a first line delicacy.
"Well, give me three or four eggs and put in some oysters," the miner said, "And throw in a couple slabs of bacon, too."
The resulting dish was so pleasing that others (presumably those whose pokes were full of dust and nuggets) followed suit, and the recipe became famous.
For guidance of those whose appetites are whetted by reference to the good old days, here is Raff's recipe:
- Saute two or three slices of bacon. Add a few oysters and saute them.
- Add beaten eggs, about three per serving, so that the eggs surround the oysters and cover the bacon. Season to taste.
- Serve by turning the pan's contents out upside down on a serving platter. The browned bacon will then be on top. [2]
The dish was invented in Placerville, California, then known as Hangtown. According to most accounts, the dish was invented when a gold prospector struck it rich, headed to the Cary House Hotel, and demanded the most expensive dish that the kitchen could provide. The most expensive ingredients available were eggs, which were delicate and had to be carefully brought to the mining town; bacon, which was shipped from the East Coast; and oysters, which had to be brought on ice from San Francisco, over 100 miles away. [1] [3]
Another creation myth is the one told by the waiters at Sam's Grill in Tiburon, just north of San Francisco. At the county jail in Placerville, a condemned man was asked what he would like to eat for his last meal. He thought quickly and ordered an oyster omelet, knowing that the oysters would have to be brought from the water, over a hundred miles away by steamship and over rough roads, delaying his execution for a day.[ citation needed ]
The dish was popularized by Tadich Grill in San Francisco, where it has apparently been on the menu for 160 years. [4] Later variations on the dish include the addition of onions, bell peppers, or various spices, and deep frying the oysters before adding them to the omelette.
According to the El Dorado County Museum, "No dish epitomizes California and its Gold Rush more than Hangtown Fry. It was created at a location central to the Gold Rush at the same time the great state was being born. And, like the miners who worked the river banks and hillsides, and the population that followed, it is a unique blend of many things, both those produced locally and those that have arrived from elsewhere." [1]
In the 1962 episode, "The Hangtown Fry" of the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews, Fabrizio Mioni was cast as Paul Duval, a young man falsely condemned to the gallows in Placerville when the community was known as "Hangtown." In the story line, Duval orders a made-up recipe of bacon and oysters in the form of an egg omelette in hopes of postponing his execution while his girlfriend, Ann Alton (Nancy Rennick), frantically seeks information to clear him. Helen Kleeb played Ann's mother. The recipe is still available in some California restaurants. [5] Three versions are included in Booth Seafood Co's compendium of James Beard's 1954 seafood cookbook.
Food writer and chef Mark Bittman created his own version of Hangtown Fry in one of his Minimalist cooking videos for The New York Times. [6]
Placerville is a city in and the county seat of El Dorado County, California. The population was 10,747 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,389 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
In cuisine, an omelette is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives, vegetables, mushrooms, meat, cheese, onions or some combination of the above. Whole eggs or egg whites are often beaten with a small amount of milk, cream, or water.
Chicken-fried steak, also known as country-fried steak or CFS, is an American breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of beefsteak coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. It is sometimes associated with the Southern cuisine of the United States. It is breaded and fried with a technique similar to the more common fried chicken, hence "chicken-fried". When deep-fried, it is usually referred to as "chicken-fried steak". Pan-fried versions are typically referred to as "country fried steak".
A fried egg is a cooked dish made from one or more eggs which are removed from their shells and placed into a frying pan and fried. They are traditionally eaten for breakfast in many countries but may also be served at other times of the day.
The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by Hispanic American roots, alongside East Asian and Oceanian influences, and Western European influences, as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine.
Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. Fried rice is a popular component of East Asian, Southeast Asian and certain South Asian cuisines, as well as a staple national dish of Indonesia. As a homemade dish, fried rice is typically made with ingredients left over from other dishes, leading to countless variations. Fried rice first developed during the Sui Dynasty in China and as such all fried rice dishes can trace their origins to Chinese fried rice.
Loco moco is a dish featured in contemporary Hawaiian cuisine. There are many variations, but the traditional loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger, a fried egg, and brown gravy. Variations may include bacon, ham, Spam, tofu, kalua pork, Portuguese sausage, teriyaki beef, teriyaki chicken, mahi-mahi, shrimp, oysters, and other meats.
Nasi goreng is a Southeast Asian fried rice dish, usually cooked with pieces of meat and vegetables. One of Indonesia's national dishes, it is also eaten in Malay-speaking communities in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and has gained popularity in Sri Lanka through migrations from the Malay Archipelago, in countries like Suriname via Indonesian immigrant communities, and in the Netherlands through its colonial ties with Indonesia. Nasi goreng is distinguished from other Asian fried rice preparations by its distinct smoky aroma, and caramelised yet savoury undertones of flavour. There is no single defined recipe for nasi goreng, and its composition and preparation varies greatly from household to household.
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Ham and eggs is a dish combining various preparations of those two ingredients. It has been described as a staple of "an old-fashioned American breakfast". It is also served as a lunch and dinner dish. Some notable people have professed an affinity for the dish, such as American entrepreneur Duncan Hines and the Manchurian Emperor Puyi. Similar dishes include bacon and eggs, Spanish eggs, the Denver omelette and Eggs Benedict.
The Tadich Grill is an American seafood restaurant located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1849, it is the oldest running restaurant in California. Based in the Financial District, the restaurant sits on 240 California Street. The dining experience features Croatian-style cooking techniques that include grilling seafood over mesquite- and charcoal-broilers for varying flavor profiles and uniform broiling.
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Hangover remedies consist of foods, dishes, and medicines, that have been described as having a theoretical potential for easing or alleviating symptoms associated with the hangover.
Alexander Howison Murray Jr. (1907–1993), known as Sandy Murray, was a two-time mayor of Placerville, California and three-time president of the county's chamber of commerce, who championed regional development, including the building of U.S. Route 50 in California (US 50) and was a regular page-one name in the Placerville Mountain Democrat.
Tortang talong, also known as eggplant omelette, is an omelette or fritter from Filipino cuisine made by pan-frying grilled whole eggplants dipped in an egg mixture. It is a popular breakfast and lunch meal in the Philippines. A common variant of tortang talong is rellenong talong, which is stuffed with meat, seafood, and/or vegetables.
Lloyd Raffetto also known as Lloyd A. Raffetto, Lloyd Alexander Raffetto, and "Raff" (1897-1988), was a noted Italian-American-Irish-American co-inventor of an ice cream manufacturing process, entrepreneur, and banker who owned the Raffles Hotel and co-founded the Mother Lode Bank, both of Placerville, California.
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