Gurkin Burgers

Gurkin Burgers

I remember as a young boy how much I loved my Dad's burgers - they were so tasty to me. And as I got older and made them occasionally, even my friends liked them to the point that they were constantly asking for the recipe. Now my Dad has his way of making them and my older brother, Bob did a variation to Dad's recipe that is also unique and tasty. So here they are - Dad's and Bob's recipes for Gurkin Burgers. Enjoy!

Jim Gurkin's Burgers

Use good meat. Add Bell pepper, Onion, Carrot (if you like), salt and pepper, and enough ketchup to hold everything together. Goes good with potato chips, and anything else you like.

Bob Gurkin's Burgers

Generally, I start with a pound to a pound and half of 97% lean ground beef. You can also use 93%, but the more fat the harder the meat will be. I like to use the dried bread crumbs you buy at the grocery store. I use "Original" bread crumbs from Wal-Mart. Generally about a half cup. One cup of fine chopped onion. I prefer Vidalia onion. Two eggs. I like to use two eggs because it will hold everything together much better. Salt and pepper to taste. Meat tenderizer. (about 1/4 tsp) 1/2 cup ketchup. 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. If you wish you can add chopped up cheese. If you are going to use cheese use the cheap sliced cheese.

Mix everything very well and I like to use the hamburger patty maker you can buy at Wal-Mart, but you can make them by hand also. I don't make them as thick as we used to, so they will cook more evenly in the middle, but that is up to you. This is the exact recipe I use.

Billy Joe McCloud

Billy Joe McCloud

Billy Joe McCloud had about the fastest '36 Chevy Coup in Beaufort County. He wore his hair in a 'ducktail' and would have a pack of Marlboro's rolled up in the sleeve of his t-shirt. He had managed to shoehorn a 350, 4 bolt main under the hood and when he popped the clutch on his 4 in the floor, the rear end would just bounce up and down until he eased up a bit and would let it 'dig' in. Thirteen coats of hand rubbed blue lacquer made the paint job look like it was about 6 inches thick. Him and Bessie Hutch could usually be seen huddled together on the front seat of that coupe, as they would drive by. Best look quick though, Billy Joe liked to get where he was going in a hurry. High Sheriff Jasper had made it his personal ambition in life to catch Billy Joe and on several occasions we would be out fishing in Squaw creek and here would come Billy Joe roaring by on the bridge over head and in just a little bit here would come Sheriff Beasley with his red light flashing and siren screaming. Up to now, he had never managed to catch Billy Joe, no matter how he tried. 

One November Billy Joe and Bessie disappeared. We all figured they had run off to South Carolina to get married and expected them back sometime later. Soon enough here that Midnight Blue Coup came roaring through town and Sheriff Beasley was coming right after him. About 30 minutes later here come the sheriff, back into town. He got out of his car shaking his head and said. "Dogged if I can understand it. I thought I had him for sure but lost him at the county line." The same time the next Saturday night, here that Coup came again. Same thing happened. "Lost ‘em at the county line again" This went on all through the winter. Finally Sheriff Beasley had his great idea. The next Sat night he had his deputies block the road on the bridge at Squaw Creek and they swore that they never left that spot and they won't no turn offs and the Sheriff was right behind Billy Joe, but he lost him again. By this time spring was coming in and a bunch of us boys went to Squaw Creek to do a little swimming. We were all splashing and swimming around, and then one of the boys yelled "Hey! Look at this"! He was standing out of the water up to his waist in the middle of the creek. When we went down to see what was there, he was standing on the roof of a Midnight Blue Coup. After the car was drug out and the coroner examined Billy Joe and Bessie, he said they had been there since last fall. 

Every now and then you can see an Electric Blue '36 Chevy Coup come flying down the road, or you may just see some lights. The scientists say it's just swamp gas, but we know better. By the way, that stretch of road out of Pinetown is now called ‘The Devil’s Race Track’.

- Bob Gurkin

Fluffy Omelets (like IHOP)

Fluffy Omelets (like IHOP)

When a pancake house ― ahem, an INTERNATIONAL pancake house ― sets about to make eggs taste better, they stick with what they know. And what they know, in case we didn’t already make that clear, is pancakes.  While most of us like a side of pancakes with our eggs, what we should have been eating all along is some pancakes in our eggs. Or, more specifically, pancake batter mixed in with our eggs before they’re cooked up into omelets. This is what IHOP does with their omelets, and it’s why their recipe turns out so fluffy.

Ingredients 
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup pancake batter
• Water to thin batter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup shredded cheese of your choice

Directions 
1. Whisk together eggs, pancake batter, salt, and pepper until well combined.
2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add eggs and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until set. Flip and continue cooking until lightly golden brown.
3. Slide onto a plate and top with a bit of extra cheese.
Serve.

Bo and the Bad Wreck

Bo and the Bad Wreck

Bo Beasley and Uncle Jessie applied for a truck-driving job over to the Dismal Swamp Moving and Storage Co. Since both of them had been driving mules, tractors and Model T's since before they could see over a steering wheel, they figured they would be a shoo in for that job. The Moving Co sat over on highway 301, just south of Micro and usually had 4 or 5 of them big ole International Furniture Trucks they had back in '48, a settin on the side. In the summer they would have a big block of ice setting just inside the open door and a fan would drag a little cool air over the ice to help the girls in the office. It didn't really help a lot. In the summers we could usually fry an egg on the sidewalks or on the hood of a car. I've done it several times. Strips of flypaper would be hanging from the ceiling and coated with hundreds of flys. About the only thing you would see moving outside the building, would be this old hound dog that would get up and move over to the shade every time the sun would catch up with him. Other than that, you would probably see a stump move before anything else did.

When the owner and president of the Dismal Swamp Moving and Storage Company called Bo into his office for the interview, Bo kinda straightened up his bib overalls and sashayed into the office and plunked down in a cane seat ladder backed chair and tried to look right pert. Mr. Abdollar looked him over and then started questioning Bo about his driving skills. Bo was doing purty good and finally Mr. Abdollar says to him. "Bo, lets say you are driving one of my trucks. Jessie is sitting on the seat beside you sound asleep and you crest a hill. When you get over the top and are coming down at full speed you see a school bus stopped in the middle of the road. You don't have time to stop. You either hit the school bus or you drive into the trees on the side of the road. What would you do"?

Bo thought for a minute or so and then replied. "Why I would reach over and wake Jessie up". "Well, asks Mr. Abdollar. What in the world would you wake Jessie up for? He can't do nothing to help you”.  “I know” answered Bo.  “But you see, Jessie ain't never seen no bad truck wreck before”.

- Bob Gurkin

Beef Vegetable Soup

Beef Vegetable Soup

This is a good way to get rid of leftover roast.

• 2 lbs. beef ribs, or use leftover roast
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• ½ cup macaroni, or spaghetti broken into small pieces
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup potatoes, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 package (10 oz.) frozen lima beans and corn (i.e., succotash)
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 2 cans (16 oz. ea.) tomatoes, chopped, with juice

Put the beef in a large pot, covered with water, and simmer for 1-½ hours until tender. Remove from the pot and let cool, and then chop up the meat. Skim the fat off the cooking liquid. Strain the liquid and pour it back into the pot, adding water, if needed, to make 1-½ quarts of stock. Put the chopped meat, macaroni, and vegetables into the strained stock. Mix in seasoned salt. Let come to a boil, and then turn the heat to low and cook for about 1 hour. Makes 3 quarts.

Bob's Meatloaf

Bob's Meatloaf

About as easy as it gets with this meatloaf recipe.

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup ketchup
• ½ cup milk
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients together; place the mixture in a loaf pan or shape into a loaf and place in a baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until firm when pressed in the center. 

Serves 8.