History

Earnestine Mitchell and Hazel Jones turned the South Main building into a bar and restaurant in 1949, eventually a brothel. The Soul Burger emerged from the kitchen, griddled and topped with the bar's house Soul Sauce, recipe still guarded. By the 1990s the burger had become a Memphis late-night ritual, written up by Garden and Gun and Bon Appetit.

Common allergens: Beef, Wheat, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 600g ground beef, 80/20
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 soft white burger buns
  • 100ml ketchup
  • 30ml Worcestershire sauce
  • 20ml soy sauce
  • Garlic powder, paprika
  • 4 slices American cheese
  • Pickle slices, soft butter

Method

  1. Cook onions slowly in butter over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring, until deeply caramelised. Reserve.
  2. Mix ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, garlic powder and paprika. This is the Soul Sauce stand-in.
  3. Form four 150g patties, season with salt and pepper. Griddle on high heat, brushing with a tablespoon of Soul Sauce as they cook, 2 minutes a side.
  4. Top each patty with American cheese, then a heap of caramelised onions and pickles.
  5. Toast the buttered buns on the griddle. Build the burger. Drizzle more Soul Sauce on top before closing the bun.

Tip from the editors. The real Soul Sauce recipe is a guarded Earnestine and Hazel's secret. This is a stand-in. Caramelise the onions slowly.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat memphis soul burger

Memphis Soul Burger in Memphis

Earnestine and Hazel's ★ 4.6

south-mainUntil 03:00

Earnestine and Hazel's on South Main downtown Memphis runs Soul Burgers and a jukebox until 03:00 daily, the city's defining late-night dive bar.

Try: Soul Burger

Order: Soul Burger with a cold beer; sit at the bar.

Tip: Cash works fastest. Upstairs the rooms run quiet most nights.

531 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38103

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