Hamburgers, hamburgers, hamburgers hot; onions in the middle, pickle on top. Makes your lips go flippity flop.

From under the tuckus of a warrior to your plate, hamburger has a surprisingly interesting history. Ground meat was eaten in ancient times but it becomes worthy of note during the 13th century.

As the Mongols raided and pillaged, they rode with meat under their butts. They were a hard riding horde, and would travel days without ever leaving their saddles. I don?t even want to know how they managed to . . . uhm . . . go. Anyhoo, they needed food that was portable and could be eaten by hand while on the hoof. They would place flattened meat patties under their saddles, the meat would be tenderized as they road and then they would eat the meat raw.

When the Khans invaded Russia, the Russians incorporated this form of meat into their own cuisine which they called "Steak Tartare" (Tartars being their name for the Mongols). Over time, Russian chefs began to add chopped onions and raw eggs to the mix to improve the flavor and consistency of the meat.

When German sailors visited the Russian ports, brought to Hamburg what they called ?tartare steak?. German cooks altered the mix into something that met their taste . . . a smoked, slab of salted minced beef mixed with onions and breadcrumbs.

German immigrants brought their recipes with them to America and introduced the Hamburg steak. To attract German sailors, eating stands along the New York city harbor offered "steak cooked in the Hamburg style".

Louis? Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut has the distinction of creating the first Hamburger . . . a debate could be had as to whether Louis? creation was a sandwich or a ?real? hamburger. You can decide that for yourself.

What happened is this . . . one day in 1900, a gentleman hurriedly walked into Louis' Lunch and told the proprietor that he was in a rush and wanted something he could eat on the run. Louis placed ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on his way. And so, there it was . . . a hamburger.

Louis? Lunch is still in business and making their burgers exactly the same way they did on the day the burger was born including using the original cast-iron grills. . .ground beef between two slices of bread ? you can ask for cheese, onion, tomato or lettuce but don?t ever ask for condiments . . . it ain?t happenin?

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