When the frigid cold starts chilling your brittle bones and your teeth start chattering, I want—no, need—a filling meal that sticks to the ribs and warms the gut. Something hearty and rich that can truly thaw you out. Something from the Oklahoma Cookin’ cookbook.
In the Main Dishes section, I stumbled upon a recipe for the iconic Osage Hills Hamburger Pie. It looked like it would really hit the spot… until I saw how heavy it leaned on green beans.
Still, after my success with the Indian Indigenous Pudding dessert, I decided to put my shaky faith in “Special Consultant” Herb Walker and take the plunge. And you know what? It was incredible—just like the Osage Hills themselves and the history they’ve witnessed. I hoped that dish would serve as a fitting tribute, and it absolutely delivered
Like the best meals in most of Oklahoma, the recipe starts with the basics of real cooking: onions, fat, and a pound (or more) of ground beef. Put them together in an iron skillet and let the heat work its wonders, stirring the fatty juices, the searing blubber, and the eye-burning trauma in a well-maintained cast-iron wonder.