Albany: Steamed Hams (hamburgers)

The term “steamed hams” (“hamburgers,” in the supposed regional dialect of Albany, New York) was coined on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, on the episode “22 Short Films About Springfield” that originally aired on April 14, 1996. Principal Skinner invites Superintendent Chalmers over for dinner, but the roasted is burned. Skinner says that he’s making “steamed clams,” but buys hamburgers at Krusty Burgers and then calls them his “steamed hams.” Skinner says that this term is popular in Albany, New York. (It was made up on the show.)
 
“Steamed hams” was little remembered until about 2016, when “steamed hams” memes began to go viral.
 
             
Wikipedia: 22 Short Films About Springfield
“22 Short Films About Springfield” is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons’ seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 1996. It was written by Richard Appel, David S. Cohen, Jonathan Collier, Jennifer Crittenden, Greg Daniels, Brent Forrester, Dan Greaney, Rachel Pulido, Steve Tompkins, Josh Weinstein, Bill Oakley, and Matt Groening, with the writing being supervised by Daniels. The episode was directed by Jim Reardon. Phil Hartman guest starred as Lionel Hutz and the hospital board chairman.
 
The episode depicts brief incidents experienced by a wide array of Springfield residents in a series of interconnected stories that take place over a single day.
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9. While hosting Superintendent Chalmers for a luncheon, Principal Skinner burns his roast and bluffs his way through the meal, causing his house to catch fire in the process. 
 
Know Your Meme
Steamed Hams
Part of a series on The Simpsons. 
Origin
“Steamed Hams” comes from a scene in the Simpsons episode “22 Short Films About Springfield,” which first aired on April 14th, 1996. In the episode, which is an anthology of 22 short scenes about several of the citizens of Springfield, the character Principal Skinner has Superintendent Chalmers over for dinner in a play on the “dinner with the boss” sitcom trope (shown below). The dinner, as per the trope, does not go according to plan, as Skinner burns dinner, leading him to cover the truth about dinner through elaborate and increasingly unbelievable series of lies. After burning dinner and telling Chalmers that he’s making “steamed clams” for dinner, Skinner attempts to convince Chalmers that what he had prepared “steamed hams” for dinner, an expression for hamburgers, he says, which is native to Albany, New York.
 
YouTube
Skinner invites Chalmers on steamed hams
Dec 2, 2010
marre523
Skinner invites Chalmers on steamed hams. The Simpsons Season 7, episode 21 - “22 Short films about Springfield”
 
19 April 1996, Times Union (Albany, NY), “Hamming it up on `Simpsons’,” pg. B7:
According to last Sunday’s episode of “The Simpsons,” steamed ham is Albanyspeak for hamburgers.
 
In last Sunday’s episode, principal Skinner had superintendent Chalmers over to his house for lunch. Skinner pulled out all the stops, baking a giant ham for the school official.
 
But, much to his surprise and chagrin, after he put the hunk of meat in, it burned. Skinner decided that his only way out of this faux pas was to crawl out of his window and buy Krusty Burgers, which he would serve on a tray so they looked homemade.
 
Google Groups: alt.tv.simpsons
Steamed Hams
James Harris Savitt
4/20/96
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Kuno-Sama) writes:
>In <3173459…@nntp.ix.netcom.com>

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) writes:

>> I was flabbergasted by the whole Skinner/Chalmers segment.  What’s so
>> strange about Steamed Hams?  Is there ANY part of the country where
>> hamburgers are not referred to as Steamed Hams?  As for the grill
>> marks, if memory serves me, that’s actually part of the recipe (to be
>> done with Magic Marker.
 
I know for a fact that people in Albany New York don’t call them steamed hams, since I’ve been living here for 15 years.
     
Google Groups: alt.tv.simpsons
Steamed hams
Bosco
3/3/02
It’s more of an Albany expression
   
Google Groups: alt.tv.simpsons
Life Imitates the Simpsons 08/24/06
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
8/24/06
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More from that famous http://www.snpp.com/episodes/3F18.html web site.
 
A few minutes later, Skinner makes an entrance the dining room carrying a big platter of Krusty Burgers.
 
Skinner: Superintendent, I hope you’re ready for mouth-watering hamburgers.
Chalmers: I thought we were having steamed clams.
Skinner: Oh, no, I said, “steamed hams.”  That’s what I call hamburgers.
Chalmers: You call hamburgers steamed hams.
...
Chalmers: You know, these hamburgers are quite similar to the ones the have at Krusty Burger.
Skinner: [laughs]  Oh, no, patented Skinner Burgers.  Old family recipe.
Chalmers: For steamed hams.
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: Yes, and you call them steamed hams despite the fact that they are obviously grilled.  [shows Skinner the grill marks]
 
Urban Dictionary
steamed hams
Hamburgers. An Albany, New York expression, its not to be confused with steamed clams.
“No, I said, steamed HAMS”.
#steamed hams#simpsons#skinner#chalmers#hamburgers#burgers
by Delaware Mike November 15, 2007
 
Urban Dictionary
Steamed Hams
The regionally appropriate term for “hamburgers” in Albany, New York.
Though phrased as “steamed”, a steamed ham is typically grilled, and served on a platter often containing more than a quarter dozen of the aforementioned dish and various french fries.
Not to be confused with “steamed clams”, a similarly phrased dish which can often be mistaken for steamed hams.
Oh, no, I said, “steamed hams.” That’s what I call hamburgers.
via giphy
by McDaddy’s Big Patties February 20, 2018
 
The Wrap
‘The Simpsons’ Unkillable ‘Steamed Hams’ Meme Explained by Its Creator
Former showrunner Bill Oakley tells TheWrap why the meme has such staying power
Sean Burch | August 28, 2018 @ 2:18 PM
Last Updated: August 28, 2018 @ 3:20 PM
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And yet, it’s now taken on a life of its own. There are thousands of followers on the “steamed hams” Subreddit. Countless screencaps and mentions on Twitter. Thousands of YouTube remixes — including, of course, one voiced by Jeff Goldblum — totaling millions of views. If you haven’t seen the original clip, you can check it out below:
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How’d this happen? Even the meme’s ascendance is shrouded in mystery. (Oakley believes it was jumpstarted by hundreds of wacky Australians badgering a supermarket for “steamed hams” in 2016.)