Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks facts for kids

Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks were a popular frozen food product from the past. They were made by the Bonnee Frozen Products Company. This company also sold other frozen foods like tamales and cubed steaks. Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks were special because they were made of "finely chopped beef." This beef was shaped, frozen, sliced, and then had butter added to it. Each package came with four frozen 2-ounce beef patties and four small pats of butter.

A Look Back at Bonnee Steaks

In 1956, Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks cost 58 cents a pound. This was actually more expensive than smoked ham at the time! The beef patties were very thin. This made them quick to cook, usually in about two minutes. You could cook them in an iron skillet on a gas stove.

The meat for Bonnee's came from the whole steer. It was ground up and mixed together. Then, it was pressed under pressure. This made sure the patties would not crumble like regular burgers. Instead, you would need to cut them with a knife or tear them like a thin steak.

TV Show Sponsorship

Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks helped sponsor a TV show called "St. Louis Hop." This show was like the famous "American Bandstand" from Philadelphia. Winners of the dance contests on the show received products from the sponsors. These included Bonne Belle Cosmetics, Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks, and Pepsi-Cola.

How Bonnee Steaks Started

The idea for Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks came from a businessman named Sam Brown (1913–1996). He was the president of Bonnee Frozen Products Co. The company made these steaks from the mid-1940s to the early 1960s. Their factory was in University City, Missouri.

Sam Brown thought of the idea while he was a traveling salesman. He noticed that the food in small town restaurants was not always good. He believed that restaurant owners would like a meat dish that was always high quality. He also wanted it to be sold all over the country.

Sam Brown started his business with only $125 that he borrowed. In just ten years, his business grew into a multimillion-dollar company. Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks were sold to grocery stores, restaurants, and military stores. They were available in 38 states in the United States and in eight other countries.

A Memorable Sale

One important moment for Bonnee Buttered Beef Steaks happened when Sam Brown visited a customer again. This customer owned a store that was both a drug store and a restaurant. The customer had sold all ten packages of Bonnee steaks very quickly. But he refused to order more. He said he didn't like them personally, and he wouldn't sell anything he didn't like.

Sam Brown looked around the store. Then he asked, "You sell castor oil in your store, don't you, mister? Do you mean to tell me you like it?" This made the customer think differently. It was a sale Sam never forgot.

About Sam Brown

Sam Brown was born and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He owned the Bonnee Frozen Products Co. for about twenty years. After selling the business in the early 1960s, he worked as a consultant. He retired in the late 1970s. He also helped start the St. Louis chapter of the Young President's Organization. He was its first chairman.