Funny

Oh, that's fair enough. The reason I mentioned the rarity of the burgers is that they kept cooking in the barbecue sauce; if the host had cooked them to medium or more, they would have been unpleasantly well done after the crock pot. As is, I think cooking them fairly rarely ended up with a medium-ish, maybe a bit more, doneness. They were not rare at the point of consumption.

Your point about the sugariness is entirely valid. I don't have a refined palate now and I certainly had less of one then, but I don't remember the burgers being overly sugary, even though I have objected to the sugar level in barbecue sauces I've encountered in the past. Perhaps it was the brand of sauce. In fact, given the person cooking them, it might have been a homemade one (but I can't guarantee that). The sauce was definitely not ketchup-like in nature.

You referenced a stew, which makes me think you are thinking of the patties being somewhat lacking in consistency; they were tender, but definitely intact enough to put on a bun and eat like a normal hamburger.

It's also possible I'm misremembering the process (though I don't think by much), as it has been quite a few years. I've reached out to said party host to see if they can offer further insight. If they can and do, I will elaborate.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to me about your reasoning. Also, I've just noticed your username and find it somewhat amusing in this context.

edit: I asked my wife what she thought about the idea (she wasn't at the party) and she said "that's basically a McRib."

edit 2: The host got back to me and confirmed the existence of the food, the McRibness, and the preparation method. He also mentioned that it came from his now-wife's family from at least two generations back. Perhaps McDonald's stole it from them.