Food writer Kenji Alt continues his coverage of serious burger-making tips and burger porn with his latest post on GoodEater.org, where he shows us the secrets behind the $18 local grass-fed burger from Craigie on Main in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
To make up for the leanness of grass-fed meat, chef Tony Maws adds pure beef fat—bone marrow and suet—into the burger mix. He also adds dehydrated miso paste for a kick of umami flavor. A combination of steaming in a CVap oven then griddling on a steel plancha results in a charred and juicy patty. For the rest of the "secrets," go to GoodEater.org.
"We were using a bit of A-1 for a while, but dehydrated miso was the only thing we found that was concentrated enough in glutamates to give the beef the amount of umami we wanted without adding its own flavor."
He doesn't say why he didn't just use MSG.
Also, 900F = not the hottest grill on the market. There are backyard infrared grills that go to 1000F and above.
I don't speak for Chef Maws, but despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, I think many diners are still squeamish about eating pure powdered MSG. Unfortunate, because it really does make things more delicious, and when used in moderation, no more dangerous for consumption than table salt.
A backyard grill that gets to 1,000 degrees sounds like fun. You could probably just toss a burger over it, and catch it, fully cooked, right in it's bun on the other side.
So to make up for the lack of fat...they add fat? Can't they just use regular fatty beef? It just seems like a round 'about more expensive way to make a burger. And believe me, I'm familiar with the idea behind grass fed beef.
They have to add fat because one of their primary goals (beyond just good flavor) is that they use almost all locally sourced ingredients. Grass-fed New England cows just don't have a lot of marbling in them.
The point is, grass fed beef has a stronger, more unique flavor than grain-fed beef. But it doesn't have the fat. So to get both the flavor and the fat, all you have to do is add them separately. It also helps that marrow fat is particularly tasty.
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5 Comments:
omg. heaven!
dmarina at 2:29PM on 04/13/09
"We were using a bit of A-1 for a while, but dehydrated miso was the only thing we found that was concentrated enough in glutamates to give the beef the amount of umami we wanted without adding its own flavor."
He doesn't say why he didn't just use MSG.
Also, 900F = not the hottest grill on the market. There are backyard infrared grills that go to 1000F and above.
Luther at 2:37PM on 04/13/09
@Luther
I don't speak for Chef Maws, but despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, I think many diners are still squeamish about eating pure powdered MSG. Unfortunate, because it really does make things more delicious, and when used in moderation, no more dangerous for consumption than table salt.
A backyard grill that gets to 1,000 degrees sounds like fun. You could probably just toss a burger over it, and catch it, fully cooked, right in it's bun on the other side.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 3:35PM on 04/13/09
So to make up for the lack of fat...they add fat? Can't they just use regular fatty beef? It just seems like a round 'about more expensive way to make a burger. And believe me, I'm familiar with the idea behind grass fed beef.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 4:50PM on 04/14/09
@Chew on That
They have to add fat because one of their primary goals (beyond just good flavor) is that they use almost all locally sourced ingredients. Grass-fed New England cows just don't have a lot of marbling in them.
The point is, grass fed beef has a stronger, more unique flavor than grain-fed beef. But it doesn't have the fat. So to get both the flavor and the fat, all you have to do is add them separately. It also helps that marrow fat is particularly tasty.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 1:40PM on 04/15/09