Note: Want to read about the creation of this recipe? Check it out here.
- makes four 5-ounce burgers -
Although packaged turkey meat will work, for best results, grind your own meat in a meat grinder. Marmite or Vegemite can be found in the international aisle of most supermarkets.
Ingredients
1 small eggplant, about 6-8 ounces
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 anchovy filet, mashed to a paste (or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste)
1/4 teaspoon marmite
1 pound boneless, skinless turkey thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes.
Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 400°F and set wrack to upper-middle position. Rub eggplant with olive oil until coated. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap with aluminum foil and set on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until completely tender, turning once, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, remove from foil, and scrape flesh away from skin. Chop flesh until fine purée is formed. There should be about 4-6 ounces of purée.
2. Combine soy sauce, anchovy, and marmite in small bowl with back of fork until homogenous and marmite is completely dissolved and anchovies are smooth. Toss meat with anchovy/soy/marmite mixture until thoroughly coated (if using pre-ground turkey, mix together by hand until homogeneous). Place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of meat grinder in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
3. Pass meat through grinder. Combine with eggplant purée. Form into four patties. At this point, follow your favorite burger recipe to cook the patties, making sure to cook them to at least 145°F.
Michael Psilakis'Lamb Burger might not be a traditional burger, but it is one awesome sandwich. The burger consists of a 70/30 mix of ground lamb and pork seasoned with charred onions, fresh parsley, and dill, Dijon mustard, ground fennel, coriander, and cumin. The combination of meats and the intense combination of flavoring elements make for a burger that can truly stand alone. And when I say alone, I mean alone. Cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, or any type of burger condiment would be superfluous—the patty is juicy enough to carry the weight of any bun.
When I made them at home I was a bit concerned about the fact that I was unable to find the caul fat called for in the recipe. My fear was that the perfectly spiced patties would fall to pieces in the pan without the support of the casing. I decided to form the burgers early in the day, give them a chance to rest in the fridge, and hope for the best.
8 ounces pork butt, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces good-quality slab bacon, trimmed of rind, cut into 1-inch cubes
12 slices crisp cooked bacon
4 Bacon Attack! buns (recipe below)
4 tablespoons baconnaise
Procedure
1. Place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of meat grinder in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat and bacon chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Pass meat through grinder twice. Form into four patties, about 4-inches wide and 1/2-inch tall. Refrigerate until ready for use.
3. Slice buns. Brush lightly with bacon fat or butter (or leave plain), then place under broiler or in toaster oven until golden brown, about 1 minute. Spread 1 tablespoon baconnaise on top half of each bun, followed by three slices crisp cooked bacon.
4. Cook patties in well-seasoned cast-iron or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until well-browned and crisp on first side, about 2-3 minutes. Flip patties and cook on second side until cooked through, about 2 minutes longer.
5. Transfer patties to burger bun bottoms, close sandwiches, and serve.
Bacon Attack! Buns
- makes 6-8 buns -
Ingredients
1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1/4-inch lardons
1 large egg
2 tablespoon active dry yeast
2/3 cup warm water
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
Procedure
1. Cook bacon in skillet over low heat, stirring frequently, until well-rendered and crisp. Transfer bacon bits to small bowl, reserving rendered fat separately (you should have about 1/4 cup of rendered bacon fat - if you have more, set aside all but 1/4 cup for another use. If you have less, add vegetable oil to make up the difference)
2. Separate egg, reserving white and yolk separately. In a bowl of standing mixer, combine yeast, water, sugar, egg yolk, salt, rendered bacon, and bacon fat. Whisk to combine. let stand for 5 minutes. Add flour and combine in standing mixer fitted with dough hook attachment. Dough should be soft and sticky (it won't pull away from sides of bowl). Knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F and set oven rack to upper-middle position. On well-floured work surface, divide dough into 6 to 8 even pieces (depending on if you want large or small buns) and shape each into a ball. Place on greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart and flatten slightly with palm of well-floured hand. Spary with non-stick spray, cover with plastic, and let rest 15 minutes until slightly risen. Meanwhile, whisk egg white until slightly frothy.
4. Bake for 4 minutes. remove from oven, brush with egg white, and return to oven until golden brown and well-risen, about 4-8 minutes longer. Set on wire rack to cool.
8 ounces beef sirloin, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ounces well-marbled beef chuck, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ounces well-marbled beef brisket, fat cap intact, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 Martin's Sandwich Rolls
4 tablespoons Shack Sauce (recipe follows)
4 leaves of green-leaf lettuce, clipped
8 center-cut slices ripe plum tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper
4 slices yellow American cheese
Procedure
1. Place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of meat grinder in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Pass meat through grinder twice. Form into four disks, about 2-inches tall, and 2.5-inches wide. Refrigerate until ready for use.
3. Open buns but do not split hinge. Brush lightly with butter, then place under broiler or in toaster oven until golden brown, about 1 minute. Spread 1 tablespoon Shack Sauce on top half of each bun (for true authenticity, squirt out of squeeze bottle into three lines, three passes on each line). Place 1 leaf lettuce and 2 slices tomato on top half of each bun.
4. Using wadded-up paper towel, rub inside of heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet with vegetable oil, then place over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Season beef pucks on top side with salt and pepper, then place, seasoned side down, in skillet. Using back of heavy, flat spatula, press down on beef pucks firmly to form 4-inch round patties, being careful not to let it stick to bottom of spatula. Season top side with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp brown crust has formed, about 2-minutes.
5. Carefully scrape patties from skillet, and flip. Top each patty with 1 slice American cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute longer. Transfer patties to burger bun bottoms, close sandwiches, and serve.
Follow your favorite burger recipe, substituting this meat blend for the ground beef. For best texture, handle meat as gently and as little as possible after grinding.
Ingredients
6 ounces beef sirloin, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
5 ounces beef brisket, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
12 ounces oxtail, fat and meat carefully removed from bone and trimmed of silverskin, bones discarded or reserved for another use (about 5 ounces of combined meat and fat)
Procedure (Meat Grinder)
1. Place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of meat grinder in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Grind meat and refrigerate immediately until ready for use. Handle as gently as possible.
Procedure (Food Processor)
1. Place bowl and blade of food processor in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece, and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Working in two batches, place meat cubes in food processor and pulse until medium-fine grind is achieved, about 8 to 10 one-second pulses, scraping down processor bowl as necessary. Refrigerate ground meat immediately until ready for use. Handle as gently as possible.
The truffles are optional on this burger, which is good because you probably don't have any lying around. But you can replace it with other wild mushrooms for that earthy flavor. Keller changes his restaurant version in this recipe by replacing the foie gras with a tart pickled onion topping, a good foil for the rich meat and wine sauce.
Grilled mushrooms in the patty and grilled mushrooms in the mayonnaise-based topping makes for a very mushroomy burger. Keller suggests serving it with a side of asparagus seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
This "burger" consists of a meat patty encapsulated in a "bun" of crispy shredded potatoes. While I would usually stray from a knife-and-fork burger, I welcome the idea of meat coated in a mass of crispy potato sticks.
Hubert Keller suggests making the Black Jack Burger if you want a burger that's easy and fast to prepare. The name Black Jack comes from the use of Black Angus beef and Jack cheese, along with black-colored tapenade.
Plantains are not that popular in the U.S., but the rest of the world eats them up. They are a starchy staple of many tropical countries' diets. Wikipedia lists no fewer than 23 regional dishes that revolve around plantains. In the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, and Venezuela they are sliced into chips and called plátanos maduros. In Cuba they are mashed into a porridge known as fufu. Plantains are fried in Ivory Coast and served with a tomato onion sauce and grilled fish to make aloco.
This recipe for Plantain Shoestring Fries from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes is a great introduction to cooking with plantains. Most stores sell ripe and unripe plantains; they both look like giant mutant bananas, except that one type will be green and firm and the other will be black and soft. This recipe calls for the unripe, green variety, which is starchy enough to fry up crisp.
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I love pretty much anything pickled, cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, watermelon rind, okra, even pickled eggs. I have to say that my favorite pickled item is the onion. Those little pickled pearl onions in my jar of cornichons disappear way before the last pickle and when I'm in the mood for a cocktail, a gin gibson is my drink of choice. Those beautiful pink pickled onions that are served with some tacos are my absolute favorite.
With all of this love for pickled onions it's surprising that I have never thought to put them on a burger. It was only while flipping through the pages of Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes that I realized pickled onions might just be the prefect burger accompaniment.
This is a quick pickling recipe, no need for boiling jars or long curing time. Simple mix the thinly sliced red onions with some acid, in this case vinegar and lime juice, some herbs, and some chiles for spice.
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I consider myself lucky for the fact that my childhood dentist's office was located in very close proximity to an ice cream parlor. When it came time for my brother's and my twice-yearly dental exams my mother decided that we should forgo lunch and have milkshakes instead. In hindsight, I assume she thought that if we had a liquid lunch then the dentist wouldn't find any nasty pieces of sandwich residue in our teeth. Even in my seven-year-old mind this plan didn't make the most sense, but I looked forward to going to the dentist, so I guess it worked like a charm.
My choice was always a mint chocolate chip shake and to this day it's my favorite. When I stumbled upon this recipe for Fresh Mint-Chocolate Speckled Milkshake in Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes, happy childhood memories came flooding back to me. Any recipe that recalls positive memories of the dentist should be taken to heart because I am not sure that many of us have happy ones. I guess that the moral of the story is that a milkshake makes anything better, even going to the dentist.
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Independence Day is a day for fireworks and barbecues and, most importantly—in my opinion, at least—burgers. There is no need to tell you that we are big fans of burgers here at Serious Eats; we like them so much that we have an entire blog devoted to them. Burgers are an American staple and it's no coincidence that they are the centerpiece of most Fourth of July get-togethers. Who doesn't love a juicy, perfectly charred burger?
Bobby Flay is a devoted burger lover. Not content with merely eating them, he opened a chain of burger palaces and wrote a book all about burgers and their partners in crime, fries and shakes.
While burger recipes in Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes get pretty crazy, one thing remains the same, and that is the quality and preparation of the burger itself. Flay is a purist, nothing more than ground chuck, preferably Certified Angus, and some salt and pepper. No additional spices, binders, or fillers are added to Flay's perfect burger. When you start adding onions, garlic, eggs, or breadcrumbs, you end up with a miniature meatloaf, not a burger. There are two important steps in making the perfect burger: The first is not over-thinking it, and the second is not overcooking it.
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I think that french fries are underappreciated. Sure, everyone eats them and enjoys them but do we ever really stop to think about the process of the french fry? I hadn't until I started working in a restaurant kitchen that prided itself on its fresh-cut fries. I quickly became acquainted with the long and painstaking evolution of the prefect fry. Hours of cutting, soaking, rinsing, re-rinsing, frying, cooling, and re-frying go into this classic burger accompaniment. French fries are not just fried potatoes.
Making the perfect fries is a learning process; it took Bobby Flay years to perfect his technique. Here are a few of his tips for mastering the art of the perfect fry from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes.
Russets or baking potatoes are the best, whereas waxy potatoes (such as Red Bliss or new potatoes) simply won't do. Soaking is key—this removes the starch, keeps the potatoes from sticking together, and eliminates the sugars that prevent the potatoes from achieving maximum crispness. As far as oils go, peanut oil is the best for deep frying. It has a high smoking point and a taste that is mild enough not to overpower the potatoey goodness of your fries. While countertop deep fryers are great you don't need one to make fantastic fries at home. A heavy-bottomed pot, a wire mesh strainer, a deep-fry thermometer, and a roll of paper towels are the only pieces of equipment you need for piles of golden brown, crisp and delicious fries at home.
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Note: A Hamburger Today contributor Brad Japhe wanted to share his celebratory Father's Day burger recipe, a modified version of the burger from Father's Office in California [review on AHT]. Here's his description of the burger with photos in case you want a last minute burger recipe to make for you dad!
In honor of Father's Day, you should consider what matters most to the patriarch of the family. Allow me to speak on his behalf when I say that hamburgers are near the top of that list. As any true foodie can tell you, there is a certain intangible greatness to the hamburger that makes it so much more than mere ground chuck suspended between two pieces of bread—the sum is unimaginably superior to its parts.
If I could choose to eat any single hamburger that exists on this planet it would be Sang Yoon's venerable Father's Office Burger. The complex arrangement of ethereal flavors brings a delectable vibrancy to my mouth. It is just about the only hamburger I eat where I have to pause and reflect upon its greatness after every bite. Yoon blends dry aged ribeye with his ground chuck to give the meat blend a more sophisticated flavor. The bacon-caramelized onion reduction brings your palate to life with a sweetness that supplants the need for ketchup and other flavor-camouflaging condiments, which are strictly taboo at this Santa Monica landmark. That sweetness is also balanced out perfectly by the subtle bitterness of arugula and a Gruyère-blue cheese mixture melted gently atop the patty.
To recreate a similar style of burger in my home kitchen has long been on the "to-do list" and, really, what burger could have a more fitting title for the holiday at hand this weekend? Hence, Father's Office Day was born, paying homage to the two of the most influential figures in my life: my dad and epic hamburgers.
Roughly 80 percent of the population of India is vegetarian, so why is a burger one of the most popular fast foods there? Well, it's not a burger in the traditional sense, it's vada pav, a potato burger. Vada pav is eaten all over western India as a snack or a quick meal on the go.
Monica Bhide provides a great recipe for making vada pav at home in her new cookbook, Modern Spice. These spiced potato patties are dressed up with two chutneys and sev, thin, salted gram flour noodles for crunch. Bhide recommends using traditional Indian pav bread if you can find it, but if you can't, plain burger buns work just fine.
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One of my favorite ways to zest up a burger is by making a spicy version of the Southern standby, pimento cheese. I use a spicy cheese for the base and add jalapeños. Whether you stuff it inside the burger, or melt it on top, it's a mouth-watering sensation, especially when combined with the crunch of peppery arugula and the deliciousness of bacon.
How do you like to add a little fire to a burger? Here are a few favorite techniques:
The meat: Add pure chile powder, hot sauce, or finely minced fresh chiles to the mix. Replace a little or a lot of the burger meat with ground chorizo, or mix in Cajun spice or horseradish.
The bun: Try a red-pepper-flake-topped focaccia, a poblano-studded biscuit, or cayenne-sprinkled Texas toast.
The cheese: Spicy cheeses abound, from pepper Jack to chipotle cheddar. And don’t forget melty chile con queso, another great topper.
[After the jump, more tips and a recipe for jalapeño-pimento cheeseburgers.]
