Continuing from last month’s theme and since we’re smack
dab in the middle of summer, let’s talk about America’s favorite sandwich… the
hamburger! It actually used to be America’s favorite fast food until pizza
dethroned it years ago. This simple sandwich consisting of a ground beef patty
served between two slices of bread created by - according to The Library on
Congress – Louis Lassen in 1900… unless you believe it was actually created by
Charlie Nagreen in 1885… or Oscar Bilby in 1891… or the Menches brothers in
1885… or Fletcher Davis in 1880… but America’s favorite sandwich has come a
long way in the past 100+ years.
The Traditional
Burger
I think most Americans will agree that the traditional
hamburger is made with beef. Period. There are excellent burgers made with
alternative proteins but the traditional patty is made with beef. And I’d be
willing to bet that the ratio of lean to fat by the majority of chefs and home
cooks is 80% lean, 20% fat ideally from freshly ground beef. However, past the
lean to fat ratio is where you see a divergence of burger creation. Most chefs
employ ground chuck while others may blend some ground brisket or even ribeye
into the mixture though I personally feel that as long it’s a quality beef,
freshly ground using the 80/20 ratio of lean to fat, you can’t go wrong…
especially if it’s Hawaii raised beef. Some chefs also feel that hamburgers
should simply be seasoned with salt and black pepper just on the outside of the
burger while others feel that internal seasoning is a critical component of the
perfect burger. Others even go as far as seasoning with chopped onions or
garlic or even “secret” seasoning blends. However you like to season your
burger, the next step is critical for all hamburgers. Forming the patty itself.
Whether you like the thinner ½ inch patties all the way up to those 1 & ½
inch rounded orbs, you NEVER want to compact the meat to the point where it
cooks up to a tough hockey puck of a
burger. You simply want to use the gentle pressure of a lomi-lomi massage versus the muscle splitting pressure of a shiatsu massage.
Then there’s the ultimate cooking of the hamburger which
is usually split into two schools; those who cook on a flat top grill or frying
pan versus those who grill over open flames. Each method has its pros and cons.
Flat top cooking allows for full “crustification” of the surface and also
allows you to prepare your burger toppings like sautéed onions or mushrooms
adjacent to your burger. But grilling over an open fire adds smokier flavors to
your burger and gives a flavorful char to your burger. The key in cooking your
burger is to let it cook as is – DON’T press on your patty once it’s been on
the flat top or grill for more than 5 seconds. Whenever raw meat hits a heated
surface, it starts to cook which means muscle fibers contract so that your raw
patty that was pressed to perfectly fit the bun is now ½ to 1 inch smaller (and
a little taller) which now means that your initial bites of your burger will be
more bun than burger. So you squash it to get back to the original diameter…
But all that accomplishes is that it simply squeezes essential fats and juices
out of your patty leaving a drier, tougher burger. Create a patty wider than
your bun then just let it cook on its own.
The Bun
Though Congressionally recognized Louis’ Lunch simply
uses two slices of toasted white bread (and believe me, if I’m ever in
Connecticut, I’ll eat their burger as dictated by the Lassen clan), I
personally feel that the bun should be sturdy enough so it doesn’t collapse
from the juiciness of the burger. While brioche buns amp the richness factor
several degrees, they along with simple sesame seeds buns have a tendency to
disintegrate with a juicy burger especially if said burger also contains juicy
tomatoes or semi-liquid dressings.
So I’m a big fan of toasted (like sandwich breads,
hamburger buns should ALWAYS be toasted) ciabatta or pretzel buns. They have
the heft to remain intact until the last bite but not too tough to cause upper
palate scars or jettison toppings out of your burger.
The Avante Garde
First of all, there are burgers with toppings that extend
past your usual lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese and bacon. Often a second savory
protein is added to the mix like sautéed pastrami or pulled pork or brisket
burnt ends. Sometimes they’re worked right into the beef itself to fortify the
beefy flavors, often the usual toppings are worked into the patty like the
Juicy Lucy that’s stuffed with cheese that turns into a molten cheese filling
or Slater’s 50/50 which employs 50% beef, 50% ground bacon patties.
Then there’s the alt-beef patties employing ground
poultry, ground pork or even seafood and some patties that don’t even contain
any animal proteins but are based on beans, rice and nuts that you can easily
find in your supermarket freezer section. As I mentioned previously, my local
Safeway carries Beyond Meat, The Beyond Burger which looks and cooks just like
a beef patty but is pure vegetarian. In fact if no one told, you would think
you were consuming a burger made from lean ground beef.
Burger
Accoutrements
The classic partner to a burger is a nice slice of cheese
to enhance the richness of charred beef. I personally favor lighter cheeses
like Swiss, smoked Provolone or smoked Gouda though blue veined cheeses also
pair nicely with beef. Beyond cheese, the next personal requirements are slices
of fresh, ripe tomatoes and slices of onion which can either be thinly sliced
sweet raw onions (like Kula onions) or caramelized onions. And I do like a
little “greenery” whether it’s Bibb, curly leaf or Manoa lettuce or even a
bunch of arugula to adorn the patty. And though I’ve been known to slather my
sandwiches with multiple pesto’s or savory spreads, I keep it simple with
burgers using just plain mayonnaise and ketchup. And like Miles from the movie
“Sideways”, a glass of Bordeaux makes an exceptional pairing with a hamburger.
Burgers from the
Past
One of my favorite burgers from the past was from a
hole-in-the-wall eatery that used to be located on the mountainside lower level
of Ala Moana Shopping Center called Jon’s. They created a simple single patty
burger that was simply garnished with that mustard based yellow relish. The
burger itself was unique in that it seemed to be made from both pork and beef
as it had a lighter color and I remember a pronounced black pepper bite and
hints of curry flavor. Jon’s is long gone and though I vividly remember the
taste of their burger, have not been able to recreate a reasonable facsimile
thus far…
Whenever we visit the Bay Area on our way too brief and
infrequent vacations, we always had to make a stop at the top of the Westfield
San Francisco Centre to sample a burger at Lark Creek Steak. I say “had” to as
Lark Creek Steak shuttered its doors last January. But the Perigord Black Truffle
Steakburger cooked over a wood fire with truffled Brie and frisee tossed in a
truffle vinaigrette with caramelized onions was TO DIE FOR! And their raw
burger aka Steak Tartare with steak frites and Béarnaise sauce was nothing to
sneeze at either!
While Chef Bob McGee held court at The Whole Ox Deli, he
created a 21 day dry aged burger with the option of a slice of seared foie gras
to gild the lily – the dry aging gave the burger an intense beefy flavor and
along with the caramelized onions and seared foie gras, members of our informal
wine group routinely ordered the burger as their dessert! Luckily, I have
semi-recreated this burger adding truffle salt to the mixture and serving it on
a toasted brioche bun.
The last burger represents my latest creation combining a
hearty grilled burger and the smoky savory flavors of great barbecue. I start
with my usual Hawaii raised beef with the 80/20 ratio and add a little sea
salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powders to the mix and form the patties
but instead of cooking them on the flat top or grill, I place them on my smoker
sheet (like a cookie sheet with small holes to allow smoke penetration) and
smoke the patties for about 1 & ½ hours at 150-180 degrees flipping the
patty about half way through the smoking process. The resulting burger isn’t
just a hamburger with barbecue sauce but a true barbecue burger.
So before those last rays of summer disappear,
light up that grill, smoker or even the flat top for your burger fix!
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