A slightly special blog this one – grubblog is one year old today, kicked off originally my lasagne alla cacciatore. I’ve compiled 154 posts so far, waffling about recipes, food, equipment and restaurants. Thanks to everyone who stops by, I really appreciate all your comments. Unusually for any given post, this was prepared by Mrs. RoastPotato – and jolly nice it was too.
Regular visitors to this blog may remember the turkey chilli burgers, my perfect burger, or the best burgers in the world from Le Parker Meridien. But, faced with yet another burger I can’t resist a go. Shock horror – another recipe from Jamie’s America. Away from my usual ideas about burger recipes (that they should be as simple as possible), this has quite a few things going on. There’s beef mince of course, mixed with red onions, beaten egg, parmesan and curiously cream crackers blitzed to a powder. What happened was as the meat caramelized, the cracker crumb toasted and gave a nutty finish to the burger. A surprising addition and very tasty.
Another great idea was a spicy mayo, somewhat like a certain special sauce: mayo, ketchup, paprika and lemon juice. Savoury and sweet, and a perfect accompaniment to juicy, meaty burgers.
The burger mix was turkey mince, the slightly bland and lean meat gives space for spiky red chilli and citrussy coriander. I mixed this together with smoked sea salt for a deep savoury flavour. I then used my trusty burger press (given to me for my birthday by the person who got this food!) to make the patties. As a soothing contrast to the fiery chilli, I stirred some chopped mint into mayonnaise to be spread on to the bun. I hoped the crisp toasted bun would give way to meaty turkey with a pokey bite, then cooled by the refreshing mayo that coats the mouth. A thick slice of tomato finishes off with a fruity taste, accentuating the meaty element with a nice dash of umami.
On the side were some potato wedges. Sliced maris pipers were tossed in a blend of vegetable oil, paprika, oregano, coriander and sea salt and roasted in a hot oven until tender and crisp.
Happy birthday!
Turkey burgers:
450g turkey mince
½ red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
2 teaspoons smoked sea salt
2 tablespoons of finely chopped coriander leaves
1 beefsteak tomato, thickly sliced
baps, buns or muffins split and lightly toasted
For the mint mayonnaise:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
6 mint leaves, shredded
Combine mince, chilli, salt and coriander in a bowl and form into patties.
Fry on a medium heat on both sides until browned.
For the mayo, mix mint and mayo together
Assemble in a bun with a thick slice of tomato and a slather of minty mayonnaise.
Spicy potato wedges:
5 maris piper potatoes, sliced into wedge shapes
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Mix the dry ingredients into the oil. (I like to use a freezer bag to do this)
Tumble with the potato wedges, and bake in an oven preheated to 200C for 20 mins, or until crisp on the outside and tender inside.
It’s so simple, yet can be so easy to get wrong or fuss with too much. The humble hamburger can be an incredible dish, reminding me of great BBQs, glossy fast food restaurants, and neon-lit New York eateries. This is one of those foods that proves that great food is rarely about the actual food itself, and more about the setting, the atmosphere, and the company. I had a BBQ in January last year, and I bought in the cheapest, lousiest burgers to flip. But in the drizzle, in the dark, they tasted great fresh from the grill.
When I analyse it, I’m after a strong meaty flavour, though this is secondary to the texture, which should be loose and crumbly. And then how you accompany it. The burgers in the pic above are unadorned, though shortly afterwards crispy lettuce, a meaty slice of tomato, a sliver of red onion, a thin piece of swiss cheese and ketchup ended up in the bun. Which is another component in itself; a floury soft bap works best for me. It has to be a vehicle for the sandwich, and not get in the way. The meat’s the star.
I consulted a number of sources before deciding how to go for it this time; I saw Tom Parker-Bowles do a cracker on Market Kitchen last week, and I read every page of Heston Blumenthal’s In Search Of Perfection burger recipe.
The burger mix itself has to be extremely simple: no egg, no breadcrumb, nothing that’s going to get in the way of your beef. It’s beef mince – rump for everyday, chuck / brisket mix for posh – salt and pepper, that’s it. According to Heston, it should be 1% salt to mince. This allows for flavour without too much emulsifying.
So the meat then; for me it was my butcher’s best, with a high fat content to allow it to fall apart in the mouth. Usually I push the patties together by hand however I was lucky enough to be given a burger press by a good friend recently, and this was it’s debut outing. See below!
After seasoning, the mince is roughly piled into the press with a wax disc underneath. Another disc is placed on top and then the handle comes down. Out comes a perfectly-shaped burger. And because it’s got wax top and bottom, they stack well without sticking. Another great effect of forming them this way is that the mince isn’t handled as much. When you handle the meat the fat is squished together and the air is squeezed out. What it means in the finished burger is a nice loose grainy texture that allows the meat to fall apart when you bite into it.
I fired them on a large griddle pan (another brand new gift), flipping often to form a consistent brown crust. In the last 30 secs of cooking I brush on some melted butter to give a lovely mouthfeel and an extra layer of taste. It’s humble honest food but so delicious.
I had the most sublime fast-food experience in New York: it was a burger.
As a devotee of Heston Blumenthal, I owed to myself to check out a bizarre little place where he had the best burger in the world. Nestled in an upmarket hotel was a greasy little burger shack without a name.
I entered the hotel and immediately felt out of place: opulence, grandeur and marvel. Marble floors, leather chaises longues, martinis served on platters by penguin waiters. But I knew the burger was here – I could smell it!
I darted through the lobby following my nose. Then to one side, between two innocent curtains, I glimpsed a neon outline of a burger. Down this corridor was a boxy little greasehouse, wood-panelled walls, red PVC banquettes, and loud rock music. What struck me was the chaos. Cardboard, hand-written signs were plastered around the serving area-cum-grill, urging that you get your order ready or face queuing up a second time.
I ordered two burgers with “the works” (lettuce, tomato, onion, sliced pickles, mustard, ketchup, mayo) and gave my name, while we were offered a cosy booth amid the heaving crowd. What struck me were the different people: suits, designer wear, builders, tourists… all here to grab a burger, and god knows how they’d found the place. The walls were also covered in scribbles, with notables such as Chuck Liddell, Joss Stone and Hiro from Heroes.
A minute later my name is barked (all burgers are cooked to order and to desired doneness) so I push through and grab my waxpaper-wrapped treats. I can’t wait to sit down and try it, so after some feverish unwrapping I take my first bite. It’s the texture that gets me, all loose and moist. But the flavours are then running through my mouth; savoury and salty. For what has become the ultimate symbol in garbage food, this was high dining indeed.
