Random food thoughts - Street edition

[dwyhajlo]

My dad is a microbiologist, and he scared me off of eating rare hamburger. Try as a I might, all I can think of when I see that pink is "microaerophilic environment." Thanks, dad!

 

[1969]

Maybe :foo: can get in this threak and drive it to 12 pages about how to cook a hamburger.

 

[0JSIMPS0N]



Burgers should be done on the griddle. They should never be cooked past medium rare. They do not take long to make and only require salt and pepper if you use quality beef.

if you use quality beef you dont require salt and pepper

 

[1969]

On another (better) topic, I'm going to start making my own corn and flour tortillas tonight. I'm starting with Maseca but may look for fresh harisa this weekend. I have a few pints of lard as well so my flour tortillas should be good right off the bat.

 

[Kbar]

Getting back to burgers, here is what I like doing

adding a little butter to the beef mix adds a nice flavor/texture. I started using this Italian Buffalo milk butter. a little more rustic and less "greasy" in flavor.
I usually let the meat* sit for about half hour to an hour at room temperature before cooking.

As far as seasoning unless you are able to cook at really high heat (broiler, or burning hot cast iron) most seasoning will hurt the taste, or in case of salt, bring out the liquids. I always use a flat surface for cooking, so the burger stays in its juices. (grill like pans should be avoided)

I prefer to use bacon/ duck fat for cooking, or fat from pancetta. Other alternatives are grape seed oil, high quality corn oil, or slightly blended avocado oil (add some light olive oil to it)

Get a nice brown on the outside so it seals the juices. Then in a small dish add a little butter with the seasoning of your choice and melt in the microwave.
drip a little on the browned side, let the other size cook, flip and pour on the "unseasoned" side, let settle for few seconds and flip again for few seconds.

for the buns/bread- spread a thin layer of mayo (very thin) and coat with a your choice of a grated cheese. grill for a few seconds with w.e butter mix left
toss a squirt of water on the pan and quickly cover with a bowl to steam the bun.


* I like using lower fat meat mixture like 90-93, so the added butter/fat wont create something terribly unhealthy.

 

[indesertum]

the question is whether cooking on a griddle will consistently produce a better burger than sous vide. Unless you weigh each patty and form a similar shape each time and then time it while it cooks on the same temperature every time, sous vide is a superior method. Sous vide is a superior method for any protein if your aim is cooking the same thing every time at the internal temperature you want.

Also browning doesnt seal in juices. **** is old news. More moisture is lost when meat is browned than when it is not. Old wives tale.

Grills are superior because the juices that fall below become smoke and provide that meaty char smoke flavor. Griddles dont do this. Myrvold wrote an article on this when his book was published a year or two ago

The only counter argument i see is that sous vide makes uniform texture while griddle makes more of a gradient. Which you can still compensate with sous vide by setting the temperature of the water bath and griddle lower

 

[indesertum]



if you use quality beef you dont require salt and pepper

Oh god.

Salting denatures proteins in and on the cells on the surface of the meat which creates a matrix less permeable to water trapping moisture inside. The water you see is just from the surface cells. Internal cells maintain greater moisture.

You need salt. Maybe not pepper but salted meat is superior to raw meat. Flavor and moisture wise.

 

[LPatterson]

Gonna fly into Chicago for a few days in September to see Sigur Ros. I'll be staying near the Auditorium Building with no rental car. Can anyone give me some good restaurant recs in the area?

 

[indesertum]

Price range?

 

[cyc wid it]

Griddles create a better crust than grills.

 

[indesertum]

I don't know about a better crust. They can both make good crusts. Grill marks are pleasing to look at at and grills provide better flavor.

 

[kindofyoung]

Oh god.

Salting denatures proteins in and on the cells on the surface of the meat which creates a matrix less permeable to water trapping moisture inside. The water you see is just from the surface cells. Internal cells maintain greater moisture.

You need salt. Maybe not pepper but salted meat is superior to raw meat. Flavor and moisture wise.

Just make sure you salt right when it's going on the grill/griddle and not much before, since salt breaks down the proteins of the meat and "ruins" the texture

Griddles create a better crust than grills.

I don't know about a better crust. They can both make good crusts. Grill marks are pleasing to look at at and grills provide better flavor.

Fryers give the best crust
or blowtorches
or flamethrowers
or volcanos
or hell

what I'm saying is just that "what gives the best crust" is probably the most subjective question when it comes to hamburgers

 

[Find Finn]



Just make sure you salt right when it's going on the grill/griddle and not much before, since salt breaks down the proteins of the meat and "ruins" the texture

You do know salt is used to sure meat, right?

 

[chinesealpha]

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/09/the-burger-lab-smashed-burgers-vs-smashing-burgers.html

Smashed burgers... I like em.

If I had a sausage grinder, I'd try out the Heston Blumenthal method. anyone done this?

For buns, I like ciabatta, foccaccia, or hollowed out small Portuguese water bread. Anything with some chew.

 

[kindofyoung]



You do know salt is used to sure meat, right?

I'm talking burgers now, not steaks.
If you salt minced meat ahead of when you're cooking the burgers, or work the salt in (by kneading) it breaks down the proteins and turns the burger from a tender stack of fibres into a "consistent"(probably not the right word but hopefully you get what I mean) piece of meat similar to the pre-made burgers you can buy at grocery-stores, which really isn't something you want to do to your meat when making burgers.
With steaks it's a whole other matter since the meat is already "consistent" and so the salt just dries it out, without ruining it

If I had a sausage grinder, I'd try out the Heston Blumenthal method. anyone done this?

Haven't tried it myself, but everyone I've read about who have tried it say that while the result certainly isn't bad, it just isn't worth the extra work