For 2 8oz burgers...

8oz lean chuck, ground once thro' a 3/16"ths plate
8oz boneless short rib, ground twice thro' a 9/64"ths plate ( this helps get better fat distribution )

roughly mix and form into 2 patties.
Cook to a medium-rare in a heavy iron skillet so the fat renders out and then 'confit's the burger in it's own meaty juices.

Condiments/additions need to be umami rich flavours for me,
caramelised onion is always a welcome presence.

For the bun, I'm still undecided but not keen on brioche/enriched style buns that seem to be popular nowadays.

Haven't we been here recently with the Frank Sinatra recipe for beefburges?

The very best burger you could ever possibly have would be made by me and involves caraway, bacon, shallots, apples, gruyere, and a special sauce.

Last edited by marlowe v2.0 (2014-08-25 16:13:31)

Wetherspoons chicken burger.

Comes with free pint of Guinness for not much money and not too many calories.

Staves off hunger pangs when proper meal not available.

Back to the burger,
The vegetable/salad components :

What kind of lettuce, if any ?
Do you add a slice of tomato ?
Raw onion, heresy or heroic ?
The sliced pickle, a bonus or a bummer ?

Do some combinations, tho' tasty, have inherent structural problems causing  'layer shift issues' in the architecture of the burger ?

Smashing a burger with your spatula, provided it's done correctly, is perfectly acceptable.

The Maillard reaction, the browning of food when heated (caramelization), is what gives a burger or a steak that delicious crusty outside that tastes so delicious.  To maximize this, you want the maximum surface area of your meat (snicker) exposed to the greatest amount of heat. 


This method will not work on a grill.

To do this, get your pan or griddle hot, like real hot.  Roll your burger meat into a ball, use about 1/3 pound per ball (snicker again).  Drop the ball onto the hot-ass pan and immediately squash it into a burger shape with your spatula.  Hold it down there, like you are putting a Macanudo out in the armpit of a guy who owes you large money.  Ten seconds should do it.

Now, the important part.

Have a drink.  A nice, large cold one.  Maybe a Vesper, or some other three-plus ounce Martini-type drink.  Drink it and then go back to the burger.  Try to flip it, if you have to scrape the spatula on the pan to free the burger, you need to wait a little longer.  The magic heat goblins that enable the Maillard reaction still have a tight grip on your meat (seriously, no one's laughing right now?).  These fuckers will let go when they're good and ready, and not a second before.  Have another drink while testing your burger for flipability.

Once you can flip it, do so.  Pressing the other side isn't nearly as violent as the first flip.  You aren't shaping the burger; unless you're a limp-wristed type, the burger should be sufficiently flat.  This pressing should be gentle but firm, more like putting a Virginia Slim out on the belly-button of a chick that's into that sort of thing.  You don't want to press any of the fat out of the burger, just press the surface of the meat down so the Maillard goblins can get a good hold on it.  Let them do their thing, they know what's up.

Check for doneness by poking the middle of the burger with your finger.  The softer the burger, the rarer.  I like mine with a little pink in the middle.

As the redoubtable stanshall said above, slap it on a bun and put whatever you want on the thing and eat it.