Feeling sacrilegious
At home with Junior all day, one of the things I feel obligated to do in my role as stay-at-home-dad (which will be permanent in a week) is to make dinner. We’re having bacon cheeseburgers and not any pre-packaged burgers either. Real meat ground from a cow who was alive three days ago that I got from some farmer friends. Anyway, I just put kosher salt on the bacon and I felt dirty.
And since I’m making burgers, thought I’d share:
1 pound of ground beef – not that low fat stuff either, if you use low fat you have to add egg and bread crumbs to make the patties stick. Use full fat to bypass burgers that taste like meat loaf.
1/2 cup Worcestershire
2 table spoons ground mustard
2 table spoons of minced garlic
4 table spoons of barbecue sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix in a bowl. Pat into 3/4 inch thick patties. Cook on the grill or (like I’m doing since it’s winter) broil for 15 – 20 minutes. Pan fried burgers kinda suck since they don’t cook even. Remove from oven. I add cooked bacon and cheese then put them back in the oven for a couple of minutes. Yum.
And if you happen to like low fat burgers, put your skirt on before coming to my house.
December 27th, 2005 at 12:54 am
Actually, I like lean (93-95% fat-free) ground beef for hamburgers, but that’s because I pan-fry or grill. Oven broiling is for people in aprons. 😉 And I don’t add egg or bread crumbs, either. I have no idea why yours won’t stick together without that.
They say that the fat makes the flavor, but I’ve not found that. I’ve found that the fat makes for a lot of grease in the pan, and a shrunken hamburger patty.
December 27th, 2005 at 9:32 am
Nah, broilers are for when it’s 20 degrees outside. Hmmm. Not sure why my won’t stick either then.
December 27th, 2005 at 11:54 am
If your pan fried burgers aren’t cooking evenly, you’re using the wrong pan. Cast iron is the way to go for indoor burger cooking.
For giggles, try the Alton Brown pan frying method. Pre-heat the oven to 450-500 degrees. Heat the pan up and get it hot enough to sear the cow. Two minutes per side, then stick the pan in the oven until the burgers reach your desired doneness. It works great, but take the batteries out of the smoke detector.
December 27th, 2005 at 1:30 pm
During the winter I usually have six to eight inches of snow on my outdoor grill, so, I bought one of those nifty indoor electric grills. It is fantastic. Not outdoor grill quality, but much better than the broiler.
December 27th, 2005 at 2:30 pm
T:
The AB method works very well for steak, too, although I only do 1 minute per side for a steak, and then finish in a 350-degree oven. You’re absolutely right about the smoke, though. I’ve considered putting in a high-powered hood for just that purpose.
Uncle:
It is never, and I mean never, too cold to fire up the grill. I sometimes eschew the grill because I’m too lazy to fire it up, or in too big a hurry (charcoal takes 20 minutes and gas is for commies), but never because it’s too cold. It’s fire, after all — the problem solves itself.
As for burgers, I’m pretty simplistic when it comes to those: ground chuck formed into 1/2″ thick patties, dusted with kosher salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic. 2 minutes per side directly over hot coals (cover on, please), followed by 1 minute per side off to the edges of the grill away from the coals (cover on there, too). After the last flip, put the cheese on for melting that last minute.
That gets the burgers to about medium doneness. If you like medium rare, skip the last minute and move up the cheese. If you like rare, you only need the one flip, and the cheese goes on after that flip (if you’re using cheese).
Dressing the burgers, I like ’em sloppy. Thin layer of mayo on both crown and heel of bun, lettuce, tomato (lots), red onion (thin sliced), dill pickle, yellow mustard, and ketchup. Yum!
December 27th, 2005 at 2:38 pm
I have pics of me in 6 inches of snow grilling some wings. I don’t mind the cold. However, while watching a baby, it’s not a good idea. I have my burgers with cheese, mayo, bacon and onion.
December 27th, 2005 at 4:42 pm
This makes me ponder some sort of RTB Iron Chef competition, although I’m not sure how we’d work out the logistics.