The sunshine brings out the barbeques, which in turn brings out the burgers. As we've explored in the Ultimate Burger Series, by investigating the fixings, and even the buns used, some amazing burgers result. As with everything, a solid foundation is a very good place to start, so it's about time we got around to a rock solid burger patty - or as it says in the title, this recipe makes dynamite meatballs. Depending on the rest of the burger, or your mood that day, you may add a few more spices, but this is a very good starting point that can stand on its own with the basic toppings on a moment's notice. This is the kind of recipe you can make a large number of patties and store a few in the freezer for later (make sure you have one or two fresh though). Carla and I even have one of those goofy plastic burger presses with the teflon dividers - they are gold for serious burger production - you may even know someone with one tucked away in the back of a tupperware cupboard - see if you can adopt it and use it.
When buying the meat, tough cuts have the best flavour. This recipe uses chuck and brisket as an example, but you can get creative. If you have a meat grinder, you can get even more creative. Feed the meat in with the grain lined up so the grinder cuts across it for the most tenderizing effect. It may seem counter-intuitive to buy extra lean meat, then add in pork fat, but fat carries flavour and pork fat is delicious. By switching the animal, you also add a complexity to the flavour beyond going with pure cow. If you have pork issues, no problem, just go with a regular or lean meat instead of the extra lean. As an additional note, even though there is salt and pepper in the recipe, I still season the patties before grilling for that extra surface flavour.
You will need:
500g / 1.1lbs extra lean ground chuck
500g / 1.1lbs extra lean ground brisket
200g / 7oz ground pork fat
200g / 7oz onion
30g / 1oz confit garlic - drained of oil (see post "Garlic oil / roasted garlic vs confit garlic)
10ml / 2tsp Dijon mustard
5ml / 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
11g / 0.4oz kosher salt
9g / 0.3oz black pepper
6g / 0.2oz smoked paprika
6g / 0.2oz cumin
Method:
- grind the meat and fat if necessary
- take half of the meat and cold smoke it for 1 hour
- puree the onion with the confit garlic
- if working by hand, add all the ingredients and mix until meat gets "sausagey" and sticks together well
- if using a mixer, add all ingredients into a bowl with a paddle and mix on slow speed for 20 seconds
- raise the speed to mid and mix another minute and check the texture
- take a small amount, make a mini patty, cook it up and check the taste and texture
- adjust seasonings and mix more if necessary
- form patties (170g / 6oz or 227g / 8oz are good sizes)
- start grillin!
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