Posted by johngl
Burgers, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
Your buns can reach, while tasting outta sight
To the ends of chewing and ideal last bite!
Please forgive my corruption of Sonnet 43 (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese, 1850) but I just can’t help myself.
Sirloin, Chuck, and Brisket Burger with Hand Cut Burbank Russet Fries
How could anyone (‘cept maybe a Vegan) resist this oozing buttery burger with melty sharp cheddar and home made fries?
This burger, made up of 50% sirloin, 25% chuck, and 25% brisket, was a great way to get into the swing of things. It has everything from all over the cow: the bold flavor of sirloin (rear mid-section), the rich, fatty goodness of chuck (front quarter, shoulder), and the meaty chew of brisket (chest). Throw in a little butter and it’s udderly delicious.
Let’s begin with some meat:
Taking it from the top and moving clockwise, sirloin, brisket (flat cut) and chuck.
Cut it, and a half-stick of butter, into smaller pieces for the grinder. Remember, if you don’t have a grinder, your grocer’s butcher will probably be happy to grind it for you. Don’t be afraid to ask them to do it as they will appreciate the interest. You can always grate some frozen butter on a hand-held grater at home. Just hold a whole frozen stick of butter with a towel wrapped around the back half (leave the wrapping on the back half of the stick). This way, your body heat won’t melt the butter. It works grate!
Anyway, take the pile of meat…
And grind it up!
As you may already know, I have a new favorite spice blend:
Black pepper, onion powder, salt, and granulated garlic in equal proportions. Well, almost equal proportions. I usually go a little bit lighter on the garlic as it can be overwhelming. I’m not chasing down a garlic burger.
Mix this together and liberally sprinkle it over the ground beef. Mix up the meat using a large spoon. The spoon helps to keep the butter bits from melting and sticking to your fingers. It gets gooey amazingly quickly. Go through the sprinkle and mix process several times to incorporate things evenly.
Hmmm…the potatoes. Yes, let’s not forget the potatoes.
These are hand-cut Russet Burbank potatoes. Their starch content is supposedly perfect for fries. I don’t know if that’s just the marketing hype or not — I’ve never used them before. We’ll find out RealSoonNow™.
I poured about 3/4″ of peanut oil into a pan and heated it to nearly 400°. I preheated the pan for the burgers, too.
Now that we are back to the burgers, take a look at that guy closely. Note the indentation in the middle. This keeps the center of the burger from puffing up during cooking. Use your thumb, first two fingers, or the back of the spoon. We’re not mashing the burger, just making a little dent.
Also note that the meat isn’t tightly packed. Too many people mash everything together into a perfectly shaped hockey puck. Get your hands dirty! Form a loosely packed 6oz (or 8oz, for those with glutton-sized appetites) ball, then press it down gently on the cutting board. Using your fingers, push the outer edge back toward the center until the cracks get filled back in. Run a flexible bladed knife (I use a fillet knife) under the burger to release it from the cutting board. Flip it so the dented side is down.
Pour a couple of tablespoons of peanut oil into the now hot burger pan. Roll it around until the bottom of the pan is covered. It should literally be smoking hot. Add the burgers!
Drop your fries!
Check burgers…
These are almost ready to turn, but not quite. The graying of the meat needs to come up the side a little bit farther.
Check the fries…
The fries are just starting to brown along the edges. Looking good so far!
Flip the burgers.
Notice that the center of the burger isn’t quite as crusty as the outer part? That is due to the dimple. The burgers remain nice and flat.
Back to the fries…
We’re very nearly there!
The burgers won’t take as long on the second side, so pull them and add cheese. The heat of the burger will melt the cheese.
This burger happens to be sitting atop some avocado. Some people call this California-style. I like the extra fat the avocado brings to the party. You can leave it off — I’m not a burger Nazi.
By the time I dropped the meat on the bun, the fries were a nice golden brown.
Add salt appropriately.
I couldn’t help but sample the fries: crusty outside, nice and fluffy inside. You can’t ask for much more from a fried potato. I need to try these with the dual fry method (that’s precooking the fries in low temp oil — 325 or so — then doing a quick fry at 375). It takes longer, but I’ve had great results from your basic Idaho russet.
I love thee freely, as meat sears to brown
I love thee purely, as butter drips at the turn
I love thee with a passion as you lay upon the bun.
Smiles, tears of joy at this moment of life
I shall love thee to the very last bite.
John, even though I just recently finished dinner, I am absolutely drooling over this burger!
I think I will ask my butcher to grind my meat next time – great idea!