Is there a cliche bigger than Americans and hamburgers?
It’s right up there with mom, apple pie and really tacky T-shirts. Slap a burger on a plate and you can practically hear the stadium chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”
You’ll get no argument here. As national symbols go, the hamburger is honest and simple.
It’s that “slapping it on a plate” thing that troubles us. Too often, that’s exactly what we do: Grab the cheapest ground meat we can find, char it on a fire, squish it repeatedly with a spatula until it hasn’t got a drop of juice left in it. Drop it on a bun, smear it with ketchup, slap it on a plate.
Is this what we’ve been reduced to? Might as well put the bald eagle in a birdcage.
The once-mighty burger has fallen on hard times. We eat billions of the things, but too often we grab them only as a last resort. Drive-through fuel that bears no resemblance to a good, honest hamburger.
On the homemade front, warnings to reduce the fat in our diets have us grabbing the leanest ground beef we can. Warnings about bacterial contamination have us cooking our burgers until they are gray through and through. Bye-bye, juicy and succulent.
Not so fast, pilgrim. Let’s take a stroll through your burger basics:
– Meat. Dazzling array of choices here. Ground beef, ground round, ground chuck, ground sirloin. For our money, any of the last three are your best option, particularly chuck. Anything labeled “ground beef” is usually best disguised in spaghetti sauce. (Skip the stuff labeled “hamburger.” If the butcher doesn’t want to tell you what it’s made of, you probably don’t want to know.)
For a juicy burger, look for meat that is 80 percent to 85 percent lean. Although we’re all concerned about the fat in American diets, this is not the time to think too lean. Fat is what gives you tenderness. Treat yourself to a real burger once in a while and save the ground turkey for the rest of the time.
– Handling. Compact is fine for pates. For a good burger, you want to handle the meat as lightly as possible. If you overmix it, you’ll destroy all those threads of ground meat and end up with a tough burger. To add in flavorings and ingredients, wet your hands to keep the meat from sticking. Hold your fingers out stiffly and toss. Think “mixing,” not “squishing.”
In testing burger recipes, we found that light handling results in a more tender burger, but it also can give a crumbly burger. All of our burgers benefited from a rest in the refrigerator to firm up before cooking.
– Cooking. Hot, hot, hot. Grill, skillet or griddle, make sure the cooking surface is hot before you begin. That delivers the crusty exterior that’s a hallmark of a good burger.
(But if you’re grilling, forget that “flame-broiled” stuff. You want a medium-hot fire if you don’t want burned burgers.)
As for all that fussing–turning repeatedly, pressing down with a spatula–forget it. Give the poor burger a break and let the heat do its work.
– Doneness. This is a tough one. There have been cases of bacterial contamination from undercooked hamburgers. This is a problem with ground meat because bacteria on the surface is spread through the meat when it is ground.
Food safety experts say burgers should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. And they suggest you test that with an instant-read thermometer. Relying on the old method of waiting until the juices run clear may not be accurate enough.
On the other hand, there’s nothing like a rare burger for juice-to-your-elbows delight. It’s up to you to decide, of course. But if you really want a rare burger despite the risk, you might want to grind it yourself so you know the meat is ultra-clean. It’s not difficult, but you have to have a meat grinder. A food processor will just give you meat mush.
If you don’t have a meat grinder, stick with a butcher or meat department you trust and ask them to grind the meat for you. That way, you’ll know it is very fresh.
– Toppings: The bread craze of the last few years has given you many more choices than the old eight-for-$1 white buns. Consider focaccia sliced open lengthwise, or a brioche, or a French roll.
But when it comes to what to put between the burger and the bun, that’s entirely up to you. Customizing your burger is a personal choice.
Dare we say it? Have it your way.
STUFFED HAMBURGERS WITH STYLE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 8-10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from “The New Basics Cookbook,” by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup tiny capers, drained
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded, diced
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon each: caraway seeds, freshly ground pepper
4 to 6 tablespoons coarsely grated part-skim mozzarella
4 sandwich buns
1. Heat broiler. Combine sirloin, onion, capers, mustard, tomatoes, egg yolks, caraway seeds and pepper in a bowl, gently tossing with your hands. Do not overmix.
2. Make 8 patties from meat mixture. Make small indentation in center of four of the patties and place some of grated mozzarella in each. Top patties with remaining meat; pinch edges to seal.
3. Broil 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Turn carefully; burgers will be crumbly. Serve on warm sandwich buns.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …… 500 Fat ………… 24 g Cholesterol .. 175 mg
Sodium … 1,080 mg Carbohydrates .. 28 g Protein …….. 44 g
CRUNCHY TERIYAKI BURGERS
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Marinating time: 3-24 hours
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Adapted from “Betty Crocker’s Great Grilling.” The green onions and water chestnuts add crunch, the marinade adds a little sweetness. The marinade makes the meat a little softer, though, so the burgers are crumbly.
1 1/2 pounds ground round or chuck
1/2 cup finely chopped water chestnuts
4 green onions, chopped, including part of green tops
1/4 cup each: soy sauce, dry sherry or orange juice
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon molasses or packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
6 buns
1. Mix ground meat, water chestnuts and green onions, tossing lightly. Shape into 6 patties about 3/4-inch thick.
2. Combine soy sauce, sherry or juice, garlic, molasses or brown sugar and ginger in resealable plastic bag or shallow non-metallic dish. Add patties, turning once to coat. Refrigerate at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.
3. Heat broiler. Remove patties from marinade and cook 10 to 15 minutes, turning once, until juices run clear.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …… 385 Fat ………… 20 g Cholesterol .. 70 mg
Sodium ….. 875 mg Carbohydrates .. 26 g Protein ……. 23 g
LEMON AND ROASTED GARLIC BURGERS
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
These burgers have a bright flavor, but make sure you mix the lemon juice in thoroughly so the ground meat doesn’t “cook” in the acid. Adapted from “Comfort Food: Burgers,” by Charles Pierce.
1 head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt, ground black pepper
4 large rolls, such as brioche, split, toasted
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut off pointed end of garlic head, exposing cloves. Place garlic head on square of aluminum foil; drizzle with olive oil. Crimp foil loosely around garlic head. Place in oven; roast until cloves are soft, about 1 hour.
2. Heat broiler. Combine ground meat, lemon zest and juice in large bowl. Squeeze out pulp from 4 garlic cloves and add to bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, then mix lightly with wet hands. Form into 4 patties, each about 3/4-inch thick.
3. Broil burgers about 10 minutes total for medium rare, turning once. Place burgers on bottom halves of rolls, topping each with pulp from 2 or 3 garlic cloves. Top with other halves of rolls; serve.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …… 525 Fat ………… 32 g Cholesterol .. 105 mg
Sodium ….. 300 mg Carbohydrates .. 25 g Protein …….. 32 g
