Awesome burger!

[Lynn LeFey]

Let me start off by saying that I have no interest in perpetuating whatever stereotypes there are about Americans. I'd like to think I'm pretty far removed from the 'average'. I'm not loud, or rude. I don't believe that for some reason, America is somehow obviously superior to any other place in the world.

But...

Okay, look... I have a 'burger problem' in the same way most of us here have an MT problem. I like burgers. I like cheap burgers. I like expensive burgers. But mostly, I just like tasty burgers. In this regard, I'm not just American, I'm straight-up 'Murkin!

So, my husband has a medical issue, where he is missing enzymes that break down phenylalanine, one of the basic amino acids in protein. So, he's on a very restricted protein diet, and on medication to control the buildup of phenylalanine. This means anything i make for both of us is usually low-protein. This also means I don't eat tons of meat. And all THAT leads me to the fact that my hubby and i have an agreement that one night a week, I get to ride over to a burger joint and get me a big old tasty burger.

Tonight...

Tonight I went to Wendy's, and got their Bacon Cheeseburger on a Pretzel Bun. Last week, we went to a really good grill/pub, and i had a fantastic basic cheeseburger. But this one, nearly half the cost, was maybe better. Probably better. And for the price, LOTS better.

I had a good ten minutes of total burger bliss. Yes, from a fast food chain burger. if I'd had a good beer to wash it down with my brain might have exploded.

-Lynn, proud burger addict 

[jzmtl]

I'm new to BBQ burger myself, since I prefer meat that I know where came from. 

But costco had a sale on burger patties so I picked up some, and really it's much better than the ones you can buy. I smoke them with hickory on medium heat from frozen, then turn up the heat close to finish, drop a couple slices of cheese and sometimes mushroom sautéed in butter and parsley/oregano/basil.

Gotta admit, it's an awesome comfort food, quick to cook too. Now I go pick up some every once in a while and satisfy the craving. 

[Taxi Dad]

think more "PITBULL"
http://images.costumeexpress.com/mgen/61489.jpg?zm=1600,1600,1,0,0

just sayin' Lynn

[comis]

I miss Wendy.

For a few years, the local chain of Burgerking were all gone, and it was miserable to have Mickie D as the only fast food Burger option.  But it reopen, and that was great news.  But I still miss Wendy which I can only find in N America.

[kkokkolis]

I am not a fan of burgers, from the country of Burger Supremacy  I prefer Hot Dogs.
But if I am going to have a burger I prefer Burger King (we don't have one here, only when I travel) and I avoid McDonalds as I would avoid the devil himself. We have a local brand, Goody's that's eatable (better than Ronald's) and we also had Wendy's but no more since the aboriginals prefer the local chain. There are some "gourmet" burger chains if one can use the term for burgers. I prefer the "Baconator" from Chickies and there's also the Simply Burgers. But I would take a Whopper over anything else if we had it here, unless I could devour a kosher hot dog with onion sause.

[Etherealicer]

I LOVE BURGERS

its one of the things I envy Americans for.  I remember when traveling the south of the US you could always get a burger named after the local football team, yummy... We have only McD and Burger King. Sure there are some excellent burger places, but they are quite pricey. So I got a burger press:



I can only recommend that. Making burgers is really easy.

Basic recipe:
lightly salt some minced meat* and form patties.

Thats it!
*any kind, and with any kind I mean: pork, beef, lamb but also prawns or fish and technically not "meat" you can even make delicious burgers from beans.

I like to add an egg or two and some breadcrumbs. But you can add almost anything:
- olives
- dried tomatoes
- chopped onions
- garlic
- chillies
- minced chorizo
- all kinds of spices
- ...

Making the relish is equally as easy, you can make it all on your own (e.g. make a paste of onions and tomatoes) or spice up some ketchup with fresh herbs.
And don't stop there, you can play with the cheese (try to add blue cheese) and the bread (whole meat, or a ciabatta or lightly toast the bread and then rub it with garlic).

[Billy Ruffian]

Great idea for a thread Lynn,  except this making me real hungry and I only have the prospect of a bowl of porridge for my lunch today...

I think sometimes it's more about eating something you really crave, at just the right time, that makes the experience awesome and perhaps just as significant as the burger itself. Having said that, have you ever had what you regard to be the perfect burger?

My own awesome burger experience came several years ago, it was in a nice, rural pub and I'd been hiking all day with a mate, it was the dead of winter, already getting dark, and the pub had a crackling log fire on the go, so already the scene was set. We both ordered the burger, it was proper ground beef, well-seasoned, charred under a really hot grill, just maybe a few cumin seeds added to the mix, strong, melted cheddar and red onion chutney on top, all in a proper 'rustic' sourdough bun. And your wish for a beer to accompany yours reminds me that I had a truly sparkling pint of 'Spitfire' (a local ale) to go with it. 

The problem is now that I am always trying (in vain) to recreate that perfect burger experience and nowhere else has come close, I have tried all the obvious fast-food places, some of these new 'gourmet' burger joints (Byron Burger and GBK), numerous other pubs and bistros, I have even been back to this same rural pub, but they have either changed their chef, or the ingredients (or both) and it just wasn't the same. I bought a press and all the kit to go with it to try this at home, but it still wasn't up to the standard of that one perfect burger I had.

I guess I will have to accept that I will just not be able to recreate that magic moment where everything came together for an awesome burger experience - but I have a feeling I will keep trying...

[pfrsantos]

Ok, here are a few ideas for your next night out:

[derekmac]

Now THAT'S a frickin hamburger!! 

My favourite hamburger comes from Montana's, and it's called the Chipotle Firecracker Burger.  Sooooo gooooood!! 

[sawman]

I love burgers but especially if they came off of a grill I can't imagine any proper cookout without them!

[sawman]

I LOVE BURGERS

its one of the things I envy Americans for.  I remember when traveling the south of the US you could always get a burger named after the local football team, yummy... We have only McD and Burger King. Sure there are some excellent burger places, but they are quite pricey. So I got a burger press:

(Image removed from quote.)

I can only recommend that. Making burgers is really easy.

Basic recipe:
lightly salt some minced meat* and form patties.

Thats it!
*any kind, and with any kind I mean: pork, beef, lamb but also prawns or fish and technically not "meat" you can even make delicious burgers from beans.

I like to add an egg or two and some breadcrumbs. But you can add almost anything:
- olives
- dried tomatoes
- chopped onions
- garlic
- chillies
- minced chorizo
- all kinds of spices
- ...

Making the relish is equally as easy, you can make it all on your own (e.g. make a paste of onions and tomatoes) or spice up some ketchup with fresh herbs.
And don't stop there, you can play with the cheese (try to add blue cheese) and the bread (whole meat, or a ciabatta or lightly toast the bread and then rub it with garlic).

Blue cheese just happens to be one of my favorites on a burger. I was wondering though about dried tomatoes as I just slice them fresh?

[Lynn LeFey]

Having said that, have you ever had what you regard to be the perfect burger?

Both of the best burgers I've ever had were 'Black and Bleu' burgers. Black Angus and Bleu Cheese. One was over in St. Louis, seared crisp on the outside, fresh cracked black pepper, and caramelized onions on top. The other was from a little place just down the street. He puts the bleu cheese in the center of the patty. Super simple, but perfectly made.

The thing of 'long day of hiking' always makes food SO much better.

I suppose someone needs to link this song in this thread...

[detron]

we have this local place called Bulldogs,  and they have several umm,  unique burgers.

check out this menu,  I love this place.  btw a small fry feeds 3 people!

http://www.bulldogsgrill.com/menu.html

[sawman]

we have this local place called Bulldogs,  and they have several umm,  unique burgers.

check out this menu,  I love this place.  btw a small fry feeds 3 people!

http://www.bulldogsgrill.com/menu.html

Wow they have a smurfload of different burgers. Probably more than "Red Robin".

Here in Jax we have a place called "The Loop" and I would say they offer my favorite burger with bleu cheese It comes with a good portion of steak fries too!

[GigaHz]

Anybody else like 5 Guys?

[sawman]

Anybody else like 5 Guys?

I like 5 guys pretty well. Love their fries especially!!!!!

[Lynn LeFey]

I just had 5 Guys burger for the first time a month or so back. It was quite good, but it's a 15 mile drive from my house to the nearest one, so not a place I'm going to to to very often.

Both burger and fries were very straight forward, and 'honest'. They tasted like what you might get at someone's house if they cared to make good (but not fancy) food.

[GigaHz]

Sound like you like these places better?
http://www.fuddruckers.com/
http://www.redrobin.com/

[sawman]

I think we have a Fuddruckers here but I haven't been. As for Red Robin, it's a pretty decent burger and I like their endless steak fries. As I said though my favorite place around here for a burger is "The Loop"

[Whoey]

Burgers are loved in this house too... even though my wife is Spanish. We have both McD and BK within 5min walk of our house, but I prefer BK.

There's a chain called "Peggy Sues" that does diner style American food. Not the nicest experience we've had in the couple times we went. The shakes were great, burgers were a bit average. Same goes for the "Fosters Hollywood", food is very average, and probably not as consistent as BK imho.

Most of the time our best are homemade. The last few batches the wife has been doing the patties totally herself, so I can't really say what proportions are in them, but I know Worcestershire sauce, gourmet heinz ketchup, and a few other spices are involved. They have kick!

The best burger outside home I've had in Spain was during a road trip in a place surprisingly called "Ribs" in Bilbao.

[Aloha]

I'm not a burger aficionado unless I make them myself.  If I do get a craving for take out burger I'll go to In and Out burger. 

[hiraethus]

Best burger I've ever had was in Fergburger in Queenstown, NZ but that's a bit far to go.  My favourite locally is in a pub called the Bull's Head - a 10oz patty with swiss cheese, salsa and jalapenos.  Homemade is good - just beef in the patty, nothing else (not even salt) - if your meat is good enough you don't need it - and I normally make my own buns too.

I quite like McDonalds as well.

[sawman]

I keep trying to like McDonalds but they just love to screw up my sandwiches. They don't put enough sauce on their quarter pounder and last time I got a Big Mac and the patties were about half the size of the bun, I mean they were tiny!

[derekmac]

we have this local place called Bulldogs,  and they have several umm,  unique burgers.

check out this menu,  I love this place.  btw a small fry feeds 3 people!

http://www.bulldogsgrill.com/menu.html

Wow, that's quite the selection!!

I wish prices here were like that too.  When we drove from Niagara Falls to Maine, every place we ate, the bill was always about half of what it would cost here to get the same thing.  Actually, I shouldn't say the "same thing", as we also always got more food too.    More food for half the price makes me go 

[MadPlumbarian]

Omg after reading this, I'm hungry! I've always been a cheeseburger addict, nothing special on it besides cheese! One of my favs has always been Micky d, but with there's i don't know why I like everything except pickles(onions, ketchup, mustered) I find it funny cause I hate all of them. The best part is I got to stop and get a few on the ride home the other day, it's been over a year since the last time I got them, OMG they were good!! Other then that five guys, now those are GOOOD, again nothing but cheese! Well a dash of salt will make it better,, I love BBQ, and everywhere I go who Evers cooking uses propane, the real way to have them is over charcoal! Hands down the best! Now I'm really freaking hungry and my stomach just rumbled! This sucks,, JR

[jerseydevil]

Well this thread helped me decide on lunch today.   Went with a 1/3lb bacon cheeseburger from a local place.  So good!  The 1/2lb would be insane of course, hence the little one..... 

[sawman]

Well this thread helped me decide on lunch today.   Went with a 1/3lb bacon cheeseburger from a local place.  So good!  The 1/2lb would be insane of course, hence the little one..... 

It seems you're not the only enabler here 

[Lynn LeFey]

It seems you're not the only enabler here 

 

Yes, this is my payback for JD 'pushing' saks on me.

[jerseydevil]

It seems you're not the only enabler here 

 

Yes, this is my payback for JD 'pushing' saks on me.

I think I can live with this sort of enabling.  Unless of course I keel over from a heart attack halfway through the burger....

[sawman]

It seems you're not the only enabler here 

 

Yes, this is my payback for JD 'pushing' saks on me.

I think I can live with this sort of enabling.  Unless of course I keel over from a heart attack halfway through the burger....

I can think of far worse ways to go than keeling over from a tasty burger