Multitool.org Forum
+-

Hello Lurker! Remove this ad and much more by logging in.


The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....

Nix · 508 · 12280

us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #60 on: January 04, 2019, 12:21:41 AM
Mrs Nix loves a good burger....but she usually takes her burger without a bun. Who am I to gainsay her?   :cheers:

(Although, this does raise the tricky issue of trying to establish a difference between a bunless burger and the old Salisbury Steak. I may be inviting disaster here, but let's consider the bun classic, but optional, especially for the wheat-intolerant.)

What about a Patty Melt  ;)

Who doesn't love a patty melt?   :ahhh   :drool:  But I'd call that a variation of a burger.

Now, if you guys want to insist that a burger must include a bun....I'm open to tightening the rules up. I think we'd need at least three members to say "A burger must include a bun". And, I'm going to disqualify Blackbeard from being one of those three members since, as the only active challenger, he has a conflict of interest.



gb Offline Fuzzbucket

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,585
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #61 on: January 04, 2019, 12:46:18 AM
Well... if I asked for a burger in any decent self-respecting greasy spoon cafe and it didn't come in a bun, I'd be pretty disappointed. So, I say bun.


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #62 on: January 04, 2019, 12:55:42 AM
If you wanted to order a burger without a bun....how would you do it?  :think:

Certainly it's reasonable to have the expectation of a bun....or some sort of holding device. But that doesn't necessarily mean a burger without a bun isn't a burger.....
« Last Edit: January 04, 2019, 12:57:25 AM by Nix »


gb Offline Fuzzbucket

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,585
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #63 on: January 04, 2019, 01:09:57 AM
Yeah, but, if you asked for a burger and it didn't...


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #64 on: January 04, 2019, 01:43:57 AM
Well, I'm afraid the debate is over.....

Mrs Nix has resorted to the nuclear option.

As she has a personal view on this matter, and generally prefers a "No Bun Burger" (see additional posts below), she has unilaterally declared that meat or veggie patties served without buns shall be considered "Burgers" for the purposes of this contest.

You guys don't want to be on Mrs Nix's list. So the current rules stand. Sea Monster, your burger is admissible (assuming you've met the other requirements.  ;))

 (And Fuzzy, you are now on her list. I tried to defend you, but....sorry...you're on The List.)


gb Offline Fuzzbucket

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,585
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #65 on: January 04, 2019, 02:27:05 AM
Well... I'm going to have to confer with Mrs Fuzzy about this, which means waking her up, she ain't going to be happy about that, just saying... This could well turn into something nasty...


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #66 on: January 04, 2019, 02:39:47 AM
Blackbeard’s post pretty much covered the tutorial I was going to write. If you are worried you can’t make a great burger, re-read his post above. I thought I’d add a few small tips to what he said, for those who are just getting started.

I’m no chef, and can only offer up what I do, so take my advice with a grain of salt. (Sorry, couldn't be helped.)  We do have some talented cooks in our midst, and I hope they will chime in here and offer improvements to my techniques or corrections to any misinformation I may inadvertently pass along.

The burger I made this evening is about as simple a burger as I make—I don’t think it gets much easier. Still, it tasted great!

Making a burger is no more complicated than 1) forming a patty, 2) cooking a patty, and 3) putting said patty on a bun (or not).  Nevertheless, there are few ways to make a better burger:

Beef is the classic meat for a burger, use what ever you want, but some meat with some fat in it will make for a tastier and juicier burger. An 80% lean is great, 85% lean is fine, 90% lean can start to get dry.

Fresh ground beef is the best. I’m using regular beef out of the meat case here, but you may get your butcher to grind some meat for you. Either chuck or a chuck and brisket blend works well for me.

Keep your ground beef cold. This is contrary to the usual advice for grilling a steak where it’s better to let the steak come up to room temperature. With burgers, keep your meat cold until it hits the heat. This way it won’t lose fat or juices.

In general, when forming up the patties, try to use a light touch. This isn’t bread, you don’t need to knead it or mash it. Gently coax the patties together and shape them  to the size you like. Here are my patties, honestly I think they got a bit overworked, but they turned out just fine:





Note that with these patties, I tried to make the center a bit thinner or cupped. As the burgers cook, they will shrink and puff up a bit and even out on their own.

It’s a good idea to form up the burger patties and then put them back in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. This lets the newly formed patties come together and set up. This will help keep your burger from falling apart in the pan or on the grill.

In general (there are exceptions), I don’t season my burgers until right before they go on to the grill or into the pan. With steak, you definitely see some benefits from pre-seasoning. With burgers, you’ll get a better crust if you season at the last minute. But do season, at least with salt!

Here my patties have just come out of a 30-minute rest in the fridge. They got sprinkled with salt (nothing else!) and are going to go into the pan.





I like using a cast iron pan, but use what you have. I like a medium-high heat. You want to have that burger start to sizzle when it hits the pan. I put a little butter (olive oil works well , too) in the pan and it immediately started sizzling and started to brown: time to get those burgers in!





In the above photo you can see the one burger is sizzling nicely. The other not as much. Don’t be tempted to mash down on the burger! You’ll only squeeze the good juices out.

Instead, I moved the pan over a bit to heat the slower burger up, and shifted the slow burger over a bit. After a couple of minutes I also gently rotated the burgers about 180º to ensure even cooking.

Doneness can be hard to judge with a burger. On a hot grill, I’ve found that I only need about 3 minutes a side. It takes a little longer in a skillet. When you start to see clear juices rise up from the top of the meat, that burger is done! Remember, a very thin burger will cook through more quickly than a big fatty.

Some red juices started coming up for me now, so I flipped my burgers over. These have a good crust. That crust comes from a good hot pan and some salt right before they went into the pan.




Again, I started looking for those juice to start coming up (sometimes out the side). The juices were starting to clear, and a poke with the spatula told me the meat had firmed up. Now I put my cheese on (sorry no pic, but you know what cheese looks like.) To help the cheese melt, I put a wok lid over the burgers—the steam formed by those juices will melt the cheese. This step is not needed, but I like to do it.




So that’s it!

Burger done!

Put that lovely cheeseburger on a bun….or not….




Mine: beef burger with American cheese, pickles, onions, and mustard on a ciabatta roll.
Mrs Nix: beef burger with Swiss cheese, catsup and pickles.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2019, 03:49:23 AM by Nix »


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #67 on: January 04, 2019, 02:42:16 AM


us Offline Blackbeard

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 3,309
  • One Day Closer To Death
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #68 on: January 04, 2019, 03:46:43 AM
 :like: :gimme: Good info

Can also put a sheet of aluminum foil over the pan to melt the cheese and save on cleaning the lid,


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #69 on: January 04, 2019, 03:47:50 AM
 :iagree: :like:

* ...goes to clean wok lid....*


scotland Offline Sea Monster

  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 4,237
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #70 on: January 04, 2019, 07:25:38 AM
I couldn't camera & cook at the same time, but here's my burger.

I forgot about the proof-of-date thing, so you can see a receipt from the shop that bought the ingredients in a photo after I've started eating it, (with my beloved spidey) and a close up of the date.

Bottom left of the burger-shot is the nose of someone who did nothing at all to help, but seemed to feel entitled to reward.

As a concession to the bun crowd, I topped it with a hashbrown.

Burger includes fried egg and beetroot, however I forgot bacon, so it does not meet the standard to be codified as "Australian"

patty is beef, secret spices, egg and coconut flour.


* Burger Date.jpg (Filesize: 29.42 KB)
Burger Dog.jpg
* Burger Dog.jpg (Filesize: 136.84 KB)
Burger Receipt.jpg
* Burger Receipt.jpg (Filesize: 93.42 KB)


00 Offline Mechanickal

  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • ********
    • Posts: 14,686
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #71 on: January 04, 2019, 07:39:48 AM
That's not a burger!!

Show content
It looks more like heaven to me :dd: :drool:


hr Offline styx

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,575
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #72 on: January 04, 2019, 08:44:26 AM
I'd say it is a burger only because I'm on this cut. But if it ain't I'll have to sacrifice a day
Solving problems you didn't know you had in the most obscure way possible

"And now, it's time to hand this over to our tame race axe driver. Some say, he can live in the forest for six months at a time without food, and he knows of a secret tribe of only women where he is their God. All we know is, he's call the Styx!" - TazzieRob


gb Offline Fuzzbucket

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,585
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #73 on: January 04, 2019, 12:18:47 PM

...

Stuff...

... catsup and pickles.

What an excellent post... especially for you Nix!  :2tu:

I woke up Mrs Fuzzy last night and I was right she was pretty angry!... particularly when I told her that you made me do it. Anyway, I asked her about the whole burger bun thing and she reckons that a burgers definitely not a burger without a bun... so there! Now you're on her naughty list!

ps. I agree about the butter thing, it's great for cooking beef. Also, very interesting re info about fat percentages... I didn't know that... thanks...


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #74 on: January 04, 2019, 02:56:19 PM
Only one question, Sea Monster: where you able to finish that whole thing off?  :drool:

Looks fantastic, and I love the inclusion of a fried egg. Growing up, I always heard a cheeseburger + fried egg referred to as a "Truck Burger". Not sure why.   :dunno:

What's the definition of an "Australian Burger"?  :think:

Mrs Nix approves of the inclusion of beets and the sensible omission of a bun: you are in!   :salute:


Burger challengers:

1. Blackbeard
1. Sea Monster


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #75 on: January 04, 2019, 03:10:30 PM
Fuzzy, send Mrs Fuzzbucket over here, please.  :pok:

I will make her a lovely bunless burger. I'll include a nice glass of cabernet and a side-salad. Perhaps a slice of chocolate cheesecake to finish. (Chocolate cheesecake goes shockingly well with a second glass of cab.) I'm sure she will see the light, and I'll be off the list in just the time it takes her to chew one bite. 

However, don't count on her returning to damp and grey Britain with it's soggy buns and flavorless burgers....... just fair warning.... :whistle:  Still, I don't want to stay on her naughty list, do I? 

Does she have a cheese preference for her burgers?


gb Offline Fuzzbucket

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,585
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #76 on: January 04, 2019, 03:58:21 PM
Monterey Jack apparently, I've just asked her.

Also, you pay for the outgoing flight, right and I'll get her the return journey... sound fair?  :2tu:


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #77 on: January 04, 2019, 04:18:15 PM
Hmmmm...let's do it the other way 'round. I'll get her return fare....if necessary.   :D

Monterey Jack...nice...melts well, mild flavor. A good choice for a burger.  :tu:


scotland Offline Sea Monster

  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 4,237
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #78 on: January 04, 2019, 09:50:20 PM
Quote
Only one question, Sea Monster: where you able to finish that whole thing off?

Much like Liam Neeson, I have particular set of skills, that I have acquired over a long career, skills that make me a nightmare for hamburgers (and people who prepare food in small, unsatisfactory quantities) - that burger was a mid afternoon snack.

Quote
What's the definition of an "Australian Burger"

When you go into the local chew & spew and order "just a burger mate" you expect to get something that has beef, bacon, tomato, lettuce, onion, egg, beetroot, cheese and tomato sauce.

Pineapple is also considered to be a standard inclusion, although depending on the region, this might be a "tropical" burger.

Some places will offer chicken, which will usually also change the sauce to mayonnaise.

Anything less than this is somewhat offensive, and you should ask the proprietor of the establishment if they really want to be in the burger business, or if perhaps they might prefer busking, or political science.

(None of this applies to Melbourne, where a burger is a something like a slice of cold meat with shaved haloumi and a pickle, served on a toothpick with a half soda water espresso and almond milk. Because Melbourne is full of weird hipster nutters who don't understand food is for eating)

Eggs on burgers are to have runny yolks (if there's not a law for it, there should be) - it is the "freshness seal" for the customer, so that they can take the first bite, the yolk breaks and warm yellow good runs down through the burger (and if you're lucky, onto the front of your shirt.) if the egg doesn't do this, your burger is not "fresh", and whoever sold it to you needs to give themselves and upper cut (or you need to lock the apprentice in a cage, because he took too damn long bringing your lunch back)

 


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #79 on: January 05, 2019, 01:21:09 AM
 :rofl:

Excellent answers. I think you and could have lunch together.   :cheers:


nz Offline Syncop8r

  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 8,763
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #80 on: January 05, 2019, 04:46:31 AM
Next there will be sandwiches with no bread....  :pok:


ie Offline Don Pablo

  • *
  • Zombie Apprentice
  • ********
    • Posts: 15,292
  • Yoo-hoo, big summer blowout!
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #81 on: January 05, 2019, 10:43:16 AM
Next there will be sandwiches with no bread....  :pok:
:drool:
Hooked, like everyone else. ;)

All hail the hook!


hr Offline styx

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,575
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #82 on: January 05, 2019, 02:05:51 PM
First ever attmpt of making a burger. Not sure about the result but all 4 are gone so I guess something was done right.

Couldn't find any tomatoes so those are missing. Now shall we begin?

The big part of a good burger for me is the sauce. No I do not like ketchup. It is just a bit of tomato paste with a ton of sugar. So I used the ancient family recipe that dates back to about 11 in the morning today when I figured that part might be a bit problematic. This recipe is a 3 ingredient one, mix to taste and in all honesty it might need a bit of lime or lemon juice.

IMG_20190105_124334

Yes those really are the ingreadients. Sour cream, sirarcha and Cholua. Gave a delicately spicy flavor that didn't overpower but certainly opened our sinuses.

Considering that I've preped the burgers and had them cooling for about 15 minutes before the pan I had a chance to prep everything so this was the state of the kitchen right before the magic moment

IMG_20190105_125825

And the end result was something like this

IMG_20190105_131655

I'd say it is a pretty standard thing but considering I've used ground turkey, no onions and tomatoes, and that was mozarella melted over the patties I'm not sure this qulifies. But the burgers were still juicy, manbe needed a bit of extra  zest and they vanished quickly so might not be a bad first try.
Next time I'd actually like to make my own buns as these didn't agree with being grilled a bit on the pan and started sticking.  Thankfully I noticed the first one was getting stuck rather than getting grill marks and even that was quite early so it didn't get ruined.
Solving problems you didn't know you had in the most obscure way possible

"And now, it's time to hand this over to our tame race axe driver. Some say, he can live in the forest for six months at a time without food, and he knows of a secret tribe of only women where he is their God. All we know is, he's call the Styx!" - TazzieRob


gb Offline Fuzzbucket

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,585
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #83 on: January 05, 2019, 02:36:10 PM
That looks like a bit of alright to me!  :2tu: I like turkey burgers, I made some turkey and leek ones a while back that were not too bad at all, but I'll be making beef and thyme ones tonight - my absolute favourite, using me mams old recipe! :tu:


nl Offline Serena

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 1,737
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #84 on: January 05, 2019, 02:53:46 PM
There's no timestamp Styx!


us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #85 on: January 05, 2019, 03:33:35 PM
Styx, those look fantastic.  :tu: 

For a first go at a burger, I'd say you did amazingly well and nailed the attempt. Good job making the divots in the center of the patties: I see that paid off.  I'm quite fond of a turkey burger myself, and I've one planned for later in the challenge.  Well done, sir!  :salute:

But....Serena is right....we're missing the date marker.... :facepalm:  :cry:   :cry:

Definitely do a follow-up set of burgers. You're awl over this!   :tu:

p.s. you can brush the open faces of the buns with a little melted butter or olive oil: this will help them toast without sticking.  :tu:

Styx: does your camera have an option to include the date/time in the photo?  :think:  I really want you to get credit for the attempt!
« Last Edit: January 05, 2019, 03:37:13 PM by Nix »


us Offline twiliter

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 5,520
  • motionless wheel, nothing is real
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #86 on: January 05, 2019, 03:53:36 PM
Wow, some excellent burgers!!  :drool:  :drool:

You guys are killin' me...  :facepalm:

 :cheers:


hr Offline styx

  • *
  • Absolutely No Life Club
  • *******
    • Posts: 9,575
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #87 on: January 05, 2019, 04:09:11 PM
Styx, those look fantastic.  :tu: 

For a first go at a burger, I'd say you did amazingly well and nailed the attempt. Good job making the divots in the center of the patties: I see that paid off.  I'm quite fond of a turkey burger myself, and I've one planned for later in the challenge.  Well done, sir!  :salute:

But....Serena is right....we're missing the date marker.... :facepalm:  :cry:   :cry:

Definitely do a follow-up set of burgers. You're awl over this!   :tu:

p.s. you can brush the open faces of the buns with a little melted butter or olive oil: this will help them toast without sticking.  :tu:

Styx: does your camera have an option to include the date/time in the photo?  :think:  I really want you to get credit for the attempt!

There is also the issue of "took a bite" pic missing

The timestamp is actually an easier issue to solve. Every picture thends to have a digital signature with the basic information suchs as date taken, some information about the device and in case of cell phones more often than not it has a geographical stamp
Solving problems you didn't know you had in the most obscure way possible

"And now, it's time to hand this over to our tame race axe driver. Some say, he can live in the forest for six months at a time without food, and he knows of a secret tribe of only women where he is their God. All we know is, he's call the Styx!" - TazzieRob


se Offline kottskrapa

  • *
  • No Life Club
  • ******
    • Posts: 3,772
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #88 on: January 05, 2019, 04:10:00 PM
I had to get this a go.. Here are some beef burgers with bacon mixed in the beef together with a lot of chilli, salt and pepper with chiabatta bread and mixed fries sweet potatoes and regular





My gf burger, it was more photogenic than mine



And then we remembered that we had to bite it



[It's not failure if you learn something from it]



us Offline Nix

  • *
  • Absolute Zombie Club
  • *********
    • Posts: 24,263
Re: The Great Burgers thread....you'll need a napkin....
Reply #89 on: January 05, 2019, 04:12:31 PM
Styx, those look fantastic.  :tu: 

For a first go at a burger, I'd say you did amazingly well and nailed the attempt. Good job making the divots in the center of the patties: I see that paid off.  I'm quite fond of a turkey burger myself, and I've one planned for later in the challenge.  Well done, sir!  :salute:

But....Serena is right....we're missing the date marker.... :facepalm:  :cry:   :cry:

Definitely do a follow-up set of burgers. You're awl over this!   :tu:

p.s. you can brush the open faces of the buns with a little melted butter or olive oil: this will help them toast without sticking.  :tu:

Styx: does your camera have an option to include the date/time in the photo?  :think:  I really want you to get credit for the attempt!

There is also the issue of "took a bite" pic missing

The timestamp is actually an easier issue to solve. Every picture thends to have a digital signature with the basic information suchs as date taken, some information about the device and in case of cell phones more often than not it has a geographical stamp

The "took a bite" rule is only important to prove that a burger is edible. I'll waive that here, because your burgers are clearly edible! You used Cholula, right? Edible.  :rofl:


 

Donations

Operational Funds

Help us keep the Unworkable working!
Donate with PayPal!
March Goal: $300.00
Due Date: Mar 31
Total Receipts: $379.86
PayPal Fees: $19.62
Net Balance: $360.24
Above Goal: $60.24
Site Currency: USD
120% 
March Donations

Community Links


Powered by EzPortal