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| Burger w/ Cheese Bun, Grilled Onions, Capers, tomatoes, Lettuce and Bacon |
Burgers seem to be making a come back in LA. We got food trucks slinging grass feed quality burgers, you got joints like
The Counter,
Umami Burger, and
OBO packed with people looking for the quality burger. I enjoy a good beefy burger right off the grill especially if you have some wood chips to smoke it with. I am going to share some techniques in how to grill the perfect burger.
To avoid dried out burgers that’ll have you reaching for a drink or avoid having your burger fall apart on the grill then follow these tips.
1. Buy Good Meat
This is the most important step. You need to choose a good cut of meat, don’t get those pre-packaged burger patties they dry out easily and take away from the potential of you achieving burger greatness. I always get my meat ground the day I plan on grilling burgers. Don’t go for the leanest meat your burger will not have enough flavor and will dry out quickly, some of the best cuts to use are sirloin steak, rib-eye, tri tip, or chuck. They tend to have a meat-fat ratio between 75-25 and 80-20. Find a market with a good meat department and the butcher will grind it up for you.
2. Chill the Beef and Your Hands
You want to have your meat chilled before you cook or form the patties, so put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes when you get home. This is important because you don’t want the fat to start to warm before you cook your burgers. If you don’t follow this step your burger has a higher chance of falling apart it will also help your burger retain its juices. Before you get ready to form the patties wash your hands in cold water before to reduce the temperature in your hands.
3. Making the Patties
You may want to use a scale to ensure that each patty is equal size, but if you got skills use your eye. You may even want to consider getting a patty press. You can use a hard surface to pat the patties down into the disc shapes that we all love or you can use your hands but keep them cold and wet so the fat doesn’t heat up and start to melt. If you are not going to cook them right away put them in the fridge to keep them cool.
DO NOT OVER WORK YOUR MEAT, the less you handle it the better your patties will turn out. If you compress it too much your burger will be tougher and that’s not what you or your guests want. We all love a juicy burger not some dried out patty.
Use your index finger to put a dimple in the middle of your patty on the top, this will help prevent the burger from contracting into a roundish patty, unless that’s what you want.
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| Tri-Tip Beef Patties w/ Sal, Pepper, and a bit of Tumeric |
4. Having a REALLY HOT Grill is Important
Before you put them on the grill season them with just salt and pepper. No need to get all fancy with spices unless you really want to. I prefer that beefy taste and adding too many spices will over shadow that beef taste (that is if you got a nice cut, of course grass feed beef is the best)
As with cooking steaks you want your grill to be so hot you can see the smoke and heat come of the grill. You want to cook your patties nice and quick and get that beautiful sear on both sides. This helps seal in the juices and provides that juicy burger I’m talking about. If you are using a charcoal grill put wood chips in for added smoke flavor.
Grill each side for 3- 5 minutes depending on how thick it is. You should end up flipping it 2 – 4 times. Don’t mess with your burger on the grill too much it may fall apart on you. Once it’s done put it in foil to rest for a couple of minutes this will give the juice time to work its magic.
5. Be Kind to your Meat Don’t Push It
I can’t stand to see some one press on their patties and push out all that juice and flavor. Yes by doing this your patty will cook faster but its worth the extra minute or two so you can have a JUICY burger. Besides you don’t want to cook burgers like Mc in the Box or any of those other _________ fast food burger joints.
6. Use the Right Buns
Make sure you pick buns that are the right size for your patties. Look for quality buns it should complement your burger, after all its what helps make a burger a burger. It should generally be the same size as your patty. Try and avoid very thick buns because it should be the meat that is the star of the show not the buns, think of the buns as the side kick.
Butter your buns for extra flavor if you are going to toast them. Yeah its extra fat n grease but that’s soooo Americana. I you are daring use bacon grease.
7. Say Cheese
When your patties are just about done add cheese while the burger's still on the grill. Once it starts to melt slightly take it off the grill, it should be nice and gooey by the time your ready to eat it.
8. Rest the Meat
After you take it off the heat, let the burger rest and redistribute its juices --for two to three minutes -- just like you would any steak. This way it won't immediately lose its juices at the first bite.
9. Toppings of your Burger
This is where everyone’s a critic when it comes to toppings. As for me at times I like the minimalists approach, other times I like to add my Picasso touch to it. If you are cooking for a number of people put together a burger bar with various toppings and sauces so your guests can put their perfection on your perfect patty.
Some Burger Facts from Wikipedia
The first printed American menu which listed hamburger was an 1826 menu from Delmonico's in New York.
Here is one reason why I try and avoid processed burgers from fast food joints, then again most of the cows if not all are not best compared to grass fed cows, if you haven’t had grass fed cows raised on an open range you are missing out. There is a substantial taste different between the two of them.
Ammonia is being used in amounts to obtain an obligatory pH of 10 to sanitize certain beef derivatives of E. coli and Salmonella; the ammonia is classified as a 'processing agent' and is not included on the list of ingredients. This ammonia-treated meat derivative contains defatted beef trimmings previously only used for pet food and rendered into cooking oil. According to the New York Times, a study financed by Beef Products Inc., which makes the product they call "lean finely textured beef”", from fatty beef trimmings contain “larger microbiological populations". The product is now being utilized with USDA approval in hamburgers of the American fast-food industry, grocery stores and the federal school lunch program. Although school lunch officials have some qualms about the product, its price is substantially lower and said it saves about $1 million a year in school lunch costs.
Products treated in this manner have been subject to complaints of an 'ammonia odor' if the percentage of ammonia is too high, leading to adjustments of the percentage of ammonia used, which may affect the efficacy of the process. According to The New York times, information obtained from both government and industry sources contradict effectiveness claims for the treatment in the school lunch program, these records show that since 2005, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found in Beef Products Inc meat, which uses the process. The records include two consecutive incidents in August, 2009 where two 27,000-pound batches were found to be contaminated.
With no reservations I have to say Coleys is the best Jamaican food in the San Fernando Valley. I have eaten there a handful of times and the food and service has never been disappointing. Last Sunday after work I had a craving for some fried fish and happen to be driving by Coleys, so I thought I’d stop in and have some of the Escoveitched Fish, which is a fried tropical king fish marinated in vinegar and garnished with onion, carrot, and pepper.
