ShareThisCompany's coming for a Fourth of July cookout.
Odds are, burgers are on the menu. Unless you are feeding the whole neighborhood, puh-leez don't settle for preformed patties, frozen or not. When you select the meat (it doesn't always have to be beef) and form the patties yourself, you get to control the quality of the meat and portion size while customizing the flavors.
Why settle for mundane when, with just a bit of effort, you can switch to urbane? We tested some burgers for you. They got raves. So will you.
Burger 101 review
The better the meat, the better the flavor. No need to get the expensive cuts. Choose skirt, shin or chuck when buying beef. Choose lamb shoulder or leg. Meat that is about 20 percent fat yields a juicy, succulent, self-basted burger with most of the fat draining off during cooking. Meat that is too lean usually makes a dry, tough burger. If you insist, keep the moisture in the add-ons, such as tomatoes and sauces.
Always chill ground meat well before use, and when mixing in seasonings or finely minced ingredients, use a gentle touch. Use slightly damp hands to form patties. Don't squeeze or press the mixture into shape; just press it lightly together gently until it forms a ball. Then flatten gently with the palm of your hand, keeping the patties an even thickness so they cook evenly. Use the tines of a fork to neaten up the sides of the patties. Once you've shaped the patties, place them on a tray and chill again to firm the meat before cooking.
Did you notice we said "gentle" or "gently" three times?
Got that?
If you can put it on a bun, you can call it a burger. Venture beyond beef. Try lamb, fish, poultry, seafood, and veggies. Game meat such as venison and pheasant makes excellent burgers, but because the meats are so lean, a little pork fat should be added.
Grilling is just one way to cook burgers. Indoors, a ridged grill pan is almost as good and a boon to apartment and condo-based cooks. A preheated, heavy griddle can accommodate lots of burgers. A nonstick frying pan or seasoned black cast-iron skillet are both burger-friendly. In any case, preheat the pan and always brush the burgers with a bit of oil before placing on the cooking surface.
When I cook burgers indoors, which is most of the time for just the two of us, instead of salting the meat, I salt the pan. I set a cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat for about four or five minutes, then sprinkle a good scattering of kosher salt over the surface. The burgers cook on the salt, which makes a crunchy brown crust.
About the only absolute no-no is pressing down on the burgers with a spatula to "speed up" the cooking. Check that urge! If you don't, the good juices will be lost and the burgers will be dry.
Think about the buns. Too soft? Too big? Never settle for inferior, squishy, cellophane-wrapped ho-hum buns. The bakery world begs you to consider onion rolls, kaiser buns, baguettes, focaccia, sourdough, English muffins, ciabatta, crusty buns with or without sesame and poppy seeds, brioche, naan and pita pockets. And toast them.
Set out "The Works." Bowls of ketchup, plain or jazzed-up mayonnaise, one or two mustards, pickle chips or spears, sliced tomatoes, hot pepper sauce, red onion rings, leaves of bibb lettuce or shredded iceberg. Try crisp bacon strips and a couple of kinds of cheese, some kind of potato dish and any version of coleslaw, preferably vinaigrette-dressed.
Your "special sauce" can be store-bought or homemade. Most bottled barbecue sauces are good. Beef burgers cry out for sour cream enhanced with a bit of horseradish and chopped chives. Lamb burgers match with seasoned creamy yogurt with diced cucumber and chopped mint and a touch of fresh lemon juice.
Now, open wide.
HAVE-I-GOT-THE-BLUES BURGERS
(Tested by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Icy-cold beer is a must with this inside-out burger. The flavors are all here -- salt from the blue cheese, sweet and tart from the barbecue sauce, umami from the mushrooms and bitter from the beer.
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 ounces blue cheese, preferably Maytag blue cheese
Salt and pepper to season
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons minced shallots
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (crimini, shiitake, oyster)
Quick Barbecue Sauce (recipe below)
4 onion rolls, cut in half
Gently form beef into 8 3-ounce, 1/2-inch-thick patties. Use a metal spoon to make a small, shallow indentation in center of 4 of the patties. Place 1/2-ounce blue cheese into each indentation. Top four burgers with another patty, and gently form into 1-1/4-inch-thick burgers, sealing all open edges. Use the side of a dinner fork to press the edges together. Cover burgers with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
Melt butter in a skillet and saute shallots and mushrooms over medium-high heat until shallots soften and mushrooms reduce in size and absorb butter, about 4 minutes. Reserve.
Just before grilling, lightly season burgers with salt and pepper.
Grill burgers over a medium wood or charcoal fire, or cook on a well-seasoned flat griddle or cast-iron skillet. Cook to desired doneness: 4 to 5 minutes on each side for rare, 6 to 7 minutes on each side for medium. When you have flipped the burgers to the second side, baste the burgers with Quick Barbecue Sauce. Meanwhile, toast the buns.
Remove the burgers from the grill and baste again with the remaining Quick Barbecue Sauce. Divide the mushrooms between the 4 toasted buns. Top with a burger and the other half of the bun. Pass the remaining sauce at the table.
Quick Barbecue Sauce
Combine 4 tablespoons ketchup, 4 tablespoons light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard, 2 tablespoons dark molasses, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar and 2 cloves garlic, peeled, in a saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and allow to simmer quietly for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and discard garlic. Transfer 1/3 of the sauce to a dish for basting. Transfer the remaining sauce to a dish to pass at the table. Keep covered until ready to use.
-- Adapted from "Burger Meisters" by Marcel Desaulniers (Simon and Schuster, 1993).
KRABBY PATTY JUMBO LUMP CRAB MEAT BURGERS
(Tested by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Crab cooks pretty much agree that crab cakes should incorporate as little "binder" as possible, that the mixture has to rest before forming into balls and that cooking should be as brief as possible. Make the burgers early in the day and refrigerate. Remove them about 20 minutes before cooking. The cakes are deep-fried for a mere 45 seconds, then continue to cook through briefly in a hot oven. Serve 2 crunchy cakes to a bun. Or, for smaller appetites, serve one crab cake on a smaller bun.
1 pound lump crab meat
1 large egg
2 tablespoons real mayonnaise (Hellmann's preferred)
1/3 cup soft, fresh breadcrumbs, no crust
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Dash of freshly ground pepper
Saltine crackers, about 12, crushed
Peanut oil for deep-frying
4 rectangular "hoagie" buns, toasted
Red Cabbage Slaw of your choice
Tartar sauce
Combine crab, egg, mayo, crumbs, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay and pepper. Mix to combine and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Form into portions using a 1/3 cup measure, then shape into fat patties. Gently roll the patties in cracker crumbs and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Get out a baking tray. In a deep fryer or small deep pot, heat oil to 360 degrees. Gently deep-fry the cakes about 45 seconds or until golden.
Transfer to the baking tray after frying, then place in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Some cooks will increase the frying time and not bother with the oven.
While they are cooking, toast the buns. Serve with slaw and tartar sauce.
Makes 8 cakes or 4 servings.
-- Marlene Parrish
IDAHO BISON BURGERS
(Tested by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
1-1/2 pounds ground bison
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 ripe avocados
4 1/4-inch-thick slices red onion
Olive oil
4 burger buns, preferably kaiser buns
4 tablespoons Seasoned Mayonnaise (see recipe below)
4 bibb lettuce leaves, washed and dried
4 1/4-inch-thick slices ripe tomato
Gently form the bison into 4 6-ounce, 1-inch-thick burgers. Season each with salt and pepper. Cover the burgers with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
Cut, pit and peel the avocados. Thinly slice (about 1/8-inch thick) the avocado halves from end to end. Do this at the last minute or while the burgers are cooking because the avocado will oxidize and discolor.
Grill the burgers or cook on a cast-iron skillet. Cook to the desired doneness: 3 to 4 minutes on each side for rare, 5 to 6 minutes for medium. Bison is lean and should never be served well done.
While the burgers cook, brush the onion rings with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook them at the same time. (The onions could also be cooked in a saute pan.)
Toast the buns, cut-side down on the grill or griddle until golden brown. Spread 1/2 tablespoon Seasoned Mayonnaise onto each bun half. Place burger on the bottom half of a bun and top with avocado slices, browned onions, tomato slice and lettuce. Add top of the bun. Makes 4 burgers.
Seasoned Mayonnaise
To 1/4 cup Hellman's or other mayo, add a few drops fresh lemon juice, salt, freshly ground pepper and bare pinches of cayenne pepper, chili powder and cumin. Stir and set aside.
-- Adapted from "Burger Meisters" by Marcel Desaulniers (Simon and Schuster, 1993)
(Marlene Parrish can be reached at mparrish(at)post-gazette.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
