What goes in and on the patty makes burger better

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Five hours into my new life as Mrs. Jan Roberts-Dominguez and I was starving. It was a grand affair, our wedding and reception. But true to form, I had been far too busy chatting up the guests to do much eating. So on the way to our honeymoon, I turned to Steve and uttered my first directive as Chief Cook: “There’s a Denny’s restaurant up there on the right. Pull in!”

I embraced the monster-sized bacon-cheese burger with both hands and total abandon. Glistening juices trickled out through my fingers and down my wrists. The only thing that saved my new silk suit from total ruin was my foresight to marry a man with fast reflexes. He’d hastily pushed the cuffs of my jacket up over my elbows as soon as the meal began leaking toward them.

Twenty-four years later that burger is still on my top-10 list of culinary experiences.

Certainly the circumstances surrounding that memorable meal influenced my reaction to it. But still, there’s something about a well-executed burger that satisfies deeply. Even if you aren’t starving.

In “Delights and Prejudices,” the father of American cuisine, James Beard, wrote about his own hamburger passions, acquired during his youth in Portland, Ore. He observed that the lowly burger can be a delicate morsel if the beef is good, contains an appropriate amount of fat and is cooked properly so that it retains its juices. Beard felt that most hamburgers are grilled over excessively high heat, leaving the meat charred and tough on the outside, and dry and flavorless on the inside.

He loved the way his mother would prepare them, seasoned with generous amounts of fresh garlic, and also found it a treat to mix in coarsely grated cheddar cheese, shallots, Worcestershire, mustard and Maggi Seasoning before sauteing them in butter.

“Most of the hamburger sandwiches we find nowadays are hardly memorable gastronomic experiences,” Beard wrote. “We have all seen and eaten those tasteless pieces of chopped beef which are waiting in stacks, separated by waxed paper, to be cooked on a greasy grill. If only we could encourage the use of good meat, good buns and tasty relishes throughout the land, we might have another golden age of the hamburger, which we last saw in the twenties.”

So in today’s world, when cooks are handicapped with the food safety imperative that no pink patties should pass our lips, what makes a burger memorable? I’d have to say that it’s all about flavor combinations and texture. And technique. You really can produce a juicy medium-done burger if you pay attention and genuinely care.

Take Steve’s burgers. Burger purists may cringe, since these beauties are adulterated considerably, but they are tasty. He starts with some good quality ground chuck (which has a high enough fat content to make juicy hamburgers,) to which he glugs in a hefty amount of catsup, a dash of Worcestershire sauce and a handful of finely chopped onion. After a preliminary mixing of these ingredients and a determination that the addition of more ketchup would make the mixture too loose to hold together during cooking, he gently forms his patties. Not too thin. Not too thick. Then he turns them over to me out on the deck where I’m heating up the barbecue, which in this case is usually our Traeger grill (an electric auger-fed wood pellet grill and smoker). The results are highly memorable indeed.

And no silk suits have ever been ruined during the experience.

Make burgers memorable:

* For safety reasons, burgers these days need to be cooked to at least medium. That’s an internal temperature of 160 degrees for beef, lamb and pork, and 165 degrees for ground turkey and chicken. A medium burger is firm to the touch; to the eye, the meat is no longer pink, and the juices are running clear instead of reddish pink.

* Fat is flavor. That means between 15 and 20 percent fat. For beef burgers, the best flavor experience comes from ground sirloin, round and chuck. Sirloin generally contains less fat than round or chuck, but they all make flavorful burgers. For pork or lamb burgers, the best flavor tends to be in the shoulder cuts.

* As far as cooking, nothing beats an outdoor grill when it comes to flavor. But a cast-iron skillet will also do an awesome job. Consider adding a bit of butter if you’re pan-frying.

* Your cooking surface should be nice and hot before you begin to cook your burgers, so thoroughly preheat your grill or skillet. This ensures a nice outer crust, which helps keep the juices in the burger.

* Don’t smash the patty! It makes me nuts when I see cooks doing this, because they’re forcing all those tasty juices out of the burger. And it really doesn’t speed up the cooking time by very much, so knock it off.

* To keep burgers from drying out try to flip them once only. Flipping back and forth only sends all those tasty juices flying.

* Other things to mix into your raw ground meat mixture: I’ve already talked about ketchup; beyond that, things to consider (not all at the same time) include mustard, chopped olives, shredded cheese, a sprinkling of onion soup mix, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili-garlic sauce, pine nuts, horseradish or taco seasoning.

* Memorable toppings for your burgers include: crisp-fried bacon, sliced olives, cheeses beyond cheddar (including Jarlsburg, blue, provolone, pepper Jack and extra-aged Gouda), guacamole, salsa, caramelized sweet onions (just saute in a bit of butter over medium-low heat until golden brown), roasted peppers, pesto mayonnaise (equal portions pesto and mayonnaise), grilled pineapple slices,

* After handling the raw burgers, always wash your hands, countertops and cutting boards with hot, soapy water. And use a fresh platter and utensils when transporting the cooked burgers from grill to table.

This is how my honey keeps the magic in our home-cooked burgers.

The Steve Burger

1 1/2pounds ground chuck

1/3cup ketchup

1/2cup finely chopped yellow onion

About 2 or 3 healthy glugs of Worcestershire sauce

All the fixings: slices of good-quality sharp cheddar cheese, sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, fresh lettuce, condiments of choice (including ketchup, mustard, relish and mayonnaise), crisp-cooked bacon or wedges of very ripe avocado.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chuck, ketchup, onion and Worcestershire sauce. Without over-mixing at this point, give the meat a preliminary toss with your hands or large fork then determine if more ketchup is needed. This decision is arrived at by determining whether the addition of more ketchup will make the mixture too loose to hold together during cooking. If the mixture isn’t quite to that “firm-yet-loose” point, then Steve would urge you to add more ketchup; mix again to evenly distribute the onions and ketchup throughout the meat.

Shape the mixture into four patties that are about 1/2-inch thick (or slightly thicker). Lightly oil the preheated grill or a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the burgers to at least 160 degrees internally, the desired degree of doneness, about 5 to 7 minutes per side for medium. Serve with desired burger fixings. Makes four burgers.

Not Steve’s idea, but good nonetheless: Substitute barbecue sauce for the ketchup. Don’t invite Steve.

Smoky and spicy, these Cajun-inspired burgers are made for sausage fans. Andouille is a delicious smoked pork sausage used in Cajun specialties such as jambalaya and gumbo. If you can’t get andouille, use any other spicy pork sausage instead. Makes six burgers.

Andouille bayou burgers with red pepper mayo

1/2pound andouille sausage meat, ground or finely chopped

21/2pounds ground beef chuck

1medium-size green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2small red onion, minced

1 1/2teaspoons salt

1 1/2teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Red pepper mayo (recipe follows)

In a large mixing bowl, gently mix together all the ingredients. Shape into six patties, each 1 inch thick. Lightly oil the grill or a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the burgers to at least 160 degrees internally, the desired degree of doneness, about 5 to 7 minutes per side for medium. Serve on focaccia or toasted sesame seed buns with the red pepper mayo and grilled onions.

Red pepper mayo: In the jar of a blender, combine one 3- to 4-ounce jar of roasted red peppers (drained), 1/2 cup mayonnaise, and 1 tablespoon minced shallots or sweet onion.

Mustard-shallot burgers

2pounds ground beef chuck

2shallots, minced

2cloves garlic, minced

1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard

1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1tablespoon soy sauce

1teaspoon salt

Combine the beef, shallots, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, olive oil, parsley, soy sauce and salt in a large mixing bowl. Form into six to eight patties, each about 3/4-inch thick.

Lightly oil the grill or a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the burgers and cook 5 to 8 minutes per side for medium. Makes six to eight burgers.

Curried chicken burgers with hot yogurt sauce

2tablespoons olive oil

1/3cup minced shallots

2tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 1/2pound ground chicken

1cup chicken broth

2tablespoons curry powder

3tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

2tablespoons tomato paste

1/2teaspoon salt

1/2cup plain low-fat yogurt

In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the shallots and the ginger and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, mixing to combine and coat with the oil. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken with 1/3 cup of the broth, 1 tablespoon of the curry powder, the parsley and the cooled cooked shallots and ginger. Form into four patties, each about 3/4-inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the sauce

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon over medium-low heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon shallots and the remaining 1 tablespoon of curry and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, until the shallots are just translucent and the curry has toasted a little. Add the remaining broth, the tomato paste, and salt. Slowly mix in the yogurt and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

In a preheated medium-hot skillet, saute the patties, turning once, until browned and cooked through. Note: If you want to grill them, you’ll need to place a grill topper on the grill that has small holes to keep the patties from breaking apart during cooking. Serve with the sauce. Makes four burgers.

Recipes adapted from “The Great Big Burger Book,” by Jane Murphy and Liz Yeh Singh

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com.