Hamburgers

Chef's notes:

The origin of the hamburger is widely speculated. There are multiple families and institutions claiming the rights to having invented the hamburger. To me the idea of putting meat between two pieces of bread is very intuitive. It therefore seems quite possible that more than one person may have “invented” the idea at or around the same time. The whole debate kinda reminds me of how I used to argue with others that Leif Erikson was the first person to discover the Americas, not Christopher Columbus, which is true by the by. But if you think about it, the people that already lived here—you know Native Americans—kinda beat us all to the punch.

All debates aside, hamburgers are one of the tastiest things in the world. I am particularly a fan of the mushroom and swiss. It is a perfect balance of a simple seasoned meat patty topped with the slightly more complex flavors of mushrooms and swiss cheese: two things that are commonly disliked by Americans put together on one of America’s finest inventions.

Ingredients

  • 1½ pounds ground beef
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Butter for frying
  • 3 hamburger buns
  • 3 slices cheddar

Hamburger Recipe: Quick and Easy with Sea Salt, Black Pepper, and Worcestershire Sauce

  1. Mix the ground beef with your desired spices and what not. I strongly urge you to keep the breadcrumbs, eggs, and oatmeal out of the mix. That is disgusting. Stick to simple spices, salt, pepper, and one other spice of your choice, if you want. But I urge you to try the simple version first. Mix it lightly by hand. Machine mixing is not recommended, as it usually leads to pasty, over-mixed meat.
  2. To make equal-sized burger patties, divide the meat into equal portions before you start forming the patties. Form the patties by smashing the patties between your palms. And smooth the edge of the patty with your thumb. Or you can smash the patty between two plates. Cover the plates with plastic wrap to keep the burger from sticking. The edges may still need to be smoothed a little.
  3. Put a frying pan on the stove and heat it to just below medium. Melt some butter in the pan or add some other oil to keep the meat from sticking. When the pan is hot enough, put three or four patties in and start cooking the first side. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes before flipping to the other side. Don’t flip the patty until it has gotten nice and brown.
  4. The other side should take a similar amount of time to brown. o cook the burgers to your desired done-ness, use a thermometer. Time is much too relative to use as a guide. For rare burgers, cook to 125 degrees F. If you like medium, 140 is your number, and for you sadists who like well done, 160 is the magic number. The FDA says that you should cook your ground meat to 155, just so you know.

Tips & Tricks

  • To broil burgers, turn the broiler to high and let it heat up for a few minutes. Put the patties on the broiling pan and position the pan about 6 to 7 inches below the broiler. Flip the burgers once the first side gets brown. Cook until the inside reaches the desired temperature.
  • Grilling is almost the same as broiling except it’s upside down (grilling browns from the bottom while broiling browns from the top). With grilling, resist the urge to touch the burgers until you need to. This will help keep the meat from sticking.
  • Don’t mix too much stuff into the hamburger recipe. It’s not a meatloaf.
  • To defrost the ground beef overnight, pop it in the microwave for a 3-minute defrost cycle first. It gives the meat a little jump start with out cooking it.
  • If you don’t like greasy burgers, buy leaner meat.