The perfect american meal.
NOTE: You MUST wash this down with a root beer float. It makes this already amazing meal 20% better.
Be warned, these burgers and fries are not for the casual cook. You will need to do a fair amount of work but I assure you the payoff is worth it.
These beef patties are not exactly bbq friendly as they break apart easily if handled too much. They are much better suited for a pan.
the burger: - Pre-ground mystery beef from the supermarket does not cut it. It doesn't even come close to grinding your own burgers from scratch.
the cuts I use and the ratio I use them in were decided on after a 2 week period of trial and error using various cuts of beef in different ratios. Towards the the end of the testing, I simply decided it was not worth it to keep combining 3 different cuts, especially because the end result consistently came out average and I didn't feel I gained an advantage by using 3. I felt I could save a lot of headache by just creating the best burger from only 2 cuts of beef.
The generally accepted best cuts of beef for burgers, even used by many top restaurants, are some combination of one or more cuts of chuck, brisket, and short rib. I tried CI's recommendation of sirloin and short rib which was solid. I also tried the unique burger combo from serious eats of ox tail, sirloin, and brisket which was also good. I found the CI to be a bit dry and lacking flavor, while I found the serious eats burger to be overly fatty and lacking character.
Chuck: Is overall the best cut to use if only using 1 cut because of its solid fat content and balanced flavors, but it lacks character and depth.
Sirloin: Is dry, tender, and neutral and is more of a filler to accompany other cuts of beef.
Brisket: Is super grassy and sour, having the best flavor and character of any of the cuts I tried but ground alone, it is super dry and grainy.
Short Rib: Fatty, rich, and nutty. This is a great cut to use but it is somewhat monotonous in its fattiness and flavor.
ox-tail: now, serious eats claimed this to be the KEY to their burgers, with insane amounts of flavor and richness but honestly, I just found it to be overly greasy and lacking much flavor. Think about ox-tail dishes that you've eaten, the meat is super fatty and rich, usually covered in a thick sauce. Now, if ox-tail was that tasty, why do almost all preparations of it cover it in a intensely flavored sauce?
In the end, the answer was quite simple really, combine flavor with richness which basically only left brisket for the flavor and the short rib or ox-tail for the richness. I eliminated ox tail pretty quickly because of one basic reason, it is a pain in the ass to butcher and because in all the burgers I used ox-tail in, it was just so overpowering in its fattiness.
I tested many ratios of brisket to short rib and came up with a 6:5 short rib:brisket ratio which I feel yields the best flavor:richness balance.
note: - Brisket is never sold in small portions, so when making these burgers, do so with the intention of making 10+ of them, or you can just make a few burgers and use the left over brisket for another recipe. Always get the smallest brisket possible, unless of course you plan on making A LOT of burgers.
generally, you want to purchase 3 times the amount of short rib to brisket by weight (assuming your short ribs come with the bone on).
In my supermarket my short ribs usually have a decent amount of meat on them. 1 lb (16 oz) usually yields around 9.5 oz of meat after taking off the bone.
these beef patties are 4 oz each, which is approximately 2.2 oz short rib and 1.8 oz of brisket per burger.
note: - When I didn't have a meat grinder, I used to use the CI method of freezing the meat, grinding it in the food processor, and picking out the gristle by hand. This method works and yields solid burgers but it is laborious. I eventually ran out of patience with that method and purchased a 50 dollar meat grinder attachment for my kitchen aid stand mixer which was a great investment. It lasts forever and it is much easier, quicker, and yields a more consistent grind.
ingredients:
1. 6:5 ratio short rib:brisket by weight (you do the math to figure out how much meat to buy depending on how many burgers you plan on making) - the meat can be more easily weighed out by cutting it up into 1 inch cubes (which you will have to do later anyway)
burger sauce:
for 4 burgers
2. 1/4 cup mayonnaise
3. 2 TBL ketchup
4. 1 tsp sweet pickle relish
5. 1 tsp sugar
6. 1 tsp white vinegar
7. 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
garnish:
8. thinly sliced red onion, soaked in ice water for 10 minutes to remove bitterness.
9. Martins potato rolls
10. Kraft american slices of cheese
11. Butter for when you cook the beef patties
12. I honestly feel no other toppings are necessary. I added tomatoes and lettuce because I was purposely trying to make a classic diner burger, but I honestly feel its better without it. You can of course add whatever toppings you want.
recipe:
1. Cut up all the beef into 1" cubes if you haven't done so already. Place all the beef onto as many plates as necessary, making sure to alternate between short rib and brisket when placing the pieces onto the plate (to insure even distribution when grinding), and try not to have the pieces touching. Place the plates into the freezer (if you don't have enough freezer space, just work in batches and place the other plates into the refrigerator).
2. Place your grinder (use coarse blade of meat grinder) and working bowl also into the freezer (or food processor bowl and blade).
note: - keeping things super cold is one of the keys to producing great burgers. If the beef is too warm, 2 things occur: 1. the beef doesn't grind well and tends to produce longer, stringy pieces of beef which are tougher to chew. 2. the fat starts to melt if the beef gets too warm and you lose a lot of the richness and moisture in the beef.
3. After exactly 20 minutes, check the beef by pressing down on the MEAT not fat, with your finger. The meat should be super firm, with no give or softness to it. If it is still too soft, keep in freezer until it firms up. This could take another 10-20 minutes.
note: - the fat on the beef will firm up significantly quicker than the meat. make sure to test the meat and not the fat.
note: - don't freeze the meat until its frozen, just until it is super firm. you will compromise the quality of the beef if you completely freeze it.
4. After the beef has sufficiently hardened, take out the meat grinder and bowl and quickly set it up. Take out the beef, 1 plate at a time, and grind the beef (using coarse grind), alternating the pieces between short rib and brisket. Repeat with remaining plates of beef.
4a. If using food processor, set up a baking tray with parchment on top. take out the food processor from the freezer and quickly set it up. Add about a cup of meat, alternating between short rib and brisket pieces, and pulse around 10-15 times, stopping to scrape down bowl once, until all the beef is ground evenly. Dump beef onto baking tray, then repeat with the remaining beef.
note: - processing the beef the right amount is key here. You don't want to process it into mush, but you also do not want to leave any large chunks either. The beef should be coarsely ground, but with no large chunks of beef.
4b. Comb through ALL of the beef on baking tray, and pick out any gristle or stringy bits of fat. You do not have to be super anal about this and comb through every millimeter of beef, but you have to at least comb through every 1/2" of it.
note: - if more plates of beef are in the refrigerator, transfer them to the freezer now and process them after they have hardened. also make sure to put the grinder and mixing bowl or food processor back into the freezer as soon as you can.
5. Quickly and very gently mix the ground beef with a metal spoon, making sure to not crush or push down on the beef.
6. Tear off a 1 foot sheet of plastic wrap and place onto your scale. Place exactly 4 ounces of beef onto it. Form a patty by gently cupping the meat together, pushing down and gently pinching edges and middle of patty until it just starts to hold its shape. Gently flip over the patty ONCE and continue to gently push and pinch the patty until it JUST HOLDS TOGETHER. The whole forming of the patty should take no more than 30 seconds.
note: - NOT overworking the beef here is key. If you overwork it, it will get chewy and rubbery. The patty should NOT be tight and dense. It should be compacted just enough for it to stay together.
7. Fold the ends of the plastic wrap over the beef, wrap it up, and place into refrigerator. Repeat with remaining ground beef.
8. For the burger sauce, just combine all the ingredients, mix, then refrigerate. The sauce should be somewhat sweet but also have a noticeable bite from the vinegar. Adjust accordingly.
french fries: - I shit you not when i say these are the BEST french fries you will ever eat. I've made plenty of french fries in my time, and they have all tasted great, BUT after I started using the recipe and techniques from the serious eats french fries, my fries went to a different level. I promise you, these will be the best french fries you will ever eat.
this recipe involves boiling, par frying, freezing, then frying again. If you want a detailed explanation as to what each step does, just look up the serious eats french fry.
the fries I made are thick and pub style as I like mine meaty and super creamy inside. You can of course make them smaller and any size you want.
ingredients:
1. 1 large russet per person
2. white vinegar
3. salt
4. Vegetable oil for frying
recipe:
1. Scrub and wash outside of potato skins (I keep my skins on out of convenience and because there is zero detriment to the final product by keeping them on. but you can peel them if you want).
2. Cut the potatoes into whatever thickness you want (1/4" for mcdonalds size, 1/2" for thicker pub style).
3. Add potatoes to appropriately sized pot, then add water BY QUART INCREMENTS (4 cups of water = 1 quart). Measure this and be accurate with this. The water should cover the top of the potatoes by 1/2" - 1".
4. For every quart of water used, add 1 TBL of white vinegar and 2 tsp of salt. Place over high heat and cover.
5. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil for frying to 400 degrees. Use a thermometer to measure the temperature.
6. Keep your eye on the potatoes. You don't want to over cook them by even 1 minute. AS SOON AS IT BEGINS TO BOIL, count EXACTLY 8 minutes then carefully (they will be soft, so try not to break them) drain them onto a paper towel. Let them cool for 5 minutes.
7. Add potatoes to oil in batches and fry for EXACTLY 50 seconds, agitating once or twice, then drain onto paper towels. Let the heat get back to 400 degrees, then place in another batch of potatoes for 50 seconds. Repeat for all the potatoes.
8. If you are going to fry the potatoes right away, place them onto a plate, uncovered, and place them into the freezer for 30 minutes before continuing with the final fry. If you are not planning to fry them right away, place the fries into a sandwich bag and freeze them for up to 2 months.
root beer float ingredients:
1. A good root beer, kept super cold until the float is made. I like stewarts or A &W.
2. Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream, kept frozen until you make the float.
3. A large glass cup
4. Long straw
recipe:
1. Add in a generous scoop of vanilla into a large glass cup. Slowly pour in half the root beer. Allow the foam to rise, then settle. Add in the rest of the root beer. Add more ice cream if wanted.
cooking the meal:
1. Heat up your oil to 400 degrees. Place baking tray with parchment onto lower middle rack of oven and heat to 225.
2. Set up a double broiler by heating up a small pot of water and placing a bowl on top. We will be steaming our buns, so find a lid large enough to cover the bowl.
note: - how you prepare your buns is up to you. I originally always toasted my buns, but after eating at shake shack, and marveling at their soft, melt in your mouth buns, I decided to steam mine to try and mimic that.
3. Take out your beef and bring it to room temp. I always find my beef to be slightly underdone if I cook it right out of the refrigerator.
4. When oil is 400 degrees, add a handful of frozen fries to the oil and fry for 3-5 minutes, agitating them a few times, just until the outside is golden and lightly brown. You DO NOT want the outside to get dark, or else the inside will overcook and become dry and hollow.
5. Drain the fries on a paper towel lined plate, immediately lightly salt it, then transfer it to the oven.
6. Allow oil to heat back up to 400 before you add in more fries. Finish frying all the frozen potatoes, repeating steps 4 and 5.
7. Add martins potato buns to the bowl over double broiler and cover (I usually make 2 burgers at a time). Put over medium heat.
8. Heat up a nonstick pan over medium high heat and melt 2 TBL of butter.
9. After butter has melted for 3 minutes, quickly salt and pepper "1 SIDE" of the beef patties (I usually cook 2 patties at a time).
note: - I found salting both sides of the patty unnecessary and caused the beef to be too salty. Because the patty is relatively small, salting only one side is fine.
10. Place the beef patties, seasoned side down into the pan and swirl around the pan to distribute the butter evenly.
11. After 2 minutes, slightly lift a patty to check for browning. If not browned, cook another 1-2 minutes.
12. Quickly and aggressively slide a wide spatula under a beef patty. If you try to slide it slowly and cautiously, the chances of you breaking the beef patty will actually increase.
13. Quickly but gently flip over the patties. Swirl the pan around to evenly distribute the butter.
14. Immediately place on the cheese. Cover the pan for 1-2 minutes to expedite the cheese melting.
15. After the second side has cooked for 2 minutes, check the temperature of the beef. You are aiming for 125 degrees, which is perfectly medium rare. You can go to 130-135 to be safer. Cook until desired temperature is reached.
16. Quickly place the bottoms of the buns onto a plate, then quickly and aggressively slide the spatula under the beef patty, allow the excess oil to drip off, then place onto bottom buns.
17. How you place your toppings on is up to you. One thing I DEFINITELY AND ALWAYS do for these burgers is to apply a liberal amount of the burger sauce. A normal amount of sauce tends to get diluted and lost in the burger. Whatever you think is a normal amount, double it. I like to put a thin layer directly on top of cheese as a type of glue, then place the onions on top of that. If putting more toppings, I always like to apply a thin amount of sauce between layers to act as a glue. I then put a healthy 2 spoonfuls of sauce on the top bun before placing it on top.
18. Plate the fries from the oven and put a generous amount of ketchup on the side for the fries but don't let the ketchup touch the burger.
19. Quickly make a root beer float, then serve and enjoy your classic american meal.
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