The first step in grilling the perfect hamburger is not at the grill. It is in your meat market or the meat department of your super market. Never buy ground beef in those plastic tubes that you see neatly displayed with a picture of ground beef on them, with the real ground beef hidden from view.
The ground beef that you buy should be freshly ground in the market and be no more than 85% lean with at least 15% fat. Some famous TV experts call for an 80%-20% ratio which may stretch the healthy diet concept of some folks. A fat content of 15% will give you a juicy burger which is the way a burger should be. If you are cooking for guests and someone asks about fat content tell them it’s as lean as you could find and offer no details.
We’re talking about great tasting hamburgers here, not soy burger. Healthy issues are a subject for another day.
Step 1. Form the burgers into patties that will fit within the rolls being used. A 6 oz burger is a good size for a grilled burger. indent the top of the burger in the center slightly with your thumb Salt and pepper
Step 2. Cover the heated grill with aluminum foil. Punch a few holes in the foil on the outer section of the foil. Let the foil heat for a few minutes.
Step 3. Place the patties on the foil about two inches between patties over a high heat. Let the patties cook until a crust forms on the side down on the foil. About 4 minutes should be enough. Do not press down on the hamburgers since this squeezes out the juice and dries out the burger.
Step 4. Flip the burger once and let the same crusty finish form on the other side. About 3 to 4 minutes should finish the burger.
Step 5. Place the burgers on a soft roll and arrange on a serving platter accompanied by a tray with sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, kosher dill pickle slices and a mound of kettle cooked potato chips. Ketchup ,mustard and BBQ sauce should be available.
Some tips– I have a knife and fork handy at the grill to cut into and observe the doneness of my burger along the way. I want the burgers to come off the grill somewhat pink in the center. Nothing is worse than a dried out, overdone burger. The chips are in case someone likes a bit of crunch with their hamburger. A kettle cooked chip usually has a bit more body and works well crunched on a burger.
The aluminum foil is a substitute for a flat grill plate which most folks do not have at home. If you have a flat grill plate use it instead of the foil. The plate or the foil keep the burger fat from flaring up the grill flame and also keep them cooking in their own juice helps to keep a moist and juicy burger. This is really a key step in grilling a burger.
If you are adding cheese put it on the burger at the last minute. Splash a little water around the burger and cover with a small bowl. The steam will melt the cheese in 20 seconds. With two bowls you can do a bunch of cheeseburgers in just a few minutes.
Have a great day grilling your Perfect Hamburgers.
In July freshly picked corn is an important addition to your market produce section. Farmers markets are featuring corn as the starring item among the produce at the stalls.
When buying corn it is important to get the corn as close to when it was picked as possible. That is a tough think to figure out if buying from a big market. Find the produce manager and ask if the corn is local and how long since it was picked. Taking time to find freshly picked makes a big difference in the corn on the cob that is part of many dinners in the summer.
My wife came home the other night with corn and said she had to restrain herself from telling several women that they should not be husking the corn in the supermarket. She insisted that I dedicate a Post to the proper handling and preparation of fresh corn.
Step 1. Dorothy insists that you husk the corn at home and line your cooking pot with the husks. Strip and discard the corn silk.
Step2. Put an inch or two of water in the pot, cover and STEAM the ears of corn. If you are making a large amount for company use a large pot and stand the corn on end. Cover the pot and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
Step3. The flavor is improved from using the husks and nutrition value is maintained by steaming rather than boiling. To serve: Melt butter and pour over the ears before serving.
Alternate Microwave Method
There are microwave fans that put the corn still in their husks into the microwave for 3 or 4 minutes per ear. You need asbestos fingers to husk the corn out of the microwave but the corn is quickly ready for the melted butter and some great eating. Nutrition is also maintained with this method.
Corn is a great part of summer and for much of our lives we lived in an area where corn picking and preparation was important. When entertaining we often would go to a nearby farm that picked in the morning and only sold what had been picked that morning. Corn loses it’s sugar pretty rapidly after picking so fresh picked is important. Leaving the husks on till just before preparation is also important.
When I was young New Jersey and Maryland had the best corn and tomatoes in the nation. The sandy soil and climate seemed to be the perfect combination for these two stars of summer, Campbell’s was not founded in New Jersey by accident. It was to be close to those great tomatoes to make tomato soup. New Jersey is known as the Garden State because of the many outstanding fruits and vegetables grown in it’s sandy soil. The farms are small and most of the product never leaves this heavily populated part of our country.
As the years passed other sections of the country discovered types and growing techniques for corn and tomatoes that rivaled the Mid – Atlantic products. Good corn and tomatoes are now grown and found in many areas. I still have strong fond memories of those hot summer days of my youth with Jersey corn and tomatoes as the special part of our meals in July and August..
Remember: Husk at home and use the husks to line the pot.
The current edition of Vanity Fair has an article that reviews the life and career of Julia Child. It describes how Julia changed the American view of food preparation from a pedestrian list of uninteresting fare to a heightened awareness of the possibility of food as almost an art form. She convinced many American families that meal time deserved special attention and that the French skill in food preparation could be adapted to the kitchens in the U.S.
I read the article with interest and found that it revived memories of those days when my wife and I became interested in elevating our meal preparation level, especially at dinner parties for friends. I remember the first time I saw Julia on TV in the early 60’s and realized that in that one show she stimulated me to learn a small skill that I have utilized for more than forty years.
Julia showed me on that show how to correctly prepare omelettes. She whisked the 3 eggs seasoned with salt and pepper and poured them into a 7 inch omelette pan that was on high heat with a generous pat of butter melted and spread across the pan.
She then slid the pan back and forth across the heat while stirring the eggs with the flat side of a fork for about 5 seconds or so until they became a light custard.. She quickly added a cheese filling tilted the pan about 45degrees and with the fork loosened the eggs
Then with the pan still tilted hit the handle several times and made the omelet curl over on itself on the low side of the pan. A few seconds to brown and she then rolled the omelette onto a heated plate ready to serve.
The whole deal took about 30 to 45 seconds and I was fascinated with the swift sure hands and skill demonstrated by this very big woman with an unusual voice. I also paid attention to her description of the pan in which this magic act was performed. The seasoning procedure of the pan and it’s reservation for only omelettes was duplicated in our kitchen within a day or two and my omelette practice started. I treated it like learning how an infield drill should be run when I was a kid learning to play baseball. Practice and more practice was the key.
I no longer am sure my infield drill would look like a professional, but my omelettes for friends at brunch still come off the stove quickly with a soft(not runny) creamy center. This is how Julia described a properly prepared omelette center
That first show in which I saw Julia in the early sixties led to decades of following her lead to try more imaginative menus not only when entertaining but as an often part of our family meals. As I write, I am reviewing the omelette techniques and fillings used by Julia described on pages 126 to 138 in our copy of her classic book, Mastering The Art of French Cooking. We have a copy of the 11th printing purchased in 1966. It is a bit worn after 43 years and is only slightly removed from a central position in our cook book collection.
Bobby Flay is the current American star chef on TV and has attracted much of our attention and a center position on our book shelves these days with his imaginative presentations of South West cuisine. The fact that he has an Irish ancestral background doesn’t hurt either. That is a bit rare among great chefs, but I’ll bet that Bobby counts Julia among those that inspired him along the way. Julia’s work will remain in a place on our top shelf, in recognition of her great recipe presentations and most importantly because she gave me a culinary skill that I have enjoyed and used successfully for all those years.
PS Secrets unveiled: I add a few drops of Hot Sauce to the eggs to add a background flavor without the heat overcoming the taste. I find that Cholula does what I am seeking without the blast of heat that sometimes comes with Tabasco if you add a little too much. Julia didn’t recommend the slight dash of hot sauce. I admit it’s a bit of personal temerity to add to Julia’s teaching, but give it a try. Remember just a bit– look for taste with only a distant background hint of heat. I also use a bigger pan than her recommended 7″ pan. I never have been able to match her talent with a 7″ pan
The current movie about Julia has stimulated interest in her classic approach to cooking by a whole new generation. It wasn’t a movie but her classic book that stimulated my interest over 40 years ago. Anyone interested in learning to cook at a level of excellence needs this book.
