I can't eat hamburgers out.
Or, more correctly, I won't eat hamburgers out. Part of this has to do with wanting to know where my meat comes from, but most of it has to do with a much more visceral reaction to the thought of possibly tainted ground meat, or ground meat that may have something un-beefy in it. This reaction was etched in my mind after a history of biting into one too many burgers to find a hunk of bone or gristle crunching between my teeth. The very memory makes me gag, and such experiences ended my burger love-affair.
Occasionally I can be tempted by a good turkey burger, like the one I had recently at Elmo's Diner in Durham, N.C., or a Five Guys meal, but for the most part, I have satiated a burger craving with Black Bean Burgers, which are a different thing, and not to be served on a bun, as they are big, and very filling. So, for a little while, I was really missing out on the whole burger bun all-American summer time grill experience.
Two things happened to change all that. One was very quick - John got a meat grinder for Christmas. It remained dormant until the second thing happened - John reread the Cook's Illustrated hamburger recipe. These two things combined perfectly when, about two weeks ago, we both began craving hamburgers.
A pack of shortribs and a pound of sirloin later (we ended up using about 6 ounces short rib to 8 ounces sirloin), we were in the kitchen. But, because this was John's equipment and John's recipe, it was John's show. I busied myself making fries (frozen oven fries), slicing onion and cheese, and chopping lettuce, while he prepped the equipment.
The whole show works best if everything is cold. The meat was carefully cubed (the grind does better with smaller cubes) and chilled. The grinder and a clean metal bowl were placed in the freezer to chill, as well. Finally, the grinder attached to the mixer and the bowl placed underneath to catch the meat, John began to gently push the meat through the grinder (I put the buns in the toaster and got the condiments out of the fridge).
Meat coming out of the grinder.
Ground Meat
Having decided that we wanted thicker burgers than the recipe suggested, we decided to hold them together with egg. We based this on the recipe's claim that meat handled too much would get tough (makes sense - what else doesn't get tough when it's played with too much?) - we didn't want to mash the meat together too densely, so we added an egg as a binder. Subsequent experiments would show that midsized burgers with no egg held together as well as big burgers with egg - that is to say, they're fantastic, but crumbly!
John seared the burgers, leaving a juicy, rare center, a feat not often attempted, by me at least, in restaurant burgers. Piled on a bun with ketchup, mustard, some white onion, a little romaine and some good cheddar, this was a premier burger. Juice dribbled down chins and between fingers. Bits of crumbled meat fell onto plates, and were promptly picked up and popped into mouths. Beefy and rich, this burger didn't last long enough for a photo. But at only 8 bucks a pop (with grass fed beef from Whole Foods), I will probably have a chance to try again. Besides, at the same cost as a restaurant burger I won't be able to finish (damn memory), it is worth it to have a hamburger returned to my world of culinary possibility.
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