Classic Burger Recipe

A HoosierBurgerBoy reader recently logged onto the blog and asked me the best way to make an American burger for their new restaurant in Mallorca, Spain. Here is the response I posted. I would love to get any comments back on what you would put down as the recipe for the Classic American Burger.

My response:

Be glad to give advice for an American style burger. I recently had a burger in Bilbao and it was awful. Bland meat, basically flavorless.

Here is what I would do.

1. Make sure the beef is ground chuck. Freshly ground each day. Preferably naturally raised or grass fed.
2. Make sure you serve it on a white enriched bun. Not a brioche, or roll or other type of bread.
3. The patty should weigh between 1/3 and 1/2 pound pre-cooked weight.
4. Use swiss or american cheese.
5. Serve with fresh tomato and lettuce on the side.
6. Thousand Island Dressing for Sauce or if not then offer, mustard, mayo and ketchup.
7. Offer grilled sweet onions sliced very thin.
8. Don't overcook. Medium is best.

Good luck and send me a story and photo when you are done. I will put it on my blog!

SRK

Val's Burgers - Hayward, CA - Update

I recently revisited Val's to make sure that it was still deserving of it's Best Burger ranking for the Bay Area. I am glad to report it was. Nothing much has changed since 2007. The burgers are still charcoal-broiled perfection. The o-rings are crisp and the atmosphere is retro-perfect. I added photos to the old review, since I didn't take photos on my original visit.

See the original review updated with photos.

SRK

Green Hamburger?

Is their such a thing as a green hamburger? Recently I was involved in launching a line of cubicles that are green. I never thought I would say that. So why not a green hamburger?

Looking on google for a green hamburger doesn't yield much. There is an article on treehugger.com that looks into the carbon footprint of a burger. It is not pretty. To put this in perspective, the average American eats three hamburgers per week! That produces enough carbon as more than 7,500 S.U.V.s.

Much of this is due to the feed produced to raise a pound of beef. Also, the 600 liters of methane per day that a cow belches is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas according to Thomas Freidman in "Hot, Flat and Crowded", his excellent book on the coming green revolution.

But like the green cube, I am committed to either finding or creating a green burger. Certainly grass-fed locally produced beef is a start. Burger Joint and Burger Meister in San Francisco move in this direction with "naturally fed" beef from local sources. I reviewed Burger Joint and reviewed Burger Meister previously. But naturally fed probably also means grain fed. So I will be keeping an eye out for grass fed, locally grown beef. We will see if it tastes as good and if it costs anywhere near a traditionally produced burger.

If you know of any green burgers, let me know. We will continue our search for the World's Best Burger.

SRK

Tighten the Belt, Loosen The Belt

Johnny at askmen.com alerted me to a nice article about tasty designer burgers that I might be interested in. I read the article outlining recipes for a Smokin' Meat Burger and Hot Wings Burger among others and agreed. So if you are tightening your belt in these hard economic times, try one of these at home. Then after you eat, loosen the belt back up to make some room.

Billy's Giant Hamburger - Jackson Hole, WY

Billy’s Giant Hamburgers in Jackson, Wyoming really does have giant burgers. We were in Jackson Hole for a few days to celebrate my friend Bill’s 50th birthday. After a morning of mountain biking through the Tetons we slipped into Jackson for some refueling.

Billy’s is a small place. The grill is surrounded by a counter that seats about 20. Billy’s is located right across the street from the main square in Jackson. Just look for the giant arches made of elk antlers, then head to the west side of the square. It shares a space with the Cadillac Grille, but eat in Billy’s at the counter.

They were a little backed up. The grill was loaded with huge patties of fresh meat and our server said we would have to wait about 20 minutes. Billy’s supplies burgers to the Cadillac Grille too. I ordered the Cheeseburger and fries ($6.70) with grilled onions (50 cents). Bill had a cheeseburger.

The guys behind the counter efficiently got caught up and before too long we had our burgers. They sat upon a nicely grilled sesame bun amongst a pile of criss-cut fries. Each burger has mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. The meat was nicely seasoned with pepper and salt and cooked nicely medium, although Bill’s was closer to medium rare.

It had been a good six weeks since I had my last burger. It was heavenly and I downed it in minutes. In my beef deprived state I might have gotten a little carried away, but I thought it was superb. The meat and the vegetables were well-balanced with the burger coming out prominently in the mix.

We headed off for the afternoon for some beautiful hiking in the Tetons – well fueled and satisfied. They like their elk meat and trout here, but nothing beats a good slab of ground chuck, well-prepared like they do at Billy’s.

Burger 4.5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3.5 spatulas

Billy’s Giant Hamburgers
55 N. Cashe St.
Jackson, WY 83001
307-733-3279
www.cadillac-grille.com/Billys.html

The Great Outdoors - High Springs, FL

The Great Outdoors Restaurant in High Springs, Florida is a lovely Oasis in the heart of the beautiful springs of Northern Florida outside Jacksonville. We went here for dinner after a day or kayaking on the beautiful Ichatucknee river. The occasion was my mother’s 70th birthday. My sister, brother, mother and her husband Paul all gathered for our post float soirée.

Even though this was supposed to be a fancy dinner, I couldn’t resist getting a burger from the roster of imaginatively named choices. All were named after famous local springs. There was an Ichatucknee Burger, but I passed and went for the Ginnie ($9.50). It was made from a half pound of fresh ground Harris Beef. There was cheese, an onion ring, and apple wood bacon on a soft and springy bun covered with flour. A nice BBQ sauce was spread thinly as well. The bun was grilled crisp on the inside. Our waitress said it was a custom-baked 5” bun flown in from Wisconsin.

Since we had also ordered lots of appetizers and each of us had a full entrée coming, we ordered the burger as an appetizer. Our always-accommodating server had it artfully cut into quarters and delivered with fries spread between. The fries were standard issue coated fries, medium cut and coated with a mildly spicy coating. Not as imaginative as the burgers and local beers.

The burger however, was excellent. The beef was cooked to a perfect medium. It was tasty and had a nice charcoal crunchy outside. The BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese and onion ring blended nicely together to compliment but not overwhelm the burger. We all loved it. I ate a second quarter.

I washed it all down with a Naked Ed Pale Ale. A local brew named after the man who sits watching over the local springs in as pure a state as the springs themselves. What a charming place for a great burger find.

Burger 4.5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3 spatulas

The Great Outdoors Restaurant
Main Street
High Springs, FL

Mission Burgers - Fremont, CA

Mission Burger in Fremont, CA is an old time burger stand in the best sense. it sits snugly in the old Mission Area of Fremont in the shadow of Ohlone College and the Fremont hills. It is a tiny stand just big enough for two women to cook burgers and fries and make milk shakes.

On this sunny day, students representing the vibrant diversity of California noshed as one. A couple of good old boys were out for their burger as well. I ordered the Mission Special ($5.19) that includes Cheeseburger ($3.19 by itself), fries and a coke. I also ordered the onion rings for $1.89. I took a seat at one of the many picnic tables.

My number was soon called and I retrieved my order. Everything was meticulously wrapped in paper on a clear plastic tray. The onion rings were hot, but a little greasy, medium thick and battered. The fries were big steak fries. No skin, scalding hot, they were slated just right and very tasty.

The burger was nicely stacked ad assembled with onion slices, tomato, lettuce and mayo. American cheese melted on top of the patty. The sesame bun was toasted. It is a classic burger stand burger and charbroiled just right.

I found the whole experience very satisfying. This burger Utopia is a great place to visit and enjoy.

Burger 4 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3.5 spatulas
Onion Rings 3 spatulas

Mission Burgers
135 Anza Street
Fremont, CA 94539
510-656-1184