Cheeseburger.

[aadicof]

Ok, I know I started a thread like this on one of the past incarnations of OM, but I can't (or won't) go back and look for it. Besides, this is the perfect place for it.

My favorite food ever is a cheeseburger. With french fries. Be it 'in paradise' with a big kosher pickle or a Royale with cheese (in case you don't know what the fuck a quarter pounder is), how do you make yours?

[volchef]

Ads......I gotta be off for a bit, but I'll have posted my dream hamburger here for you tomorrow. :) x

[volchef]

Honestly burgers are so personal I doubt there will be more than a few who will disagree with me, but here's what I like.

First of all I like a large, soft bun, which must be buttered and toasted.

Secondly, I don't like a thick burger.....not like 8oz and I can't stand it when they've been overworked and turn into little meat balls. The best burgers for me are made of meat from both the chuck and the ribeye. What I do Is buy a chuck roast and a ribeye and grind them up, but you can have the butcher do this for you.

I season the meat well only with salt and pepper (I'm a bit of a burger purist) and measure them out into 6oz portions on a scale. Then form them into rough thin patties working them as little as possible. The more you work them, the more they'll shrink during cooking and you'll get your momma's meatballs.

As for cooking them, I like to pan fry them with just a dab of butter in a cast iron skillet until medium rare. I love to grill, but prefer my burgers pan fried.

I top them with a variety of things depending on my mood
standard cheese burger includes swiss, brown mustard, mayo, ketchup, lettuce, tomato and sliced fresh avocado

I don't like onions on a burger unless they're cooked, so occasionally I render down some onions and make a mexican burger: onions, peppers, queso fresco and guacamole.

I don't like bacon on a burger. A cardinal sin to some......that's just a personal preference. I don't believe in pickles either.

[real turf fan]

I've never worked in a commercial kitchen, so I don't know what having a 'real' grill would be like.
What I want is a burger that diners used to serve. Buddy's in Charlottesville VA in the 60's. In and out burger in CA. The taste of freshly ground meat hitting a hot surface and caramelizing the surface of the meat while it leaves the center mooing.

Can a fry pan do this? If it's let heat up for 30 minutes? Or does it take a well seasoned surface?

(Is there anyway (legal) to keep my husband from wanting to clean my cast iron griddle so it isn't black and smooth? He has taken an electric sander to it (he's a good man, so he lived))

[volchef]

No, no legal way I'm afraid :)

And yes, a well seasoned cast iron skillet works great, as long as it's smokin hot first.

I have a cast iron griddle as well which works really great too. They're not expensive, maybe you should check one of them out. Burgers are just better not on a grill.
Steak on the other hand :)

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I top them with a variety of things depending on my mood
standard cheese burger includes swiss, brown mustard, mayo, ketchup, lettuce, tomato and sliced fresh avocado

I don't like onions on a burger unless they're cooked, so occasionally I render down some onions and make a mexican burger: onions, peppers, queso fresco and guacamole.

I don't like bacon on a burger. A cardinal sin to some......that's just a personal preference. I don't believe in pickles either.


Had my first burger with avocado while in Las Vegas a few years ago. It was to die for. I personally love onion on mine whether raw or cooked and I love my pickles to be bread and butter pickles not dill.

You are right about bacon on a burger. It is mainly a fast food phenomena.

[real turf fan]

Bacon on a burger hides the taste of beef. With some beef, that's not a bad idea.

(Does anyone think a turkeyburger, tofuburger, or ----burger is worth discussing?)

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Bacon on a burger hides the taste of beef. With some beef, that's not a bad idea.

(Does anyone think a turkeyburger, tofuburger, or ----burger is worth discussing?)

Them ain't burgers.

[volchef]

I agree with tux, they ain't burgers. And if you've got a burger that you have to hide the taste of the beef, I wouldn't eat it if I were you.

[BillVol]

http://www.foodnetwork.com/50-states-50-burgers/package/index.html

Food Network lists best burgers by state. Comments? Rotier's won for Tennessee.

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Rotier's burgers are good, but I would not call them great. I've had many burgers better than theirs.