Hamburger
Excellence is in the basics and the mighty hamburger is your gateway to cooking better
Ingredients
1.5 lbs of ground beef (ideally 80% beef/20% fat)
Brioche hamburger buns
Sharp cheddar cheese (or American cheese)
Accoutrements
Butter lettuce
Tomato, sliced in rounds
Red onion sliced in rounds (ideally pickled)
Pickles in rounds
Tomato
Avocado
Ketchup
Mustard
Mayo
Salt and pepper
Directions
Prepare patties
Measure out 6-oz of ground beef and roll into a ball. Repeat 3 more times. (You can eyeball the ground beef in fourths)
Salt and pepper the beef balls liberally on both sides
Place beef ball in hand (don’t be dirty) and flatten-out with the other hand to about 3/4”inch thickness. Press patties slightly thinner in the middle (this makes it so you get even thickness in the burger due to burger shrivel). Pop on plate or tray in the fridge until ready to cook.
Accoutrements
Tear butter lettuce off stem, wash and dry
Slice your tomato and red onion in thin rounds
Get ketchup, mustard and mayo ready
Cook burger patties
If grilling or using pan, get temp to medium heat.
Cook for 9-10 minutes and turn 3 times (every 3 minutes). Internal temp of the ground meat should be around 160-165F
On the last turn (3 minutes before finishing) add cheese
Let patties rest for 2-3 minutes
While patties are resting, toast the buns on the grill or pan
Assembly
In order:
Bottom bun
Add sauces (I like mayo, mustard and ketchup)
Butter lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Avocado
Burger patty (with or without cheese)
Pickles
Top bun with some more sauce
Extra
This burger recipe can go in so many different directions to your liking:
Make a special sauce with pickles, mayo, mustard and ketchup
Caramelize the onions
Use potato bun instead of brioche
Add some cooked pancetta (cooled of course) to the burger patty
Add bacon instead of avocado