I was looking for a little culinary inspiration last week and tweeted out asking for suggestions about what I should cook. Amy Sears (@sweetamyrae) came back suggesting a hamburger that was spicy with something crunchy on it. That was just the ticket and I was off to the kitchen.
I am fortunate to have a great supply of Getaway Farm ground beef in my freezer. I gave up on factory food ground beef about a year ago when I requested a food safety inspector check out the use of frozen beef in Superstore ground beef. This beef packaging was not labeled as previously frozen and I thought the practice was inappropriate. A fellow foodie (Susie the Foodie – her link is to the left) recently tried to get clarification from Superstore about their ground beef and could not get a clear answer either. Unfortunately this has not as of yet lead to changes but I am still in discussions with meat inspectors to see if we can get labeling changes. Though I think their behavior is reprehensible I am thankful for them pointing me the way to local food. Had they produced a quality product I would have never found the bounty I enjoy today.
If you have great beef as your base you need to do very little to it to make a great burger. To a half pound of beef I add 1/2 tsp of salt, a half dozen turns of fresh ground black pepper and a tsp of worcestershire sauce. Mix the beef well with your hands and form into patties. Cook the beef in a very hot pan in a little grape seed oil. The sear adds flavor and locks in juices, brown well on both side. The patty should be cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees. Place a thin slice of medium cheddar on the burger. I used Fox Hill Cheese for this burger.
I placed this burger on a homemade bun which I made using a Fresh Crusty Sandwich Rolls – Mexican Inspired” href=”https://timskitchentable.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/fresh-crusty-sandwich-rolls-mexican-inspired/” target=”_blank”>bun recipe I blogged out earlier. The only change I made to it was I a did not use an egg wash and shaped the buns differently. To shape a hamburger bun roll a 2.5 oz ball flatten with the palm of your hand and then allow it to rise. The rest of the instructions are the same as in the original recipe.
To add a spicy element I wanted a sauce. I have seen a number of hot pepper mustard sauces so I wanted to make my own. I roasted off 2 habaneros 3 serranos and a hot cherry pepper. I put them into the blender with 1/2 cup of yellow mustard and 1/2 of a cup of apple cider vinegar, and 2/3 of a cup of sugar. Blend until smooth then strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove any skin and seeds. Bring this to a boil and add a Tbsp of honey. I then mixed together equal parts of oil and flour to a bowl and added 2 tsp of this mixture to the sauce to thick it, stir and then remove from heat and allow it to cool. This got spread on the top bun of the burger.
To add some brightness I tossed some fresh spinach with my fig and vanilla aged balsamic and put that on top of the cheese. You can make a vinaigrette with 1 part vinegar 2 parts oil, 1 part honey and a splash of vanilla. To finish the burger I made some fresh cut fries and crispy onion strings.
To make the fries cut potatoes into fries and then in 325 degrees blanch them until they just start to brown. Don’t over crowd the oil do in smaller batches. Drain the fries off and allow to completely cool. Heat the oil up to 390 degrees. Add the fries back into the oil and cook till golden brown. Drain on fresh paper towel and then salt right away with fine sea salt.
To make the onion strings peal the onion, cut in half and slice each half into thin slices. Break the strings apart and coat them in lightly salted flour. Drop them in the hot oil for a few seconds until browned, this does not take long at all but they are delightfully crisp and yummy and really add to the burger.
Thanks to My Local Providers
Beef : Getaway Farms
Potatoes and Veggies : Noggins and Taproot CSA
Cheddar Cheese: Fox Hill Cheese House
Tim's Kitchen Table 