Building a Burger

I'm going to have to make and photograph one of my favourites, a Jersey shore boiguh. That is a thick beef patty on a toasted white bun, then a slice of griddled Taylor Ham, ketchup, mayo, hot pickled peppers, and diced sweet onion.
 
I'm going to have to make and photograph one of my favourites, a Jersey shore boiguh. That is a thick beef patty on a toasted white bun, then a slice of griddled Taylor Ham, ketchup, mayo, hot pickled peppers, and diced sweet onion.

Will J-Wow certify it as a true Jersey boiguh?:D
 
Today's effort (you wouldn't believe how messy this was to eat).

Beefburger, grass, ketchup, red cayenne chillis, raw onion, tomato and a fried duck egg.....

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I try to keep my burgers simple. Grill on the Weber with wood chips. Normally hickory. Salt and pepper. I used to hate cheese on a burger. Then I tasted one with goat cheese on a burger and it was a game changer for me. I tried smoked Gouda recently and that was pretty good too. Ketchup mustard mayo and a good pickle
 
I can't remember the last time I made a burger with the bun. We do eat burger patties at least once a week. Costco has 88% lean choice ground beef. It cooks and taste more like a steak than a burger. I keep the seasoning simple - a brush of EVOO, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Cooked in a very hot cast iron skillet medium - medium rare. Turned only once and never pressed.

G likes it when I dress it up. Lettuce or mixed greens on the plate, a slice of tomato, pickle slices, burger pattie, cheese - sharp cheddar or Gruyere - sauteed onions and mushrooms. Sometimes bacon on top of the cheese.

Recently I made a black and blue burger. G's new favorite. A heavy application of black pepper before grilling then crumbled blue cheese on top of the hot burger.

My guilty secret - every now and then, when G is out of town I will visit one of two locally owned burger joints. Old fashioned, greasy homemade burgers on a toasted white bread bun, with everything except ketchup. Fresh cut fries (chips across the pond) hot from the fryer. Ketchup with the fries.

One problem - I have become accustomed to not eating a lot of carbs. The bun will fill me up before I can eat half of the burger so I take the top bun off.
 
I made some imitation "duxelles" today to accompany a burger. It was shallots, garlic but with fresh chillis in lieu of mushrooms.



I expected the result to be extremely spicy but it wasn't. However, as usual, it was very messy........


Lightly toasted sourdough bun, green oak lettuce, ketchup, imitation duxelles, beef pate and sliced tomato.
 
The burger photos are downright delectable!

I tend to follow Mom’s lead on burgers. She’d get ground beef, never any pre-formed burgers, and make her own, adding IN a little salt, pepper, and whatever else she was in the mood for.

So, I do that as well. I have a lot of ground beef from last year’s beef share, so I simply thaw out a pound at a time (I don’t eat the entire pound at once, and I may find other uses for portions of it…)

In my case, I like to make them slider-sized, and I don’t use bread or buns (although my parents used buns back in the day). Well, okay, occasionally a slice of toasted bread (thin) underneath to make a “patty melt”.

I mix in the salt and the pepper, and whatever else suits my fancy: garlic powder, ground mustard, a bit of minced lightly sautéed onion… maybe a dash of Lee and Perrins. Gently shape the patty, and either grill or pan fry. Cook as soon as you make the patties. Don’t compress them any further than you need to keep them together.

Flip twice – the final flip is for adding any slice of cheese on top you want. I’m partial to cheddar, pepper jack, gouda… goat cheese is also good.

I serve mine as noted on a slab of lettuce (Romaine is great, but Boston or a couple other varieties work fine.) Between the lettuce and the burger, place Dijon or another mustard (NEVER ketchup here), maybe a couple slices of dill pickle, then the burger. Atop the burger – which may already be topped with melted cheese – a thin slice of raw onion is possible. In tomato season, a slice of quality tomato.

Eat and enjoy!

[Why I don’t use ketchup: too sugary, and otherwise not much taste! I'll stick with mustard!]

I know there are some “purists” out there that say never to mix anything INTO the burger. I did a side by side taste and texture comparison using just the salt, and found no difference whatsoever. Then again, I don’t overly asSAuLT meats like Gordon Ramsey and many other chefs apparently do. And I always cook the burger immediately! So maybe they’re right if you overdo the salt? (Although my first test I did overdo the salt because for once I actually measured it, rather than going by eye… still no difference between the two patties.)
 
My burger is lightly hearted buns then cheese on both, cheddar. Then bottom bun small amount of lettuce, onions burger Mayo, beef pattie, egg bacon chow chow tomato sauce then assemble. And I make a mess of the burger and myself. A big burger!!

Russ
 
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