Pat LaFrieda’s 6 Secrets to Creating the Perfect Burger

New York Post ^ | August 30, 2014 | Max Gross

[nickcarraway]

If you’ve heard the name Pat LaFrieda before, you know he’s the city’s foremost meat purveyor. His 100-year-old butcher business has provided some of the most lauded cuts of meat to the city’s fanciest restaurants. The burger blend he created for Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack is the stuff on which business empires are founded.

[dennisw]

Though it’s a little hard to find, the Korean fermented soy bean paste called Doenjang, or the Japanese Miso, from which soy sauce is derived, also makes a good mix with hamburger. Unfortunately it is fermented in brine, so it is exceptionally salty, which needs to be taken into account.

The one I have bought twice is not salty. It has that umamai of course. Anchovies in a burger will do it too. Grilled carmelized onions have it too

[dennisw]

http://www.japancentre.com/items/daesang-sunchang-korean-miso-paste-sunchang-doenjang

From local Korean store....not salty

[CodeToad]

Mangia Bevi café makes a great burger. They use the right bun, chargrill for a nice crispy outside but a soft and delicious inside. Nothing but maybe a pickle added. No mayo, catsup, or onions needed.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Very salty. That’s the kind I use. 490mg sodium per Tablespoon.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

How about using Accent?

[dennisw]

Accent has umamai

http://cookingfortwo.about.com/od/ingredient1/a/Ingredient-Umami.htm

[RandallFlagg]

Oh, I have a great bread machine burger bun recipe for you:

1 1/4 cups milk,
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place the milk and butter in a plastic container and heat to 120 degrees (OK to microwave)

Put egg and the sugar into the liquid and slowly stir with a fork to dissolve the sugar and break up the egg

Pour the liquid ingredients into your mixing bowl

Put the salt and bread flour into a dry bowl, mix with a fork, and pour it into the machine’s mixing bowl so it’s on top of the wet ingredients

Make a little pocket on top of the flour/salt mix and put the yeast into that pocket

Put the bread machine on, “Dough/Pasta,” setting and let it do it’s thing

After it’s done kneading and sitting for it’s 1st rise, place on lightly floured cutting board and evenly divide into eight (Large burger buns) or ten (Smaller buns) rolls

Place rolls about 2” apart on a baking tray brushed with shortening, then brush melted butter on top of them
Cover for 1 hour for 2nd rise (I put them in my oven with a plastic container with hot water in it to maintain humidity)

Bake at 365 degrees for 18-25 minutes.

Enjoy!!

[Jacquerie]

Sounds fabulous. With a little prior planning there is no need to suffer w/mass produced, bland, burger buns.

[RandallFlagg]

If you try it, please let me know what you think. I’m always up fro tweaking the recipe a bit more.

[Jacquerie]

Roger that.

[M Kehoe]

Freshly ground sirloin is the beginning of a great burger.

5.56mm

[tdscpa]

80-20 Ground chuck. Make it 40% bigger than your bun diameter. Put a thumb dimple in the middle if you like.

Do not press it after you start cooking. Salt and pepper before cooking.

Cook Med-rare.