Posted on 06/28/2009 12:51:26 PM PDT by JoeProBono
At first glance a burger seems like simple food. It's just ground meat in patty form, right? Yes and no.
The hamburger is an American icon. It is America's food ambassador to the world. But have we treated it with the respect it deserves? No.
The hamburger, like so many things, has become a victim of industrialization. When did it become acceptable to turn this beloved American food into frozen hockey pucks? Was it the kids meal? Was it having a fast food chain on every corner? Maybe we just forgot how a great burger could taste.
But times are changing. Possibly the book "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser got us to thinking. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, two wars and economic turmoil got us looking for the innocence of our youth, when a burger was a mainstay of a backyard romp, chasing lightning bugs, the camping trip, a family reunion.
Now New Yorkers stand in line for an hour or more for a burger at one of the Shake Shack restaurants. President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, are fans of the burgers at Five Guys. Even the editors of my latest book demanded more for a chapter devoted to burgers. It's all evidence of our new national obsession: fresh, high quality, local, when possible, ingredients for a burger.
But why are we looking for the perfect hamburger? We have realized that burgers are a symbol of the straightforward, uncomplicated times we desperately need right now.
You can create that at home on the grill with just a few guidelines.
Start with the meat. I like to combine two cuts for my burgers: the chuck and sirloin. I want them freshly ground and, this is important, coarsely ground. Handle the meat gently as you mix and make your patties. The more you handle and compress it, the drier the patty will be. I also love grass- or pasture-raise beef products for the extra flavor they impart.
A hamburger can be seasoned to suit your tastes, but less is usually more with a burger. When to salt creates dissension among even the most renowned grilling gurus. Do you mix it in with the meat or salt just before cooking?
I'm more of a salt just before cooking guy, because I think the salt on the surface of the burger helps to form that nice crust of flavor.
This part is very important; if you forget everything else do this trick: Make a thumbprint-size indention in the center of every burger patty. This will keep the juices from being driven to the center and creating that "pot belly" looking burger. This seemingly small thing lets the burger cook more evenly and spreads the juices throughout the burger.
You need to cook burgers over hot to medium hot direct heat and turn only once. Don't go by the tale of "turn when you see juices" or you'll lose the juice.
For heaven's sake never use your spatula to press down on a burger. You'll be driving the juice right out. "'But Fred,' you say, 'I see that done at restaurants.'" They are pressing to cook the burger faster, driving heat to the center. So what do you want, speed or a great, juicy burger?
When using cheese, give the cheese time to melt and encase the burger. The flavors will mingle better that way.
The last trick to a good burger is not to overcook it. The Food Police want you to cook the burger to an internal temperature of 160, which is medium well. Slide an instant read thermometer into the side to check. I like burgers pink in the middle, 140-150 degrees, or until they feel like the tip of your nose when pressed. Doneness is up to you and your comfort level
So are we ready for great burgers? Then get grilling!
food ping?
Where was the hamburger invented or originated? I know various places claim the distinction but I’m not sure which one has been recongnized as the first?
Yow-suh!
1758 - German immigrants in England contributed a recipe, titled “Hamburgh Sausage,” in Hannah Glasse’s 1758 English cookbook called The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. It consisted of chopped beef, suet, and spices, recommending that this sausage be served with toasted bread.[2]
1844 - The original Boston Cooking School Cook Book, by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln (Mary Bailey), 1844 had a recipe for Broiled Meat Cakes and also Hamburgh Steak[2]
Louis’ Lunch, 1900, New Haven, Connecticut.[3] Louis’ Lunch has been selling steak and hamburger since 1895 when Louis Lassen opened his lunch wagon [4][5]. This small establishment, which advertises itself as the oldest hamburger restaurant in the U.S., is credited by some with having invented the classic American hamburger when Louis sandwiched a pattie between two pieces of white toast for a busy office worker in 1900 [6]. Louis’ Lunch flame broils the hamburgers in the original 1898 Bridge & Beach vertical cast iron gas stoves using locally patented steel wire gridirons to hold the hamburgers in place during cooking U.S. Patent #2,148,879 [7]. In 1974, The New York Times published a story about Louis’ Lunch claiming to have invented the hamburger. The U.S. Library of Congress American Folklife Center Local Legacies Project website credits Louis’ Lunch as the maker of America’s first hamburger and steak sandwich. The hamburger is still served today on two pieces of toast and not a bun [8].
Dyer’s Burgers, 1912, Memphis, Tennessee, deep-fried burgers using a cast-iron skillet.
White Castle, 1921, Wichita, Kansas. Due to widely prevalent anti-German sentiment in the U.S. during World War I, an alternative name for hamburgers was salisbury steak. Following the war, hamburgers became unpopular until the White Castle restaurant chain marketed and sold large numbers of small 2.5 inch square hamburgers (known as slyders). They started to punch 5 holes in each patty which help them cook evenly and eliminates the need to flip the burger. The burger first sold for 5 cents. White Castle holds a U.S trademark on the word “slyders.” The White Castle building was modeled after the water tower building in Chicago with the turrets and fortress like walls. White Castle was the first to sell their hamburgers in grocery stores and vending machines. They also created the industrial strength spatula and first to mass produce the paper hat. Today there are more than 400 restaurants around the country. They sell over 550 million hamburgers per year. “What you crave” has become the White Castle slogan[citation needed].
Lionel Sternberger, 1924-1926, Lionel Sternberger grilled the first cheeseburgers in Pasadena, California. The name of the restaurant and the precise year has been debated by cheeseburger enthusiasts.[9] When Sternberger died in 1964, Time magazine noted in its February 7 issue that:
“ …at the hungry age of 16, [Sternberger] experimentally dropped a slab of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger while helping out at his father’s sandwich shop in Pasadena, thereby inventing the cheeseburger…[10]
Seymour, Wisconsin! Teenager Charlie Nagreen invented it at the Outagamie County Fair.
(Game show wrong answer buzzer) “EEENNNT!”
There are a couple of local burger places we like. It’s hard to go to McDonald’s after you have had a good burger from a place which uses real meat. Homemade is best, but a local fast food place, which makes their own burgers from quality meat, will make a much better burger than you get at the national chains.
"I like burgers pink in the middle, 140-150 degrees"Yesiree! Gotta let them E. coli thrive.
As such, hamburgers have gotten back a lot of the "elite gourmet" crowd, especially if you can go to a place known to make really good hamburgers like Astro Burger in Hollywood. Even the vegetarians don't miss out, because today's tofu hamburger patties are actually pretty good for a change.
One good thing about the current recession is that Americans are starting to re-discover their simpler food heritage. I for one love an Chicago-style hot dog with a real Vienna Beef sausage, poppy seed bun and the following toppings: ellow mustard, bright green relish, onions, tomato wedges, pickle spear or slice, sport peppers and a dash of celery salt.
I always thought a hamburger was German. I thought it was named after the city of Hamburg Germany. And I thought that hot dogs or frankfurters were named after Frankfurt Germany.
I remember the first McDonald’s in Columbus, GA. Golden Arches, I thought — It’ll never fly. Of course I thought the same thing about Microsoft, years later.
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