Burgers…burgers…burgers

Hands down, bar none, the burger is the quintessential American food.  Summer is officially here and we salute this humble albeit delicious American classic.  No summer cook out would be complete without some sort of burger…and I have some ideas to create the very best burger bar that will just about steal the show!

But why am I so fascinated with these beef patties? There are a lot of stories out there about the beginnings of this iconic American sandwich.  If you care to read more about it, check out The World Is Your Burger: A Cultural History, a historical book about burgers by David Michaels. He conducts a deep dive into the evolution of the modern hamburger complete with a meticulously researched timeline.  I haven’t read the book but I can only guess that the origin of the hamburger did not hail from Hamburg, Germany.  More than likely it came from England as some sort of minced meat concoction. Someone got the idea to serve it on toast and there you have it.  The hamburger as we know it today made its way to Amerian in the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair (as did hot dogs, iced tea, and the ice cream cone) when a vendor began serving up ground beef sandwiches.  Apparently, they were the hit of the event and so it began.  The cheeseburger came along a few decades later. While a California diner may claim to be the inventor of the cheeseburger any Kentuckian knows that Kaelin’s Restaurant in Louisville introduced the first proper cheeseburger in 1934 and they are still serving them today.

A couple of decades later, McDonald’s started churning out the fast food version but, to me, nothing tastes better than a burger right off the backyard grill. And that’s where In the Curious Kitchen comes in.  We have a few pointers on grilling the best burger ever and some ideas on how to top them!  

Tips for the burgers:

1. Don’t be afraid of fat…not in this situation, at least.  I prefer at least 80/20 beef. A little fat makes for a juicer burger.

2. Don’t be too handsy.  Don’t overwork the ground beef.  In this case, less is waaaay more. Just barely form the shape into a patty and make it a little larger than your bun–to allow for shrinkage. And don’t forget to make a thumb intention. I’m not 100% sure why but I believe it helps keep its shape. Just do it.

3. Don’t overload the burger with seasonings.  Let the toppings provide the extra flavor.  Salt, pepper, and a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce is all you need.  I also add a pat of butter just because.

4. Don’t stress if you don’t have a grill.  A cast-iron skillet on the stove will also work but we prefer the grill.  There is also a debate over charcoal or gas, but don’t stress over that either.  

5. Don’t overcook it.  I have always heard to just flip it one time. For the perfect medium burger, grill about four minutes on each side or 140-145 degrees, if you are using a meat thermometer.  I prefer a medium-rare burger and that’s about 7 minutes total or 130-135 degrees. Medium-well is about nine minutes or 150. Well-done is about 10 minutes total or anything more than 160 degrees

6. Leave smash burgers for another time.  As much as you may want to, don’t smash your burger while it is cooking on the grill.  You will lose so much of the flavor if you do.  Trust me on this

Now that we have the perfect burger on the grill, it’s time to think about the toppings.  I think it’s big fun to set up a burger bar with all kinds of toppings.  And when you’re talking about toppings for burgers, the sky is the limits:

• In the Curious Kitchen Pimento Cheese makes the perfect topping paired with our Hot Pepper Jelly and bacon.  

• Our Beer Cheese paired with carmelized onions and maybe a jalapeno pepper ring or two.  Yum.

• Our limited edition Bourbon Blueberry Jam would pair nicely with brie atop a burger.

• Our Bourbon Honey Mustard with a milder cheese, lettuce, and tomato is also a great choice.

• Tomatoes. Any variety of fresh, ripe, red juicy slices will do, including heirloom.

• Lettuce.  Whole leaf or shredded, it’s up to you.  Butter, iceberg, Romaine, green-leaf, use whichever is your favorite.

• Onions.  You can do a variety of thick slices or chopped raw onions or you could also offer up carmelized onions. 

• Pickles. Your choice.  I prefer a good bread-and-butter pickle but dill, sweet, spicy. Or all of the above.

• Cheese.  American, sharp cheddar, Swiss, brie, provolone, monterey jack, gouda, muenster, blue, feta. Just about any combination will do!

• Buns. Onion, Kaiser, sesame seed, potato, ciabatta, pretzel or brioche. Again, the choice is yours.

• A creamy or vinagary slaw, barbeque sauce, ketchup, and your favorite mayo found out the list.

It’s a good time to experiment with flavor and don’t be afraid to pair up several choices that you wouldn’t normally think of…a curious kick of flavors. 

Cheers!

MK