There is nothing like a big, juicy burger. I never buy pre-made ground beef patties; I always get freshly-made burger from Caronna's Market (my local butcher shop) which is ground right there in the store - often while I wait. A big hand-formed patty of that beef, grilled under a broiler or, better yet, over hot coals, is truly awesome.
But sometimes, I don't want a big juicy burger. I want a thinner, 1930's-style fried patty. I call 'em flatburgers.
I start out by using a cheap teflon-coated egg ring as a burger form. It's completely useless as an egg ring because it's been made with a deep seam where the egg sticks. But it makes a nearly perfect 1/3-pound ground beef patty just the right size to fit on a standard hamburger bun. I press the meat into the ring on a disposable foam plate and carefully remove the ring.
To make this patty into a flatburger, I press the patty gently with my fingertips, forming it into a thinner quarter-inch-thick patty with a wider diameter. Then I fry it under a cast-iron bacon press to keep it from shrinking as it cooks, and serve it up with ketchup and mustard and a slice of cheese on an oversized sesame-seed sandwich bun. Voilà! A flatburger - remarkably similar to the burgers my great-grandfather used to get at small diners in the late 30s. Despite the thinness of the patty, it's still a 1/3-pound burger, so it's remarkably satisfying
Flatburger or no, it can still be decked out with all the trimmings you desire. Add cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon - especially bacon - and the Flatburger suddenly doesn't seem so flat.
Take a trip back in time and try a flatburger sometime.
10 comments:
Mmmm burgers. Once I tried to make them really really flat and make double cheeseburgers but they didn't turn out as well as I hoped. The best burger meat I had recently was actually 75% "lean" (haha) from Hannaford. Yeah, a lot of fat in the pan but man what a flavor...
hmm I am stuffed on chocolate chip cookies but for some reason now I want a burger... :D
Now that sounds like a real burger. Just like the kind they served at the counter in Philly's 30th Street Station. Really enjoyed them too..
Keep up the good work Dave. By the way where is your old slogan?? The one where you tried everything so we didn't have to.
Fred
Sounds delicious. Weren't all burgers flat burgers way back when? I always think of this style as the 'original' burger. I don't know if I'm right about that though???
You had to post this during Lent when I'm giving up most meat? Maybe on the weekend....
"By the way where is your old slogan?? The one where you tried everything so we didn't have to.
"
His gastroenterologist asked him to change it. Dave's about my age, and a body can only take so much...
Since he probably wants to spit venom at me about now, my question is, "Do you ever grill anything?" Around here, I would never serve a burger that was not cooked over coals.
Tom
TomW: Grilling is my first choice for cooking meats, followed by smoking, especially when I make a big juicy hand-formed burger. But still, I sometimes get nostalgic for the thin, fried burgers some joints were still serving as late as the '70s, when I could go into a ratty little gin mill at lunchtime and get a burger and a beer for a couple of bucks.
Stella: Yes, thin patties on a bun with ketchup and mustard (but no cheese or bacon) was how my grandfather remembered them. When I was a kid, we used to go to a hamburger place in East Hartford CT called "Augie & Ray's." They made cheeseburgers with thin flat patties, buns spread with a bit of butter and toasted on the grill, and mild orange cheese. They still hold a place in my heart.
Fred: I'll figure out some way to work the old slogan into the new header. But it was past time for a facelift.
Tree ocean: I love Hannaford's - I wish there were some closer to me. Whenever the family and I head to Vermont, I always bring a cooler because we know we'll be stopping at the Hannaford in Brattleboro on the way home.
We like to press our own burgers too and finding the right gadget to do the forming was always an adventure.
That is, until we found this little gem:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/
product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14202625
The press has measured increments, is a breeze to set up and clean and makes a perfect burger on every pass.
BarbieIQue: That looks like a pretty cool gadget - I'm going to give it a closer look (I've been dissapointed by burger presses before, so I'm careful now.) Thanks for the link!
To press burgers, I just use two margarine tub tops - take off 1/4 to 1/3 pound wad of meat, roll it in a ball, and press between the two tops.
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