They were the hottest things to hit the streets in 2012. And 2013. Last year, too. And our love affair with the burger shows no sign of slowing this year – and why would it? The elegant simplicity of a well-made burger remains a thing of beauty and deserves to be celebrated.
But while the cool kids queue for the latest hot spot serving up their hip take on the classic, the beauty of the burger is that it’s just as easy to whip up at home.
It’s a meal guaranteed to get every member of the family smiling – especially the cook, for summer is the time of the quick-fix dinner and burgers are flag-waving paid-up members of that club. Granted, it’s doubtful “I must eat more burgers this year” featured on many resolution lists on Jan 1, but they can be surprisingly healthy – especially when making them at home.
The best burgers offer a combination of tastes and textures – sweet, sour, salt – with a bit of crunch. The patty needs to be juicy, the bun soft but sturdy, and you want the meat/bun/accompaniment ratio to be even from first to last bite.
Then you can add to your heart’s content. Lettuce, tomato and onion are favourites to feature, and while pickles can be more controversial, the best burgers all benefit from the sweet tangy zing they bring.
You’ll want to say yes please to cheese, maybe bacon, too. Beetroot and pineapple and a fried egg, and you have the classic chipper burger whipped up easily in your own home. You are limited only by your imagination, guided by your tastes – or what’s in the fridge.
“The best thing about making burgers at home is experimenting,” Dani Zeini says. He’s a man who’s done much experimenting with burgers of all types and sizes, flipping them to applause at his Dandenong Pavilion and now at the new Grand Trailer Park Taverna in Melbourne’s CBD. “For me the most important thing is the meat and the bun,” he says.
Grill’d gourmet burger chain founder Simon Crowe agrees. “For me, a burger isn’t a burger without a decent bun.”
It’s important to make your burger stable. There’s nothing worse than a burger that falls apart after the first bite. The best way to make sure your burger eats well to the very last mouthful is to match your patty with your bun. A patty that sticks out of a too small bun is no fun, but neither is running out of meat with half a bun left.
“It’s all about balance,” says Andrew Davies, who creates some of Adelaide’s most coveted burgers at Press Food & Wine and now Bread & Bone. “You want the same flavour throughout your burger, so your first bite is the same as the last. I could never fathom, even as a kid, why you want a burger so high that when you bite it everything pushes out the other end.”
The perfect burger
Has the right ingredients in the right proportion in every bite
– Bun
Dani suggests heading down to your local baker to see what different buns are on offer. “I like to use a sweet brioche bun, which complements the texture of the beef, and helps cut through the tartness of the condiments. With all the strong flavours, it adds a bit of sweetness,” he says. Halve the buns and pop into the oven for 30 seconds to warm and lightly toast. Don’t make the bun too crusty. Butter and let it gently seep through the bun.
Other buns you can use include soft white rolls, Turkish bread, and wholemeal for the health-conscious.
– Patty
Simon says the best burgers are made from grass-fed free range beef or lamb. “This gives the meat a unique, flavoursome taste,” he says. “Brisket and chuck is best as these cuts are from the forequarter of the animal and have the most flavour.”
Dani likes using a fatty cut of meat – sirloin with the fat on, or brisket – and says once you’ve made your own mince at home you’ll never look back. Many mixers have attachments that now make it simple to mince meat. Experiment with leaner and fattier cuts to get the proportion to your taste. “If you like a strong beefy taste, put a bit of extra sirloin in,” he says. If you can’t mince your own meat, just ask your butcher to do it.
Each patty should be about 180g, which lends itself to the standard size burger bun from the baker or supermarket. Your patty should go to the very edge of the bun.
Simply season with salt and pepper and cook, depending on the size of the patty, for 2-3 mins on each side on a hot grill, so they develop a lovely crust.
And if you can cook your patties over an open flame, your burgers will start to resemble restaurant-quality fare.
– Cheese
“Cheese is a must in my book,” Simon says. “For that classic burger taste, one slice of tasty cheese melted over the top of the patty is the way to go.”
Andrew prefers an American-style cheese, such as Monterey Jack, which has a low melting point, while Dani has been experimenting with aged cheddar and likes using six-month-old cheddar on his burger. “Put the cheese on as soon as the patty is first flipped, so by the time it’s melted the patty should be cooked,” he says.
– Pickles
“Your burger should always include some pickles, as they add nice acidity to cut through the fat of the burger,” Andrew says. “Pickles are a must,” Simon agrees. “Sliced lengthways and laid on top of the beef patty with some melted cheese and a healthy serve of a quality Dijon mustard and you’ve got yourself something pretty close to our famous Mustard & Pickled burger.”
– Onion
Finely sliced or diced red onion is another element most agree makes for a good burger, adding a piquant kick and crunch to each bite. At Press Food & Wine, Andrew adds a mixture of both raw and cooked onion to his burgers for added flavour and texture.
– Lettuce
Always put the lettuce on the bottom of the bun and lay your patty on top, Dani says. This will ensure the juice from your patty doesn’t cause the bun to disintegrate.
– Condiments
“For me, my burger has to have strong American mustard and a good quality tomato sauce – which is always Heinz at home,” Dani says. Andrew uses kewpie mayo on his burger, while Simon says a mayo and tomato sauce combo creates that classic burger flavour.
Information in this article correct as of 13th January, 2015.
