Now that the weather is warmer and the days are getting longer, grills are being fired up all over America. The number one grilling item is the hamburger.
Hamburgers are everywhere. A burger is the most commonly ordered restaurant item in the United States. Americans consume 25 billion hamburgers every year. Americans seem to crave these patties of ground beef, topped with cheese, bacon, grilled onions and every combination of ingredients imaginable, and placed between slices of bread. Some even like them plain. Per capita consumption of ground beef is estimated at close to 30 pounds a year.
Most people assume the hamburger was invented in Hamburg, Germany. Nineteenth century German immigrants did bring a style of cooking beef steak to America that was very similar to the way we cook hamburgers now. Steak cooked “in the Hamburg style” was sliced very thin and fried.
Yale University, in New Haven, Conn. lays claim to the hamburger. According to Yale legend, the hamburger's inventor was Louis Lassen, the owner and operator of Louis' Lunch, a popular lunch spot near the university campus. One day, a customer came in needing a quick lunch. Lassen had a broiled meat patty on hand and simply slapped it between two slices of toasted bread.
St. Louis, Mo. claims the first burger was served there. On April 30, 1904, a food vender selling beef patties at the World's Fair ran out of plates. He convinced the vender next to him to sell him a supply of bread and began selling his meat patties between two slices of fresh bread.
Residents of Seymour, Wis. hold a “Home of the Hamburger” celebration every Aug. 5. Residents of that town claim their own Charlie Nagreen as the hamburger's inventor. Better known as “Hamburger Charlie,” Nagreen was said to have been only 15 years old on Aug. 5, 1885, when he first began frying his hamburger patties in butter and selling them from an ox-drawn cart at the county fair.
As a New Yorker, my favorite version is about the Menches Brothers. The brothers originally sold sausages at an 1885 fair in Hamburg. They ran out of sausage and were forced to use ground beef. John Menches, the grandson of one of the brothers in an interview for Business Week Magazine said, “Faced with nothing to sell at all, they fried the ground beef up, but it was too bland. My grandfather decided to put coffee, brown sugar and some other household ingredients in it and cooked up the sandwich. My great-uncle Frank served the first sandwich, a gentleman tasted it and said, 'What do you call it?' Uncle Frank didn't really know what to call it, so he looked up and saw the banner for the Hamburg fair and said, 'This is the hamburger.'”
Most of the argument over who invented the hamburger centers on what makes a hamburger a hamburger. Some say it's not a hamburger unless it is fried.
At the heart of every burger is the patty. Most typically people think of a hamburger patty as beef. This is a great place to start. When using ground beef to make hamburger patties you want to select the right meat. Lean ground beef like ground sirloin or the 7 percent fat meat will tend to make dry burgers. Remember, when you grill a burger a lot of the fat will drain off so starting out too lean can make a dry burger. But also remember that the more fat the more the burger will shrink while cooking. The 30 percent fat beef can shrink by as much as 25 percent leaving you a pretty little patty.
You also want to get a coarse grind. Finely ground meat can become soft and mushy, making the patties hard to work with and more likely to fall apart. This is also the reason you want to be careful about what you put in the patty.
Now while other meats also make a great burger, mixtures of meats make a fantastic burger. Try mixing three parts beef with one-part sausage. Or you can add a lamb flavor by mixing equal parts beef and lamb. But remember when mixing meats, the more you handle the meat the softer it will become. Mix gently and as little as necessary.
Once you have your patties ready for the grill you need to know a few things about grilling the burger. Start with a very hot grill, as hot as it will go. Get everything ready and quickly lift the lid and gently place the patties on the grill. When the raw meat hits the hot cooking grate, it will stick. It will seize the grate for dear life. If you try to turn it too early, the burger will fall apart. The secret is to flip the burger the second it releases.
The process here is that as the bottom of the patty cooks the grease will create a non-stick surface on the patty and the heat from the grate will char the meat, separating it from the grate. At this point you want to lift the lid again and flip the patties, preferably to an unused part of the cooking grate. Repeat. When the burgers have released again, flip them again and turn down the heat. It should only take about 1 minute per side to release from the grate. When you have flipped for the second time continue grilling for about 2-3 minutes. At this point there should be no pink left. Flip a third time and continue until done. This should be only about 2-3 more minutes. Remove the hamburger patty when done and let sit for a minute or two before you serve. Salt and pepper is really all you need for added flavor, but if you are the experimental type, feel free to add ingredients like different spices or flavors into the meat before cooking.
I have included a recipe for a classic hamburger, but the possibilities are endless. Enjoy.
This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef Max Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net
Classic Recipe for One Hamburger
Grind twice 1/2 pound of chuck, round or rump steak that has a fair amount of fat (8 percent), but no gristle or bone
Roll meat into a ball and then flatten it into a patty about
1 1/2 inches thick.
Place meat on a grill or a heavy skillet and cook with
moderate heat, first one side, then the other, about 5
minutes each side for rare.
Don't turn more than once. Don't press the juices out of
the meat.
Don't season until done; then salt and pepper generously.
Heat a bun gently in a conventional oven or at the back of the grill. Don't let it get hard in a toaster or microwave oven.
On the bottom half of the bun, place a washed and dried
lettuce leaf, a thin slice of raw, sweet, white onion, a slice of ripe tomato and a few slices of hamburger pickles.
Place the meat on top and cover with the top half of the bun.
Gently squeeze the hamburger sandwich so that some of the beef juices infuse the bread.
Serve with potato chips or french fries and a soft drink or a milkshake.
Most people assume the hamburger was invented in Hamburg, Germany. Nineteenth century German immigrants did bring a style of cooking beef steak to America that was very similar to the way we cook hamburgers now. Steak cooked “in the Hamburg style” was sliced very thin and fried.
Yale University, in New Haven, Conn. lays claim to the hamburger. According to Yale legend, the hamburger's inventor was Louis Lassen, the owner and operator of Louis' Lunch, a popular lunch spot near the university campus. One day, a customer came in needing a quick lunch. Lassen had a broiled meat patty on hand and simply slapped it between two slices of toasted bread.
St. Louis, Mo. claims the first burger was served there. On April 30, 1904, a food vender selling beef patties at the World's Fair ran out of plates. He convinced the vender next to him to sell him a supply of bread and began selling his meat patties between two slices of fresh bread.
Residents of Seymour, Wis. hold a “Home of the Hamburger” celebration every Aug. 5. Residents of that town claim their own Charlie Nagreen as the hamburger's inventor. Better known as “Hamburger Charlie,” Nagreen was said to have been only 15 years old on Aug. 5, 1885, when he first began frying his hamburger patties in butter and selling them from an ox-drawn cart at the county fair.
As a New Yorker, my favorite version is about the Menches Brothers. The brothers originally sold sausages at an 1885 fair in Hamburg. They ran out of sausage and were forced to use ground beef. John Menches, the grandson of one of the brothers in an interview for Business Week Magazine said, “Faced with nothing to sell at all, they fried the ground beef up, but it was too bland. My grandfather decided to put coffee, brown sugar and some other household ingredients in it and cooked up the sandwich. My great-uncle Frank served the first sandwich, a gentleman tasted it and said, 'What do you call it?' Uncle Frank didn't really know what to call it, so he looked up and saw the banner for the Hamburg fair and said, 'This is the hamburger.'”
Most of the argument over who invented the hamburger centers on what makes a hamburger a hamburger. Some say it's not a hamburger unless it is fried.
At the heart of every burger is the patty. Most typically people think of a hamburger patty as beef. This is a great place to start. When using ground beef to make hamburger patties you want to select the right meat. Lean ground beef like ground sirloin or the 7 percent fat meat will tend to make dry burgers. Remember, when you grill a burger a lot of the fat will drain off so starting out too lean can make a dry burger. But also remember that the more fat the more the burger will shrink while cooking. The 30 percent fat beef can shrink by as much as 25 percent leaving you a pretty little patty.
You also want to get a coarse grind. Finely ground meat can become soft and mushy, making the patties hard to work with and more likely to fall apart. This is also the reason you want to be careful about what you put in the patty.
Now while other meats also make a great burger, mixtures of meats make a fantastic burger. Try mixing three parts beef with one-part sausage. Or you can add a lamb flavor by mixing equal parts beef and lamb. But remember when mixing meats, the more you handle the meat the softer it will become. Mix gently and as little as necessary.
Once you have your patties ready for the grill you need to know a few things about grilling the burger. Start with a very hot grill, as hot as it will go. Get everything ready and quickly lift the lid and gently place the patties on the grill. When the raw meat hits the hot cooking grate, it will stick. It will seize the grate for dear life. If you try to turn it too early, the burger will fall apart. The secret is to flip the burger the second it releases.
The process here is that as the bottom of the patty cooks the grease will create a non-stick surface on the patty and the heat from the grate will char the meat, separating it from the grate. At this point you want to lift the lid again and flip the patties, preferably to an unused part of the cooking grate. Repeat. When the burgers have released again, flip them again and turn down the heat. It should only take about 1 minute per side to release from the grate. When you have flipped for the second time continue grilling for about 2-3 minutes. At this point there should be no pink left. Flip a third time and continue until done. This should be only about 2-3 more minutes. Remove the hamburger patty when done and let sit for a minute or two before you serve. Salt and pepper is really all you need for added flavor, but if you are the experimental type, feel free to add ingredients like different spices or flavors into the meat before cooking.
I have included a recipe for a classic hamburger, but the possibilities are endless. Enjoy.
This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef Max Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net
Classic Recipe for One Hamburger
Grind twice 1/2 pound of chuck, round or rump steak that has a fair amount of fat (8 percent), but no gristle or bone
Roll meat into a ball and then flatten it into a patty about
1 1/2 inches thick.
Place meat on a grill or a heavy skillet and cook with
moderate heat, first one side, then the other, about 5
minutes each side for rare.
Don't turn more than once. Don't press the juices out of
the meat.
Don't season until done; then salt and pepper generously.
Heat a bun gently in a conventional oven or at the back of the grill. Don't let it get hard in a toaster or microwave oven.
On the bottom half of the bun, place a washed and dried
lettuce leaf, a thin slice of raw, sweet, white onion, a slice of ripe tomato and a few slices of hamburger pickles.
Place the meat on top and cover with the top half of the bun.
Gently squeeze the hamburger sandwich so that some of the beef juices infuse the bread.
Serve with potato chips or french fries and a soft drink or a milkshake.
The Citizens' Say
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Great Texas Chef wrote on May 24, 2007 4:59 PM: