Burgers

From A Hamburger Today [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] It's time for another round of The Food Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji here, and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post. Become a fan of The Food Lab on Facebook or follow it on Twitter for play-by-plays on future kitchen tests and recipe experiments. As a burger lover and a pizza lover, I've always liked the idea of some sort of burger-pizza hybrid, but it never really works according to plan. As our Home Slice Adam can tell you, designing a good hamburger pizza is no easy feat (I've yet to see a successful one anywhere, and pizza burgers rarely fare well either. This one, which is not quite a pizza burger, does a little better, I think. We start with the basics: the bun. It's a standard burger bun, but rather than toasting it in butter, I toast it in garlic butter, with a bit of oregano and parsley mixed into it. It's not something you'd find on a pizza per se, but it gives the whole thing a bit of that generic Italian Red Sauce feel to it, and that's really what we're going for here. I've tried making burgers with standard pizza sauce on them, but they never quite work—the sauce doesn't complement meat like it does pizza crust. Instead, I decided to flavor my sauce largely with pepperoni, fried in olive oil until crisp, then reduced in crushed tomatoes. A splash of vinegar at the end adds some tang, which is essential for any kind of burger sauce—it's the missing element in pretty much every pizza burger I've had. Finally, we get to the cheese. Rather than the mozzarella most opt for, I went with much sharper, tangier provolone, along with some shards of good quality parmesan added at the very end. Get the Recipe Pepperoni Garlic Bread Burgers (Grilled Cheeseburgers with Pepperoni Sauce Serve on Garlic Bread Rolls) » More Burger Toppings! Poutine Burgers Muffuletta Burgers Barbecue Bacon Burgers Korean Barbecue Kim-Cheese Burgers Quadruple Chili Cheeseburgers Hot Hawaiian Burgers About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook. Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter and Pinterest while you're at it! Get the Recipe!

From A Hamburger Today [Photograph: NPR] Until last week, you could get the T-Rex Burger—a cheeseburger featuring nine quarter-pound patties and nine slices of cheese—at just one Wendy's location in Manitoba, Canada. Not wanting to look like they condoned the 3,000 calorie meat tower, Wendy's took the semi-secret item off the menu after someone posted about the burger on Reddit. But nothing (aside from common sense) is stopping you from combining three triple cheeseburgers. And thus the staff of NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! did just that in their latest Sandwich Monday post, in honor of the fallen T-Rex. Read their commentary and you might want to try the burger, too—they call it "inexplicably delicious." More Burger Towers Lotteria Japan Promoting 'Evangelion: Q' With a 9-Patty Cheeseburger Steak 'n Shake's New AllNighter Menu Features 7-Patty Steakburger Lotteria in Japan Celebrating 40th Birthday with Discount Quintuple Cheeseburgers and Shrimp Burgers Seven-Layer Windows 7 Whopper at Burger King in Japan About the author: Robyn Lee is the editor of A Hamburger Today and takes many of the photos for Serious Eats. She'll also doodle cute stuff when necessary. Read more from Robyn at her personal food blog, The Girl Who Ate Everything. Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter and Pinterest while you're at it!

From A Hamburger Today [Photographs: Erin Jackson and Adam Lindsley] Brunch Box 620 SW 9th Ave, Portland OR (map); 503-287-4377; brunchboxpdx.com Cooking method: Griddled Short Order: Big, crazy burgers that are more about entertainment value than being perfect specimens Want Fries With That? Meh, I'd skip them. The fries were on the dry and cardboardy side Price: YouCanHasCheeseburger, $7; Burgermeister, $9; fries, $1.50/$4 With the opening of their brick and mortar store on 4/20, Brunch Box expanded out of Food Cart Alley on the corner of SW 5th and Stark, offering Portlanders another place to get their mitts on budget-friendly and hunger satiating grub, including breakfast sandwiches, hot dogs, and burgers. At both locations, burgers go from over-the-top to Redonkdonk (an actual burger from the Brunch Box menu, topped with egg, bacon, cheese, spam, and ham with grilled cheese sandwiches for buns). Even with my hotel within easy stumbling distance, I knew I'd need some reinforcements, so brought along my defacto +1 (husband), and met up with Portland AHT contributor Adam Lindsley, thinking two burgers and an order of fries could be culled between the three of us. Both Adam and I went for fairly understated options: a YouCanHasCheeseburger for me, and a Burgermeister (aka: Big Mac clone) for the gentleman. The YouCanHasCheeseburger ($7), a take on the fatty melt, features a 1/4 pound of griddled Black Angus beef topped with the typical fixings and condiments, snuggled between two toasty grilled cheese sandwiches. Nailing this burger variant is all about proportion. There's the all-important bread-to-meat ratio, but when you're introducing that much cheese, you've also got to think about dairy-to-everything-else. Looking at the top photo, you've surely diagnosed yourself that the YouCanHasCheeseburger is a little heavy on the bread. Two slices of Texas toast would probably skew the burger's bread margin, let alone four slices. So yes, I'll confirm it: there is too much bread. But there is also too much cheese. The patty gets a slice, and each slice of bread does too, bringing the total to six slices of cheese. That's way too much for the beef to stand up and be noticed, but let me tell you something: with the mayo, tomato, spreads (ketchup and mustard, if you swing that way), and burger patty thrown in, this is one hell of a grilled cheese sandwich, and that's how you need to think of it. I'll pass the (greasy) burger baton to Adam and let him weigh in on his selection, the Burgermeister ($9): With twice the beef of Erin's You Can Has Cheeseburger, the Burgermeister should have packed a meaty wallop, despite the presence of a third bun in the center. No such luck. The overcooked, underseasoned patties barely tasted like anything even when I tore off a hunk and sampled the beef on its own. Compressed to an almost sausage-like consistency, the two slabs of desiccated cow provided textural resistance in each bite and little else. Too bad. Like the Big Mac it's mimicking, the Burgermeister keeps it simple on the toppings: American cheese, lettuce, grilled onions, pickles, and Thousand Island dressing. The salty cheese came through strongest, followed by the toasted bun, meaning this tasted like a grilled cheese sandwich more than anything. A grilled cheese sandwich with pickles and something vaguely beefy about it that you can't quite grasp however much you'd like to. In other words, it was totally fine example of an admittedly fatter-than-usual cheese sandwich, but a boring example of a double cheeseburger. Big burgers like you'll find at Brunch Box don't really require a side, but if a burger without fries leaves you with a gaping hole in your soul, these spuds ($1.50/$4) will fill it. I found them to be on the dry side, but Adam liked them, so go figure. If you want fries that are equally as festive as Brunch Box's burger, there ar

From A Hamburger Today [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] It's time for another round of The Food Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji here, and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post. Become a fan of The Food Lab on Facebook or follow it on Twitter for play-by-plays on future kitchen tests and recipe experiments. Welcome to Burger Toppings Week 2013. Each day this week we'll be presenting a brand new set of burger toppings, all crafted in accordance to The Principles of Topping Burgers, a plan designed to maximize flavor and textural contrasts to provide you with the ultimate burgering experience. Let's jump right in, shall we? We all know how seductive a plate of poutine can be, right? You know, that Canadian late-night dish of fresh fries smothered with squeaky cheese curds and hot, meaty gravy? After a few beers it beckons to you, seduces you. A cheese-clad goddess enrobed in gravy, ready to nip your hangover in the bud. Heck, even without the beer goggles poutine is a pretty tough mistress to turn away. So what happens when your poutine employs her crafty wiles on an unsuspecting burger? The Poutine Burger emerges. This is what happens when your poutine and your hamburger slink off into some dimly lit corner and re-emerge a bit more disheveled and a whole lot messier. It's a delicious burger, to be sure, but one you probably shouldn't consume in mixed company. There are only three elements that make up a perfect plate of poutine. First is really good fries. When designing this burger, I started by taking a very literal approach: topping a burger with poutine made with standard, thick-cut french fries. It was delicious, but it was not more than the sum of its parts, as a well-designed sandwich should be. The problem? The fries, despite their crisp exterior, were simply too similar in texture to the burger itself. Moist-on-moist doesn't make for the most exciting bite of food. I gradually reduced the thickness of my fries in order to increase their crisp-crust-to-interior ratio until I finally reached the stage where they were literally matchstick-thickness, crisp all the way through. They weren't the classic poutine-style fries, but I felt that the added textural contrast they gave to the dish was enough to warrant a slight deviation from utter authenticity. In order to get the fries crisp without becoming too dark and acrid tasting, I washed them in water until all of their residual starch was washed away. This allowed me to cook them until completely crisp while still maintaining a nice golden-brown color with a clean, potato-y flavor. The other two elements of poutine—the cheese curds and the gravy—didn't require much tinkering at all; they worked as-is with the burger concept. If you have a local cheese maker, most likely they'll sell you fresh cheese curd if you ask them. You can order them online (there are a number of options available on Amazon, or you can do what I did: make them yourself with fresh milk and rennet tablets (the process is remarkably easy, requiring nothing more than a thermometer and a pot). As for the gravy, any sort of meat broth-based homemade gravy will do. This is a good place to start. Poutine gravy tends to be glossier and shinier than your standard roux-thickened American-style gravy, so if you want to get that look just right, you should thicken your gravy with a pure starch like cornstarch or arrowroot as opposed to flour. Once you've got your elements all set, it's a simple matter of putting it all together. You can cook your burgers in a skillet if you'd like, but this is a topping set designed for a thick, hearty burger from the backyard grill. Take a look at our Guide to Grilling Great Burgers for some good general principles on how to get the most out of the meat between your buns. Finally, for the sake of some fresh, non-fried crunch, I

From A Hamburger Today [Photographs: Wes Rowe] Hopscotch 1915 San Pablo Ave., Oakland CA 94612 (map); 510-788-6217; hopscotchoakland.com Cooking Method: Griddled Short Order: A delicious, flavor-rich burger is accentuated by uniformly excellent toppings, but it's brought to a new level of beef-vana thanks to a slab of griddled tongue. Want Fries with That? Chips come standard, but upgrading to duck fat chips is worth the $2. Absolutely do not skip the Yonsei oyster to start your meal. Price: First Base Burger, $14, + $1 for cheese; duck fat chips upgrade, $2; Yonsei oyster, $5 each Notes: Hopscotch is worth a visit for their cocktails, as well, and its proximity to the Fox Theater makes it a perfect pre-concert spot. I've got a confession to make. It's been a little while since I visited Hopscotch with the intention of trying their burger. A burger so good, so flavorful, that I sometimes find myself gazing eastward across the Bay, wistfully plotting my next trip to Uptown Oakland. So, why have I held back? For one, Hopscotch's pocket-sized space fills up quickly. I didn't relish the idea of fighting off my fellow burger lovers to get a stool at the bar in the charming classed-up diner space. But mostly, I sometimes get too wrapped up in the memory of a meal to sharpen my critical eye and do my journalistic duty. My first visit to Hopscotch included a few cocktails, the company of a great friend, and a wonderful concert at the nearby Fox Theater. And an absolutely stunning burger. For that, I apologize loyal AHT-ers. I was selfish and wrong to have held back. I hope that you'll forgive me, and perhaps we can raise a toast to the glory that is beef between bread together at Hopscotch sometime. So let's get down to it. The First Base Burger ($14) is a seven-ounce blend of scrap from high quality rib eye and chuck roll, with some beef tongue thrown in for good measure. It's ground in-house each day, hand-formed, and seasoned with salt and pepper. The meat cuts, sourced from Kansas City's NatureSource, remain consistent, but the fat ratio can change slightly based on what the restaurant receives. I tried the burger twice in the course of a week, and I found it to be consistently beefy and well-salted, with a nicely loose grind and a gorgeous medium rare interior. Cutting the burger in half resulted in a gush of juice which, thankfully, didn't lead to a dried-out patty: the meat stayed moist, flavorful, and intensely beefy Toppings include tangy-sweet pickled onions, wonderfully ripe jewel-toned tomatoes, and a swath of sesame aioli. Oh, and of course, a slab of griddled beef tongue. Yeah, man. BEEF TONGUE. Unctuous, salty, and tender, the tongue deepens the beefy richness of the burger, while adding a decadent oomph of texture and flavor. A decidedly unexpected topping, the tongue skyrocketed this burger to over-the-top amazing levels, without doing so in an overbearing, flavor-dominating way (see: grinding bacon into your beef). The inspiration for this unorthodox topping comes from chef Kyle Itani's half Japanese heritage. Itani spent time studying cooking in Sendai, where tongue is a specialty. There, it's usually served in a stew or soup. At Hopscotch, Sendai salt cures it for 24 hours, then braises it slow and low for three to four hours before being sliced and griddled to order. The time spent curing and braising the tongue explains its melty texture and the wonderful intensity of this flavor. Anyway. My tongue rhapsodies aside, the sweet, crisp vegetables of the fresh and pickled variety provide a welcome fresh contrast to the richness of the tongue and beef combination. Sesame aioli lends a nutty richness, as well. You can add cheese for $1 and bacon for $2—I went with a sharp cheddar add-on for my second go-around, and, to my great surprise, found it entirely unnecessary. The tongue and aioli provide all the salt and richness

Categories: Hot off the Grill, Miscellany, OtherTags: @Popeyes, Fast food, Fried Chicken, Popeye's Louisiana KitchenMrs. Burgerdogboy do love her Popeye’e, especially a side of red beans, and I’m always happy to oblige her, as she’s taught me the whole “happy wife, happy life” thing, and it’s 100% on target. So whenever I roll past a Popeye’s, or am pointed in that direction by my better two-thirds, off I go,(Read more...)

Categories: Ham & Bacon, Hot off the Grill, Miscellany, SandwichesTags: Chicago, SandwichThere are what – 40,000 Subway sandwich places in the world.  The franchised brand name one, not including other chains, Quiznos, Jimmy Joe Bob’s or whatever that one is.   Yet “independents” keep springing up and competing. Like Uncle Sammy’s Sandwich Classics, in Chicago.  Uncle Sammy’s is in Lincoln Park, the first neighborhood I ever lived(Read more...)

Luby’s Inc. concedes that—initially, at least—its absorption of the Cheeseburger in Paradise brand it acquired in December is being more difficult than expected. Speaking to analysts today about results for its fiscal third quarter, ended May 8, 2013, President-CEO Christopher Pappas addressed a 13% decline in Cheeseburger in Paradise (CiP) sales compared with the year-earlier quarter. He called that performance “challenged and below expectations.” Cheeseburger in Paradise is Luby’s entry into casual dining. Pappas attributed the decline in part to “prior year promotions not fully repeated this year,” but said Luby’s would aggressively work to rebuild CiP sales. As with any acquisition, Luby’s is on a learning curve with CiP, Pappas said, adding, “sometimes, those curves are steep.” He outlined a three-pronged effort to enhance the level of operations and service, upgrade the menu and, third, realize efficiencies and improve margins. Already, Luby’s has introduced an improved burger patty and is serving it now on baked-on-premises buns. Marketing initiatives have included introduction of a happy hour, family nights with free kids meals and sports-themed promotions. A Burger Up social-media initiative invites customers to create new burgers and cocktails for the CiP menu. A “brand ambassador” program being put in place allows some staff to spend time outside the restaurant to “generate interest and knowledge” about CiP in local communities. Houston-based Luby’s closed its $11 million acquisition of 23 Cheeseburger in Paradise units in December 2012. In June 2010 the company acquired the Fuddruckers chain (plus three Koo Koo Roo units) for $61 million. The Q3 report for Fuddruckers was a bit brighter: Same-store sales were up 0.5% for the quarter, but only because a 2.7% increase in check overcame a 2.1% decline in traffic. “It’s a small part of our business now, but it does give us a foothold into the casual-dining segment, which we didn’t have before. We want to be in there and learn about it,” Pappas said of the CiP acquisition today.

Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar is featuring the Pittsburger for Father’s Day. The question “Want fries with that?” is being replaced by “Want fries on that?” as the never-ending search for new toppings moves fries from the side to the top. Pizza Hut Canada this week introduced Cheesy Beef Poutine pan-crust pizza topped with a poutine-like combo of fries, seasoned steak, cheese curds and mozzarella. That mimics a similar trend making fries a topping in the burger category. It’s not a new idea, certainly, but it is enjoying renewed interest. Milwaukee Burger Co. in Eau Claire, Wis., was working on the same idea this spring when it made the Poutine Burger its specialty burger for March. Suggested by customer Joe Schaefer, the burger was topped with house-made fries, Castle Rock Organic Farms’ white Cheddar cheese curds and house-made brown gravy. The Checkers/Rally’s chain this spring gave the fries-as-topping idea a whirl when it introduced the Fry Burger, a beef patty topped with cheese, pickles, ketchup and mayo. Priced at just $1, the combo burger was a hit. Primanti Bros. in Pittsburgh has long been famous for including fries in sandwiches. It’s not an option, it’s the style: The menu says, “All sandwiches are topped with french fries, coleslaw & tomatoes.” Perhaps that’s why Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar locations’ Father’s Day weekend feature burger is called the Pittsburger: That’s a 5-oz. beef patty with house-made American cheese, spiced garlic ketchup and a handful of hand-cut skinny fries. Fries are a topping on Pizza Hut Canada’s Cheesy Beef Poutine Pizza. At Fat Head’s Saloon in Pittsburgh, fries even function as salad toppings. The Jalape?o Cheddar Chicken Salad, for example, is grilled chicken with house-made jalape?o Cheddar sauce topped with shredded provolone cheese, cilantro-seasoned tomatoes and a serving of fries. The South Shore Steak Salad gets the same treatment. Checkers/Rally’s $1 Fry Burger California burger haven Slater’s 50/50 gives a similar nod with its french-fry-topped Pittsburgh Pastrami sandwich. This is another trend where independent burger joints are leading the way because they’re less afraid to try something new. The Burger Company, Charlotte, N.C., comes up with a new burger special almost every day so it’s not surprising it has given the fries-on-top idea a spin. Its recent Munchie Burger was a 5-oz. beef patty topped with chili, Mexican queso cheese, caramelized onion and, yep, fries. McDonald’s has tried a few variations on the idea overseas. The Big Rösti burger with a hash-brown-potato patty is a frequent and popular LTO in Austria. An Idaho Burger with a hash-brown patty was part of the Big America promotion in Japan in 2010. McDonald’s also recently tried a Hash Brown Burger in Hong Kong. The downside to the trend, which is likely to keep most operators—and especially chains—from  embracing it, is that putting fries on the burger eliminates a high-margin side order. In an economy this still-tight economy, that can be a deal breaker for operators.

Categories: Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Hot off the Grill, PizzaWhen we roll out the new site shortly, we’ll be getting help in the future from a new set of players.   Here’s a sneak peek at your webmaster, BurgerDogBoy!(Read more...)