Let’s admit it, most of our first burgers were at The Mc Donald’s or a similar QSR chain unless we are also taking into account the tiny, limp burgers that my mother would often pack in my tiffin box. However, my ‘definition’ of a burger was in for a massive upgrade when I tried a custom-built burger. I chose the buns, sauces, smears, veggies and a patty that was handmade from scratch. I was so fascinated by the whole ‘customising’ bit that I ended up with a super hefty burger, half of which had to be finished off by a friend, but it sure proved to be quite an experience for me. It was the day I learnt that you ‘build’ a burger and not just put it together. Every vegetable, every sauce has a place inside your burger. The way you mix your patty defines the tightness or softness of the same. The timing, the seasoning, and plenty of other factors define the overall texture of ingredients you use in your burger. Here are a few effective tips we learned that have been helping us make fab burgers recently
1. Use freshly ground meat only to make your patties. The soak in all flavours while staying moist and yummy for a long. If possible, purchase meat and grind it yourself in a good quality food processor and grinder.
2. Do not over-knead the meat. It could lead to very tight patties. Add salt only after the patties are ready to be cooked. Make sure you work with cold meat at this point. Expose it to meat only after you have seasoned it.
3. When you are making patties, press them gently and create a small dent in the centre from above with the help of your thumb. When you are cooking your patties, they increase in size. This will ensure they do not rise too much. Also, it is good to keep the size of patties following the burger buns; making giant patties means more cooking time.
4. Not just the meat, seasoning veggies like tomatoes with salt also gives it a bright pop of colour and its flavour a boost. But, again, add salt moments before serving. Adding salt beforehand can suck out the moisture.
5. Adding onions soaked in water briefly (for 10 to 15 minutes) before can help retain its crunch in the burger, besides off-setting the intense flavour it comes with.
6. When adding lettuce, make sure you have washed it and dried it out completely. For maximum crunch, go for iceberg lettuce. If that is unavailable, romaine lettuce works fine. Make sure it is dry so that it does not moisten the bun and other ingredients.
Keep these pointers in mind and make delicious restaurant-style burgers at home. Here’s a recipe that will impress you to the core.
We are giving out both a vegan and a non-veg burger so that we can all enjoy one burger each today. Have a look.
