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Thursday May 24, 2012

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Bob Hart's Luxury Hamburger

Posted by: Bob Hart | 25 March, 2010 - 4:45 PM
Hamburger

Australians, sadly, don’t really understand hamburgers. They can be fast food, and pretty nasty fast food, at that. But they can also provide a balanced, wholesome and delicious meal if you take the trouble, and are prepared to pay a bit more.

To make the perfect burger, quite simply, is not cheap. But it’s a brilliant meal, worth the money, and the effort. Try this:

For one person, buy a decent, aged rib fillet – something over 200g. Then – and I know this will seem like sacrilege – cut it onto large chunks, fat and all, and drop it into a food processor. Zap it, but not too much: you are looking for a coarse, chopped finish, not mush. If you don’t have a food processor, chop it by hand rather than mince it. Now, shape it into a large, not-too-thick burger pattie. As a guide, it will be about the same diameter as one of those supermarket burger rolls with sesame seeds  on top – one of which you will need, split carefully, for this recipe.

Now, season your pattie well with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Heat either a covered gas barbecue, or a ribbed grill on your stove. In either case, you want them blistering hot. Brush them lightly with oil and put on your pattie. After a couple of minutes, turn through 90 degrees to create square grill marks. Another minute or so and turn. Repeat on the second side and take off the grill to rest.

Lightly grill both sides of both halves of your split bun. Then, coat the bottom lightly with bottled mayo (Best Foods) and tomato ketchup. Put the burger on top. Top with finely sliced dill pickle (bread and butter pickles are too sweet), a couple of think slices of salad onion (white or red), a couple of slices of tomato, season again, and top with an iceberg lettuce leaf. Then, spread the top of the bun thinly with mayo and put in place. Eat. And if you have ever tasted a better burger than that.

If you like cheeseburgers, try this: after turning the pattie, place a thin (1-2mm) square of comte or swiss gruyere cheese on top while the second side of the pattie cooks. NEVER use that disgusting, sliced, processed rubbish – your burger is better than that! The comte will melt evenly over the pattie and your burger will taste even better. If you like a chilli bite, try putting a couple of think slices of red chilli in the food processor with the meat, or melt a couple of slices of chilli into the cheese by placing them on the pattie before you layer on the cheese.

 

Bob Hart's Tasty Recipes

Bob Hart Did you miss one of Bob's great recipes? Never fear, they are here! Bob is heard on the Afternoons program with Denis Walter and he also joins Tom Elliott on the Weekend Break every weekend. Enjoy.

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