McDonalds once had a horribly flawed burger called the McDLT (McDonalds w/ Lettuce and Tomato). IIRC it was a response to surging competition from Burger King and customer demand to have a burger with fresher vegetables, un-shredded lettuce etc. They created a horribly wasteful two compartment styro packaging for the burger which separated the top bun and vegetables from the bottom bun and meat and the slogan “the hot side stays hot and the cool side stays cool”. However some dumbass designed the thing so the cheese was on the cool side and was never melted. Who wants cold cheese on a burger???
I remember the McDLT. So stupid putting the cheese on the cold side.
That was back in the day when all their stuff was premade and sat around until you came to buy it. Remember the racks of cheeseburgers behind the counter?
I remember the McDLT, but never had one. I’m a Big Mac or nothing if I have to eat at McDonald’s. I just like singing the song…
Has anyone had one of their new fresh beef burgers? I have to say they look really tasty on TV, but that can’t be true.
kevin,
I’ve not yet made, but do wish to soon, the cheese from Chef Steps. Was it as simple as the video makes it look and was the outcome what you wanted to have with a superior cheese like your cloth bound?
Chris
Well here’s an interesting data point:
Chris, it really was pretty easy. However, it probably depends a lot on the cheese or cheeses you use, as you can see from the different recipes they give. The first time I made it with Cabot, it was a bit salty, and it solidified pretty quick which made it harder to get out of the blender. But it worked. So the second time I cut the salt by half and added extra milk trying to make it more fluid. You can see my exact recipe in the comment section. I was pretty happy with it the second time, although it was a bit softer and therefor harder to cut. Definitely cut it when it is cold, and I would highly recommend the wire cheese slicer ChefSteps used since I think it would be harder to cut with a knife (the pastry rings I used were just the right size for the cutter). Definitely separate the slices with parchment or wax paper because they are pretty sticky. Next time I might try cutting it a bit thinner so it will melt quicker, but it melted reasonably well.
I don’t really understand the science behind the various melting salts and how that relates to different cheeses, so I think you just have to try it with your cheese and the recipe you think is closest to it and see what happens (and guess on any corrective measures). Unfortunately, ChefSteps is not very good about answering questions in the comments, particularly for old recipes.
Kevin, thanks. I’ll order some acetate and dig in. Rings I have and I have some solid cheese ideas to try this with and will report back.
To the the science.
Unless your question was really “Hey, if I use S.C. with cheddar am I using the wrong emulsifier but it’s great with gouda…”
Matt, while I don’t agree 100%, I get where you are coming from. I consider a burger to be one of the ultimate comfort foods. I don’t want it dressed up with truffled anything or foie gras, though a good fried egg I can do. One of the things I love about a great burger is that it normally (for me) comes from my favorite pub in town where I am comfortable and relaxed, and I don’t have to cook anything or even put on make-up to make it an event. Where we can go at 10 AM or 2 AM, and get the same, terrific product within 30 minutes of deciding I want one. I do believe that better ingredients make for a better tasting product, and we can make an amazing burger at home with Flannery blends. Our creation does objectively taste better. But I don’t know if it’s enough better tasting to make it a better burger, when I’m talking about all that a burger means to me.
OT: Chris have you tried this Modernist Cuisine Mac & Cheese recipe? How does the sauce reheat if I wanted to make it a day in advance and store in the fridge?
I was thinking of trying it using the ChefSteps tricks of melting all the cheese and ingredients together by sous vide at 167F and then blending until smooth, which would be a lot easier than slowly melting the cheese spoonful by spoonful.
I think you need to contribute to this amusing thread:
You guys with the “fancy” cheese are basically creating your own processed cheese, right?
Yes, the same chemistry as Kraft Cheese Slices, but made from tasty cheese instead crap. Useful if you want to put a poorly/slowly melting cheese on your burger and get it to melt without over-cooking your burger.
As an alternative, I’ve used my Searzall torch to melt Stilton cheese on burgers (+ plus a port wine reduction is killer, another Kenji recipe).
Sounds good but coming from a guy who cures his own corned beef and pastrami, regularly smokes meat for 12+ hours, grinds his own sausage, makes his own mustard and bbq sauce, ferments his own pickles – that sounds like a lot of work. ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
Tim
It really doesn’t appear to be so. Cheese, milk, chemistry, sous vide, blend until smooth, pour into mold (acetate), let set, slice, stack, serve.
OT: Chris have you tried this Modernist Cuisine Mac & Cheese recipe? How does the sauce reheat if I wanted to make it a day in advance and store in the fridge?
I was thinking of trying it using the ChefSteps tricks of melting all the cheese and ingredients together by sous vide at 167F and then blending until smooth, which would be a lot easier than slowly melting the cheese spoonful by spoonful.
I have not tried the Modernist. But, I have used the CS cheese slice chemistry on nacho cheese and reheat is fine. No issues. I think that emulsification/stabilizing is durable through heat and chill cycles.
Complete agree the CS solution of sous vide and a blender makes a ton more sense than spoonfuls at a time.
Sure - to be clear I do believe a “basic” burger can be improved upon with attention to the blend, cooking method, etc. My favorite burger is based upon grass fed beef but with butter, egg yolks and sauteed onions blended in, then topped with brie and served on a homemade, toasted-on-the-flattop-in-the-beef-fat english muffin bun. No ketchup required.
One of those fancy donut bacon cheeseburgers
Chris, I’m posting the result over on the “Why sous vide” thread…
And now for some real burger PORN (send women and children out of the room before viewing this):
wherever that came from needs to look into Kevin/Chris’s method for making a cheese melt ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}