Burger Porn

K_F_o_l_e_y · July 21, 2018, 11:58pm

A little heat would help.

Jay_Miller · July 24, 2018, 5:25pm

Sarah Kirschbaum:

MBerto:

UNPOPULAR OPINION INCOMING:

Although all these burgers look (and I’m sure taste) REALLY good, there is perhaps a 15% difference in quality between the burger at your local dive bar, and the most august, high end, hoity-toity burger out there. In other words, the baseline is already really high, and can’t be improved upon all that much.

At least locally, there is a trend where every restaurant, even reasonably high end ones, have to have a burger on the menu, and there’s an arms race to see how much fancy cheese, kobe blended beef, and brioche buns they can stack together. They’re all very good! I’m not giving you $14 for any of them.

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.

Hi Sarah - I was reading this post and agreeing with it and didn’t even notice it was you posting it until I just started to reply. What struck me was that as you described your favorite “burger experience” I knew exactly what you were talking about as a specific burger immediately leapt into my mind - Frankie’s on Grove St… This is despite having preferred burger preps to their poached egg. But it’s a great burger in a comfortable atmosphere.

At home our favorite is still fish sauce, granulated garlic (or garlic powder) and sauteed thai peppers.

T_Melloni · July 24, 2018, 6:40pm

Looks like you can add pimientos to the mix to make pimento cheese. Nom.

K_F_o_l_e_y · July 24, 2018, 8:08pm

Burgers (Wegmans 80:20) on toasted homemade brioche buns, with homemade American-style melty cheese made from Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, homemade spicy dill pickles, thinly sliced raw onions, Thousand Islands dressing

Brandon_R · July 25, 2018, 5:32pm

Looks tasty, Kevin.

Paul_Luckin · July 25, 2018, 6:56pm

Dom Dom Burger (Japan) now offering the Camembert Burger…limited time only.

two beef patties
slice of yellow cheese
tomato
onion
thick-cut Camembert for the buns

Bdklein · July 25, 2018, 7:09pm

Anybody prefer their burger buns toasted on the outside , besides me?

Brian_Tuite · July 25, 2018, 7:53pm

If you want a Panini order a Panini.

Brandon_R · July 25, 2018, 9:39pm

Truthfully, my favorite burger (if I have amazing meat) is a Flannery patty (FLAT, not shaped like a friggin’ ball, and wide enough to get to the edge of the bun AFTER cooking…(mini-rant)) with S&P, a toasted kaiser bun, mayo, lettuce, tomato and onion. That’s it. Cheese is sometimes good, but I’ve had more burgers than I’d like to admit that were totally overwhelmed by the cheese. What a waste those are.

Brian_Lynch · July 26, 2018, 12:34am

K_F_o_l_e_y:

Chris Freemott:

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

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’s cheese was phenomenal!

K_F_o_l_e_y · July 26, 2018, 4:31pm

Thank you, Sir!

K_F_o_l_e_y · August 23, 2018, 8:04pm

RIP: The Townsman’s once-a-month Brunch Burger, with house Boursin, bacon, roasted onion jam, yolk caramel, brioche, steak fries ($18)

Unfortunately, this restaurant that served my 2nd favorite burger in the Boston area (and was one of Food & Wine’s Best New Restaurants of the Year 2016) has closed.

KTSullivan · August 29, 2018, 6:18pm

hows this for burger porn?!

Eric_LeVine · August 30, 2018, 4:33pm

For 4 people?

K_F_o_l_e_y · August 30, 2018, 5:11pm

Eagle’s Deli (Boston) wannabe! Let us know when you hit 10 patties.’

Mark_Cochard · September 11, 2018, 5:46pm

Had this a few years ago with 3 others, all in NY for A WEST certified Educator training, 2 from Philly, one from Boston and one from London.
All 4 of us got this burger. How to Make the Perfect Burger, According to Daniel Boulud. It was amazing. Unfortunately started with a brett bomb Baudry Chinon with about 15 years on it. We switched to another wine immediately.

K_F_o_l_e_y · September 11, 2018, 8:18pm

Probably a pretty good deal for $35. Tony Maws says he looses money on his Craigie on Main burger (now $22), which is one reason he only makes 18 a day. Classic loss leader.

M.Kaplan · September 21, 2018, 5:10pm

The Black O.G. Burger, at Goku Asian Canteen. Coup De France du Burger 2017 & 2018.

Brad_Kane · September 21, 2018, 5:18pm

One of my favorite takes that I make from time to time.

K_F_o_l_e_y · October 19, 2018, 3:40pm

Shake Shack gets an “A”, In-n-Out an “F” from Consumer Reports for serving antibiotic free beef:

In other news, I was looking at Eater Boston’s “25 Essential Boston-Area Burgers” map, and decided to try a new one (new for me)…at Highland Kitchen (Somerville MA).

THE HIGHLAND: Bacon cheeseburger with 8 oz Angus beef, cheddar, and caramelized red onions, $11.95 (plus $2 for bacon).

A hefty, meaty flavored burger with an outstanding crust and charred flavor, cooked perfectly to temperature, toasted bun. Comes with some well-caramelized onions on the side, and some pickles and carrot slices (pickled carrots are awesome on a burger!). The big pile of fries would have been very good except for the burnt oil flavor. A good deal for the price.

Then went home to enjoy some an epic Yankee destruction on TV!