The Taister A burger in the MAKING Behind the grill at 2015, the year of hamburgers
Where to have the burgers?
BEST
Burgers T
o make it strait, a hamburger is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat, usually beef, placed inside a sliced bun. Hamburgers may be cooked in a variety of ways, including pan-frying, barbecuing, and flame-broiling. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and condiments as mustard, mayonaise, ketchup and chiles.
type of meat or meat substitute used, as in ”turkey burger”, ”bison burger”, or ”veggie burger”.
The term ”burger” can also be applied to the meat patty on its own, especially in the UK where the term ”patty” is rarely used. The term may be prefixed with the
There’s no right way to do the burger. Every restaurant has its own process.
Hamburgers are sold at fast-food restaurants, diners, and specialty and high-end restaurants (where burgers may sell for several times the cost of a fast-food burger). There are many international and regional variations of the hamburger.
Fredrik Lindé
Editor, designer, writer, publisher ”Burgers have a way of people that not much food have. It seems able to go across all cultures, even where beef aren’t eaten burgers are. Working with this issue has been a great and exciting project, hope you all enjoy!”
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Content
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The Taister Practical tips
Burgers in the making 4-7
The visit
Behind the grill at Texas star 8-11
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Review
Five restaurants to visit 12-14
Burger facts
Did you know ? ... 15
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Practical Tips A burger in the making
Burgers are a distinctly American food. They can be cooked relatively fast, they’re pretty easy to eat on-the-go, and they can taste pretty amazing when you make them right. However, thanks to certain fast food restaurants and nation-wide chain eateries, the bar for what most people think of as a good burger has been set pretty low. After all, when commercials for McDonald’s brag about how their burger patties are made of ”pure beef,” you know that we have a problem. What do you think is the distinction between an okay burger and a great burger? Is it the way that it’s prepared? Could it be the way that you season it? Does it have everything to do with the condiments? At Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler, we think it’s all of these things and more. We know burgers better than anyone, and while everyone has their own preferences, there are some things that make the hamburgers stand out:
Ingredients When making a burger, you’ll want to use the freshest and best
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ingredients possible. Would you want a burger that is made with horsemeat or so many additives that it doesn’t even qualify as meat? The beef should always be just that – beef; and moreover, it should be fresh. Would you rather eat a burger that is topped with hand-grated cheese, or a burger that has a slice of packaged American cheese
thrown on to it? Do you want your burger topped with green, crispy lettuce, or a wilted, slimy leaf that has clearly seen better days? Your burger is only as good as the sum of its ingredients. Seasoning How many re s t au r a nt s do you think simply make a patty and throw it on the grill without any seasoning? The answer is a lot more than you’d think. Since burgers are so easy to make, many other eateries are more than happy to plop them down and let the ”natural flavors” of the meat take over. But that only works if they are using the best meat and, as we’ve discussed above, they usually aren’t. Plus, even great meat can (and should) be enhanced by some quality seasoning. A plain burger is a sad burger. Since burgers are so easy to make, many other eateries are more than happy to plop them down and let the ”natural flavors”
of the meat take over. But that only works if they are using the best meat and, as we’ve discussed above, they usually aren’t. Plus, even great meat can (and should) be enhanced by some quality seasoning. A plain burger is a sad burger. A burger is so much more than a meat patty that’s put between two slices of bread, and if you’re eating food like that you’re seriously missing out on some excellent dining. The burger joint you go to shouldn’t simply offer you lettuce and tomato, but should have a variety of interesting toppings. For instance, the Johnnie’s Caesar Burger offers chopped lettuce tossed with (you guessed it!) Caesar salad dressing. We also offer things like chili and our own special sauce, in addition to the more common staples.
A heavy-duty dedicated electric meat grinder is fantastic, but impractical unless you own a restaurant or hunt. I use the KitchenAid attachment—with good results—although even a decent hand-cranked model will deliver beef worlds better than store-bought. Don’t have either? You can use food processor. Just dice your meat into 1-inch chunks, spread them on a rimmed baking sheet, put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes until they’re firm but not frozen, then working in 1/2-pound batches, pulse the meat to the desired grind size (about 10 to 12 one-second pulses). Grind your own beef, and not only do you control everything from the meat blend, to the grind size, to the fat content, but even better, you get to tell people that you grind your own beef.
inventions — never dims. With endless variations of crunchy, gooey, and tangy-sweet toppings, numerous methods of preparation, and seemingly infinite choices for meat and buns, the perfect burger is absolutely anything you want it to be. Sometimes we crave lean burgers; other times, we want the handheld equivalent of a dryaged steak. The cuts and styles of beef featured here are available in most markets and can be used on their own or blended together. Buy ground meat, or ask your butcher to grind it for you; many supermarket meat counters are equipped for the task.
The bread
Everybody loves a good burger. Big, juicy patties stacked with toppings; greasy little sliders The grinder with diced onions; even firm, earthy veggie burgers with avBuying store-bought ground beef ocado—they all sate the craving is a crap shoot. You’re never qui- The meat in one way or another. Its unite sure when it was ground, what versal appeal—Americans alone part of the cow it came from, or Whether eaten in the backyard, eat about 50 billion burgers each even how many different cows are at a linen-draped table, or behind year—makes this one big-busiin the package. Not to mention the wheel of a car, our passion for ness sandwich, and astronomical baddies like e. sums have been spent trying to coli, freshness perfect its various components, issues, rough including, of course, the all-imhandling, and portant bun. tight shrinkwrap packaGolden-brown brioche has ging that can emerged as the hamburger roll lead to leaden of choice at restaurants where patties. words like “artisanal” and “organic” are tossed around like so If you’ve never many housemade pickle slices. ground beef Large-scale commercial enteryourself, the prises, meanwhile, have settled task may seem on buns that are flat on top with daunting at a soft texture to match the patty. first, but take it from me: once the hamburger — perhaps the With that in mind, we present you grind, you never rewind. greatest of American culinary two burger buns, both alike in The Taister 5
dignity, from opposite sides of the spectrum. The first is a rich, durable, brioche of French descent; the second a drool-worthy slider bun, born of fast-food parents. While there are so many other kinds of buns we love (kaiser rolls, sourdough slices, and potato rolls, to name a few), these two represent some of the most interesting concepts in bread-making: Can we create a brioche that’s not too stodgy, and not too buttery? Can we make a squishy, fast-food-style bun that has complex flavor? Can we do it without hard-to-find commercial dough conditioners? Yes, yes, and yes. And you can, too.
is the most common case. Here is The stickiness of the cheese helps how you should be stacking your hold any other toppings in place. burger to avoid the slop. Ketchup and mustard on the bottom, mayo on the top If you are going to do more than 1 condiment, then you need to divide them up between the top and bottom bun. Otherwise, you end up with a slathery mess which will drip out when you bite into the burger. Mayo has a more delicate texture, so it works better on the top of the bun. But, if you want the strong taste of mustard or ketchup to hit your mouth first, then put those ones on top.
Pickles below the patty Any small or irregularly-sized Add ons topping should go under the burHave you ever built an amazing ger patty. This includes pickles, burger with all the trimmings, salsa, diced veggies, mushrooms, only to have all those toppings or olives. This is because they come spilling out onto your pla- need something to weigh them te (or, worse, on your lap)? The down or else they would fall out problem isn’t that you’ve got too of the burger. much on your burger. The problem likely is that you’ve stacked Cheese on top of the patty your burger incorrectly. Yes, that Cheese is fantastic on a burger, and not just because of the taste.
The patty Food experts recommend letting your burger patty sit for a bit before stacking it up. This is because a traditional beef burger is loaded with saturated fat. Saturated fats liquefy when heated, so the liquid fat will drip all over and make a messy burger; you’ve got to wait for the fat to cool and solidify again. Seeing as how The Beast Burger contains saturated fats too to provide that same juiciness found in real burger patties we’ll understand if you just jump straight to stacking this 1/4 pound of beefy. Tomato next Tomato should always go right on top of the burger patty or cheese. The main reason for this is because tomatoes are slippery, and the rougher texture of the burger (or stickiness of the cheese) will help hold the tomato in place. If you are doing a cheese-less burger, then the juices from the tomato will drip onto the burger and keep it juicy.
Here is how it stacks up: • Bun • Ketchup/mustard • Pickles/salsa/ mushrooms/small extras • Patty • Cheese • Tomato • Lettuce • Onion • Bun 6 The Taister
Top it of Get creative with your condiments! Spread some mashed avocado, horseradish, vegan mayo, or hot sauce on the bun. Top off your stack and enjoy!
B gri A
n old street food place was recently sold to a lover of hamburgers. In less than one year this old place was transformed into one of the hottest burger places in town. Here’s a behind the grill visit.
Behind the ill at
The Taister goes behind the grill Since the boss called himself in today I meet with Antonio. Antonio has been working at this restaurant from the start, soon to be two full years. He knows this restaurant as well as anyone.
“Even though I’m not eating burgers out anymore, I enjoy serving the best burgers in town.” Texas star started out using local produced meat and local produced bread. They bought their
meat from a farm outside of Kumla and did all the grinding 10 The Taister
at the restaurant. After a while they found an even tastier meat produced in Skövde. The beef is made out of 100% Prime rib. But Antonio tells me that most important is not the beef itself, but the treatment of all of the raw material. That is, what he calls, the love which is the foundation of the burger.
weekends about 300. Most drop by at lunch time and around 18– 19. When it’s rush time there can I happened to enter the restau- be 30 persons waiting in line for rant when the meat was to be their burgers. Guests have comgrinded. Antonio had cut pared the restaurant with Flippin’ up 100 kilo meat preparing burgers, one of the most spoken for the grinding. To cut the about hamburger restaurants in meat took him almost an all of Sweden. hour. 100 kilo makes for 700 burgers. It will last for Because the low prices at the resabout two to three days, taurants two of the biggest comdepending on how many petitors are McDonalds and Max. customers will attend. Since their dining is not very fancy they are not really an alterThe average loyal customer native to restaurants such as the of the restaurant is in the more expensive restaurants. age of twenty five to forty. Some of them live outside of Örebro. They even have weekly customers returning from Eskilstuna, 90 km away. A regular day would be about 160 burgers sold, on
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ntonio have done ten years behind a grill before he started to work at Texas star.
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Review Five restaurants to visit in the world Is it in America? Is it in Germany? Where do the Best Burgers come from?! The Hamburger is probably most often associated with the USA. This is no surprise as it
has become somewhat of a staple in that great nation. However, the story of the creation of the Hamburger (one of many stories) is that the Hamburger was brought to America by German immigrants from (surprise, surprise) Hamburg in the early years of the 20th Century. As a result you would expect the best burgers to come from either America or
Badmaash, Los Angeles At the other end of the purist’s spectrum is Badmaash, an Indian-by-way-of-Canada joint downtown known mostly for serving casual dishes such as chicken tikka poutine and inventively stuffed samosas. Gandhi makes for good wall art here, decked out in neon sunglasses. Badmaash’s burger is a spicy grind of lamb leg cuts, packed loosely and left with just enough juiciness, which itself is no small feat when cooking up a burger with as much sear as this one has. Iceberg lettuce and red onion add some textural crunch, while a toss of cilantro and strong swipe of smoky paprika mayo add fuel to the burger’s fire, while a toasted brioche from Breadbar puts the finishing touches on a burger that’s as unique as it is delicious.
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Germany right? Well, in this list we have made our selection of the World’s Top 10 Best Burgers taken from recommendations by our Community…and we’ll let you decide if the Americans or Germans make the best burgers…or dare we say one of the other nations?! You might be surprised where some of these juicy burgers come from!
Mar’sel, Los Angeles Michael Fiorelli’s reconstructed double-double burger was long an off-menu hit at mar’sel, the upscale casual eatery hidden away at the Terranea Resort in Ranchos Palos Verdes. It eventually earned its rightful place on the everyday menu after Fiorelli left, under the direction of then-executive chef Rebecca Merhej. Now it’s Patina alum Charles Olalia at the helm, but don’t fear: The Downlow burger still anchors the brunch menu — almost literally — thanks to a nonetoo-shy double wage patty that’s partitioned with aged white cheddar cheese and caramelized onions. This one’s by no means a cheap date, though: The Downlow Burger costs a soaring $28.
Patty and Bun, London Originally a pop-up, Patty and Bun now has three London locations. It has a passionate fan base for its juicy burgers made with high-quality, often British ingredients. Their smoky mayonnaise is particularly delicious, and the recipe is closely-guarded. The new London Fields location even serves brunch - we love the smoked ox cheek and scrambled egg on a sourdough bun (£6.50).
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Five restaurants to visit in the world Burger Joint, New York Housed in the shiny, designer Le Parker Meridien hotel, with its marble floors, high ceilings and modern furniture, this is not a typical burger joint. Customers pass reception and continue down a dimly lit, narrow corridor where only a simple neon hamburger sign indicates anything of what lies beyond. Inside is a space that more closely resembles a store room than a restaurant. Beaten up wooden tables and chairs punctuate grubby shelves, cardboard boxes and graffiti-strewn walls. The burgers are similarly pared back but taste unbelievably good in spite of (or because of) the decor. Queues stretching out the door and back up to hotel reception complete the sense of postmodern irony.
Shake Shack, New York I’ve tended to ignore New Yorkers’ claims that Shake Shack is the best burger joint on the planet, because New Yorkers always say everything from New York is the best. Besides, Shake Shack always seemed like an also-ran in the great Five Guys vs In-n-Out, East Coast vs West Coast debate. But one location has popped up in my hometown of DC – so over the holidays I stopped by to see what the fuss was all about. And I will now say with a true Five Guys-loving heart that NYC definitely has a strong contender in this race. I ordered a ShackBurger – one patty with American cheese, lettuce, plum tomato and ShackSauce. The burger was still slightly pink – an unusual treat at a “fast-food” spot. The sauce was creamy and delicious. The toppings were fresh. The fries were crinkle-cut & crunchy, making me feel like a kid again, though they were infinitely superior to my middle-school cafeteria’s version. The root beer on tap was a great finisher!
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Burger facts Did you know ? ...
Around the world 32 times If we arrange all the Hamburgers eaten by Americans in a year in a straight line, it would circle our planet 32 times or more! America is a burger-loving nation with people consuming 50 billion burgers a year.
German connection Burger is actually the shortened name of Hamburger. The term, Hamburger, was derived from Hamburg steaks introduced in the US by German immigrants.
Glamburger Aptly called �Glamburger,� this burger features bits of edible gold leaf, lobster and caviar. One the most expensive burgers ever created, it also includes ingredients like black truffle, Kobe beef, venison and a duck egg. The burger, which was created in 2014 by Honky Tonk restaurant in London, will burn a hole in your pocket with its $1,768 price tag!
facts from http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/25-amazing-factsabout-burgers/ss-BBjBWiQ#image=8
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BEAUTIFUL It ’s just sad not to catch what life provides with , let me help you Photographer Fredrik LindÊ www.fredriklinde .se