The Holy Grill

New Yorkers love their hamburgers, as evidenced by the seemingly endless series of burger joints that have opened in the past year. But Memorial Day marks the opening of summer cookout season, and many people will be cooking their own burgers over the next several months instead of eating them in restaurants. That raises the question: What’s the best way to make a hamburger?The New York Sun posed that question to a variety of burger authorities and got some surprising results. While certain bits of advice were universal (they all prefer a medium or medium-rare burger), there was less agreement on issues such as how the patty should be formed and handled and how often it should be flipped. Maybe the biggest surprise: very little love for ketchup.So it appears that there’s no single route to a great hamburger. The good news is that whether you’re cooking outside on a grill or indoors in your kitchen, you can pick and choose the techniques and suggestions that make the most sense to you, assembling the elements of your own burger-cooking process just as you’d assemble the toppings and condiments on a great burger itself. BRUCE AIDELLSco-author, “The Complete Meat Cookbook”BILL JAMISONco-author, “The Complete Book of Outdoor Cooking & Entertaining”ADAM KUBANfounder and editor of the blog A Hamburger TodayJOHN LICTROexecutive chef, Isabella’s, 359 Columbus Ave.EVAN LOBELco-owner, Lobel’s Prime Meats, 1096 Madison Ave.GEORGE MOTZdirector of the documentary film “Hamburger America”JOSH OZERSKY author of the forthcoming “Hamburgers: A Cultural History”MICHAEL ROMANO executive chef/partner, Union Square Cafe, 21 E. 16th St.LAURENT TOURENDEL chef and founder, BLT RestaurantsWhat type of ground beef is best?“I like fat content of 22% to 25%, which basically means chuck.”“We usually use chuck with 80% to 85% lean.”“Ground chuck. I usually go for 75% lean.”“I like to use ground sirloin mixed with a little hot Italian sausage.”“I like chuck, maybe with some porterhouse tails or hanger steak mixed in.”“If you can talk your butcher into putting some ground shell steak in there, even better.”“Chuck is the classic hamburger meat, but I like to add some hanger steak.”“I like an 80% lean mix of chuck with some sirloin.”“I do a mix of short ribs, brisket, chuck, and sirloin. It comes out to 80% lean.”Do you pre-season the meat before cooking?“Yes, it makes the flavor much better. You put the meat in a bowl, add your flavoring, and mix it lightly.”“A little salt and pepper.”“I just add some salt and a little bit of ground pepper.”“A little sea salt and pepper.”“Not before I make the patties. Coarse salt and pepper before cooking, though.”“Just salt.”“I’ll salt it, in the pan, but that’s it.”“Just salt and pepper, after the patty is made.”“After the patty is made, I like to add butter, salt, and cracked black pepper.”How thick should it be?1 inch1/2 to 3/4 inch“Not too thick.”1/2 inch1 to 1 1/4 inch1/2 inch3/4 inch3/4 inch1 inchHow should it be formed and handled?“A 1-pound tray of meat, I’ll sort of judo-chop it down the middle and press each half into oval shapes.”“Don’t over-handle it. Compact the patties only lightly. And they should be flat or even a little concave in the center.”“For indoor cooking, I form it into a little ball and then smash it down in the skillet.”“Press the meat into the lid from a jar of Hellmann’s mayonnaise.”“Start with a ball and then work it into a patty. Once you get there, you’re done — don’t play with it any more.”“I quickly make the meat into a ball, a little bigger than a golf ball.”“Roll the meat into a meatball and press it between two plates with wax paper.”“Take the meat and sort of forcefully throw it from one hand to the other and compact it.”“Mold them in a metal cutting ring, so you get a perfect circle.”What’s the ideal grilling method?“If there’s a flareup, just move the burger to a cooler area of the grill.”“Keep it over the hottest part of the grill.”“The smash technique doesn’t work on the grill, so I form the meat into a puck.”“Take some fresh rosemary, steeped in olive oil, and then use it to brush olive oil onto the grill rack.”“I like to keep the lid on — it keeps the smoke in, to give it that campfire flavor.”“Put a thumb indentation in the center, so it doesn’t turn back into a ball while cooking.”“Use your thumb to make an impression in the patty before cooking, so it’ll come out level.”“Do it over high heat.”“Over medium heat.”What about cheese?“A really sharp, good-quality cheddar.”“If you’ve got good meat, you don’t need cheese.”“American. And I love it!”“A nice blue cheese.”“A good gorgonzola or an aged cheddar.”“If it has to have cheese, it should be neon-yellow American.”“As soon as you flip the burger, put a slice of American cheese on it.”“I like a good artisanal cheddar.”“Only American cheese!”Other toppings and condiments?“Heirloom tomatoes and sweet onion, and ketchup on the burger and mayonnaise on the bun.”“Good tomatoes … and iceberg lettuce leaves. And we mix mayonnaise and ketchup together.”“Pickles and onions — either fried or raw — and mustard.”“Pickles and onions, preferably fried.”“Saut?ed shitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, maybe some thick-cut bacon.”“I usually go with pickles and mustard.”“I like a pickle, as long as it’s not dripping wet. That’s it — no ketchup or anything like that.”“If tomatoes are in season, a slice of that. Otherwise, ketchup … and maybe Tabasco.”“I like a Russian dressing with sweet pickle and smoked bacon.”What type of bun?“A hearty bakery bun that can hold up to a giant sandwich.”“A thicker, heartier bun.”“A soft bun, like Wonder Bread, with sesame seeds, if possible.”“A nice, crispy, rustic Italian roll.”“Whatever bun is available, as long as it’s not a really thick kaiser bun.”“White and squishy. A potato roll is really good, too.”“The cheapest possible enriched white bun from the supermarket.”“Soft, brioche-type.”“Very, very soft.”Should it be toasted?“If you’re using a squishy supermarket bun, then it has to be toasted.”“Yes, briefly.”“Definitely.”“Definitely.”“Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper and a pinch of fresh herbs, and then toast.”“Yes. The toasted edges helps stop the bun from absorbing too much grease.”“Yes, always. The very outside rim of the bun should be a brown ring.”“Not quite toasted — just lightly buttered and warmed.”“Yes, toasted with butter.”Any other special tips or techniques?“Don’t push down on the patty while it cooks.”“We’ll just buy a chunk of meat and grind it ourselves in the food processor, so it’s really freshground.”“Make a divot in the center, because the meat has a tendency to puff up in the center.”“Any meat that marinates will always taste better. Take the patties, put them in a air-tight container with a little bit of barbecue sauce, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and let it sit in the fridge for a day.”“Take the meat directly from the refrigerator — don’t let it come to room temperature like you’d do with steaks or chops, because of the bacterial risk.”“Avoid ketchup. It detracts from the burger flavor — it’s too sweet. Mustard enhances the beefiness.”“If you’re grilling, use cold meat, straight out of the fridge, so you can get better exterior browning before the center cooks through too much.”“After you flip the burger, you can accelerate the cooking on the second side by covering it.”“Some chefs will say this is crazy, but for a burger on the grill, you can make it juicier and moister by dipping the patty in water for about 30 seconds. No longer than that!”Favorite burger venue, in New York or elsewhere?“At Boulevard Restaurant here in San Francisco.”“The Shake Shack.”“Burger Joint, in the Parker Meridian Hotel.”“When I travel, I love In-N-Out Burger.”“In Croton-on-Hudson, there’s a great place called Justyn Thyme.”“Water Taxi Beach, because they’ve named a burger after me.”“Veselka.”“In East Hampton, Rowdy Hall.”“Burger Joint, in the Parker Meridian.”

The Holy Grill

The Holy Grill

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