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Tips and Techniques
Burger Tips PDF Print E-mail

How do you make your Hamburger? Better yet, how do you make it so that it doesn't fall apart?

Many chefs use a binding agent to increase the stability of their hamburger (or other ground meat) patty. Many believe that the addition of the binder causes some loss in flavor. Here's a little secret.

Flavor your binder!

Yes, take about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and soak them in broth - of course pick the right broth, beef, chicken or vegetable depending on what you are making your patty from. About 1/4 cup of broth will do - and add one medium beaten egg. Mix in just enough of this to your ground meat to make it hold together nicely.

Cast Iron Chef

Another trick I use when I am lazy and don't want to make a binder, or if I use one of the pre-made patties because I'm too lazy to make my own, I throw a cast iron griddle on the grill and use that to sear the patty before finishing it on the grill. Just enough time to bind the outer edge, but not enough time to trap in the juices that will cook out over the grill.

Sometimes I will put a dab of sauce on the patty near the end - so putting it back on the griddle and dabbing it with the sauce and a pile of cheese keeps the BBQ clean and keeps the sauce from caramelizing or catching fire.

Temperature, coarseness and moisture levels of ground meat and other ingredients greatly influence the binding properties of a patty. If you get it right there is usually no need for a binding agent.

Patty Making 101

Before molding patties make sure that the mixed ingredients are very cold.

The more fat patties contain the more they tend to shrink in size during the cooking process. They also become slightly dome shaped. It is better to make them a little bigger than the size you want the cooked patty to be. If the patties contain a lot of fat you can make them as much as 25% bigger. Wrap your patties and place them on a flat surface in the freezer untill just before they start to freeze or leave them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before cooking.

Preventing Hockey Pucks

The thicker the patty the lower the cooking temperature should be.  Too much heat will burn the outside before the center is cooked. Place the patty on the grill and cook for 1/2 the time - then flip and complete. Don't continually flip the patty! (the exception is if you use the cast iron cheat - you sear, flip to sear then cook on the grill one side, then the other - flipping once on the grill).

The safest way to test if they are cooked properly is to use a thermometer. Minimum safe temperatures are:

Beef: Rare 140F/60C : Medium 160F/70C : Well Done 175F/80C
Pork: 160F/70C
Poultry: 175F/80C

 
 
Freezing Pizza Dough PDF Print E-mail

I recently discovered a little Italian market called Claro's and they make fresh pizza dough every morning and sell it by the bag. After experimenting with the dough a few times, I have found that the bag has enough to make at least 4 pies. Wow!  But I can't (or I should say should not) eat 4 pies before the dough goes wonky.

This dough will make a great thin or thick crust pizza depending on how you let it rise and punch it down - and if you don't do anything but make a round flat piece, you get a nice huge round loaf of bread with sauce and toppings on it. More like a cake instead of a pie...

In any case, this will work with most fresh dough - either home made, or bought. I've tried it with the Trader Joe's dough and it works fine, but the market's dough is my favorite. I'll try to figure out their recipe and post it... I'm sure I can squeeze it out of someone there.

So, in my search for help on the topic, I found out that you can freeze it - even though the store will freak out about that, it actually works. 

If you do two rises, do it between the first and second rise. If you do one rise, do it after you make it. Shape it into a disk, zap it with little oil, saran wrap it and then put it into a ziplock. I prefer the vacuum sealer, but tight wrapping with plastic wrap will work too. A deep freezer is better than your regular freezer because it can be frozen longer and won't tend to form as much ice on it. When you thaw it, take it out the night before and put it (still wrapped) into the fridge. A few hours before use, unwrap and oil it, put it in a big bowl and cover it as you would to proof. Use when it has risen. I am sure they say 3 months storage, but I have gone 6 months without ill effect. Also, you can oil up the dough portions, stuff them in a ziplock and store in the fridge for up to five days. Warm as I said above. You can make flat bread with them.
 


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