Things We're Cooking

[Across The Field]

Holy shit. Quite possibly the best fucking cheeseburger I've ever had.

The cast iron put a caramelized crust on the edge that actually crunched when I'd take a bite, but the center was soft and juicy. Really, really fucking good.

The #1 thing about making burgers in my opinion is being ridiculously gentle with your meat (must resist urge to joke...). I even ask the butcher not to wrap it too tight. I form the patties as gently as I can so that they're just barely keeping their shape - the searing either on a grill or pan will hold them together. This makes the burgers soft and "fluffy."

For last night's, I spread the ground beef out, aggressively salted, peppered, a small amount of garlic powder and then a few dashes of Worcestershire. I flipped the beef and did the same on the other side, then formed patties. More salt and a little more Worcestershire on the tops & bottoms of the patties, then I lightly brushed them with canola oil just before going into the pan.

It stunk the house up much worse than the filets due to all the fat burning, but they were so fucking good, I don't care.

That's really awesome to hear man. I'll definitely have to try that out. At this rate, it's becoming less and less likely that I'll even need my grill for much more than ribs, kabobs and sweetcorn anymore.

That's interesting about how you handle your meat - giggity - I'd never heard of that line of thinking, but it definitely makes sense. What kind of beef do you use? 90/10? 85/15?

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Tried my hand at homemade wontons tonight. The filling was the shiz. They tasted pretty good, but they weren't the prettiest dumplings you ever saw.

Did you deep fry them?

Was the goal to look like this:



Or this:



Or neither?

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

That's really awesome to hear man. I'll definitely have to try that out. At this rate, it's becoming less and less likely that I'll even need my grill for much more than ribs, kabobs and sweetcorn anymore.

That's interesting about how you handle your meat - giggity - I'd never heard of that line of thinking, but it definitely makes sense. What kind of beef do you use? 90/10? 85/15?

It makes all the difference in the world. Did you ever try "The Rail" at summit mall when you lived up here? Pretty good burgers and sometimes they're so fucking "fluffy," and I went nuts over them and just kept trying to replicate that. You always hear people say not to mash the burger with a spatula on the grill - I just took that thought process a step further with the forming of the patties and it paid off. The same thought applies to any packed, ground meat, like meatballs and meatloaf, etc. You have to pack meatballs a little tighter than burgers so they don't disintegrate in the sauce, but if you start doing this, you'll notice when a chef has used a heavy hand forming the meatballs.

Last night I went with 80/20.

I know what you mean about the grill, but I do love it. It's just nice for me to have some options when I don't feel like shoveling through a foot of snow to get to my grill, or if it's pissing rain. I do a fair amount of cooking for larger dinners - eight or more people - and that limits what I could do with the cast iron.

 

[Across The Field]

It makes all the difference in the world. Did you ever try "The Rail" at summit mall when you lived up here? Pretty good burgers and sometimes they're so fucking "fluffy," and I went nuts over them and just kept trying to replicate that. You always hear people say not to mash the burger with a spatula on the grill - I just took that thought process a step further with the forming of the patties and it paid off. The same thought applies to any packed, ground meat, like meatballs and meatloaf, etc. You have to pack meatballs a little tighter than burgers so they don't disintegrate in the sauce, but if you start doing this, you'll notice when a chef has used a heavy hand forming the meatballs.

Last night I went with 80/20.

I know what you mean about the grill, but I do love it. It's just nice for me to have some options when I don't feel like shoveling through a foot of snow to get to my grill, or if it's pissing rain. I do a fair amount of cooking for larger dinners - eight or more people - and that limits what I could do with the cast iron.

Haha, no shit I'm wearing a t-shirt I bought from The Rail last summer. That place is amazing, definitely my favorite burger in NE Ohio. If you're even coming close to replicating that, I'm in.

Good point about the grill. I'm sure when I get to that point it'll change things. I've always heard about not using the spatulate to flatten the burgers, but do you not have any issues with "bubbles" forming in the patties? I had that a couple times when I was younger.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Haha, no shit I'm wearing a t-shirt I bought from The Rail last summer. That place is amazing, definitely my favorite burger in NE Ohio. If you're even coming close to replicating that, I'm in.

Good point about the grill. I'm sure when I get to that point it'll change things. I've always heard about not using the spatulate to flatten the burgers, but do you not have any issues with "bubbles" forming in the patties? I had that a couple times when I was younger.

You mean, like, air pockets inside the burgers? I've never had that.

Another point I forgot - only flip them once.

 

[Across The Field]

You mean, like, air pockets inside the burgers? I've never had that.

Another point I forgot - only flip them once.

Yeah, I actually had air pockets develop. It might have also been because I was trying to make them too big, and I was cooking them low over charcoal.

Definitely going to try these though. Thanks for the tip!

 

[ktg8trgrl]

i'm going to make flank steaks wrapped in provolone and spinach with home made onion mushroom gravy with sauteed asparagus in garlic butter with either some kind of potato or rice... haven't made up my mind about that yet..

 

[romeo212000]

Did you deep fry them?

Was the goal to look like this:

View attachment 89283

Or this:

View attachment 89284

Or neither?

More the former. I boiled them for 3 mins and then browned them in a skillet with oil. Made egg rolls from the leftover filling. Outstanding.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

I've got a cheesecake in the oven as I type this and another one on deck. I'll try to grab a pic or look for an older pic. I also have a chicken bog on the stove. It should be ready in about another 20 minutes or so.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

What it looks like before going in the oven

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

 

[4down20]

I'm trying to make a pizza that uses egg and cheese for a crust(no carbs).

Got the crust done, smells pretty damn good.

Low Carb, Sugar Free and Gluten free recipes for all

I'm going to make this tonight too:

Low Carb, Sugar Free and Gluten free recipes for all

 

[JohnRandle]

View attachment 107980

Hard to beat a good cheesecake!!

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

I'm trying to make a pizza that uses egg and cheese for a crust(no carbs).

Got the crust done, smells pretty damn good.

Low Carb, Sugar Free and Gluten free recipes for all

I'm going to make this tonight too:

Low Carb, Sugar Free and Gluten free recipes for all

When I was in Vegas in January at e by Jose Andres, they made us these little pizzas where the "crust" was actually crispy cheese, SO DAMN GOOD!!!

 

[4down20]

When I was in Vegas in January at e by Jose Andres, they made us these little pizzas where the "crust" was actually crispy cheese, SO DAMN GOOD!!!

Cool, this crust is mostly cheese with the egg used as a binder.

Should be eating in about 10 minutes.

 

[4down20]

Cool, this crust is mostly cheese with the egg used as a binder.

Should be eating in about 10 minutes.

This is fucking awesome. I dare say it's better than regular crust.

If you use the recipe I would recommend doubling it, because the crust was only about the size of a totinos.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

This is fucking awesome. I dare say it's better than regular crust.

If you use the recipe I would recommend doubling it, because the crust was only about the size of a totinos.

Do you use whole beaten eggs? whipped egg whites? just the yolks?

 

[4down20]

Do you use whole beaten eggs? whipped egg whites? just the yolks?

I used whole beaten eggs. I'm trying a high fat/low carb diet.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

I used whole beaten eggs. I'm trying a high fat/low carb diet.

Fag.

 

[LongtimeRamsFan42]

I used whole beaten eggs. I'm trying a high fat/low carb diet.

Nothing wrong with that!!!