Hamburger with Cheese - 100% Beef (Cheeseburger)
Due
to its widespread popularity and worldwide proliferation, hamburger can
be considered as an indication of inflation. Seriously! The hamburgers
we have been enjoying from the many fast-food restaurants have
considerably evolved into smaller sizes over the years, sort of
suffering from a serious condition of dwarfism. This, I believe is due
to the effect of the world inflation. Knowing it is a good business
decision to stick to the current retail price as much as possible, the
only way to go for burger companies to counter the continuously rising
prices of ingredients and increasing costs of production is to wittingly
but very silently reduce the serving sizes.
Praying the consumers will not really notice the physical changes and
blindly think that they are eating the same portion originally served
many years back. But of course we eventually become aware of. We may not
necessarily complain but somehow deep inside we know.
On top of the reduction in size, the quality of beef patties is also
probably being thwarted to incorporate cheaper extenders and the likes
to cope up with the increasing price of beef. We have notice the
slightly diminishing quality of the beef patties over the years as well.
What used to be a 100% beef hamburger can no longer be expected from
our favorite burger fast-foods now. But this negative food evolution is
something we should understand. As I said above, this is brought about
by the world inflation and the company’s decision to suspend increasing
prices as much as possible. It is happening not only to hamburgers but
to almost all commodities, food or otherwise.
But we, as consumers have the power to choose. With the many restaurants
or food outlets available around, offering their versions of the
delicious hamburgers, then we can select the ones giving the best worth
for our money. We can still continue our pursuit for that 100% pure beef
hamburgers. Not just as a commercial ad label but a true selection
parameter. And if still we cannot find satisfaction, then we can always
make our own and be sure that it is really a 100% beef hamburger.
As
a backgrounder, a hamburger or just burger in its short form is a
sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat, usually beef, but
occasionally pork, turkey or a combination thereof, usually inserted
inside a sliced bread roll along with select vegetables. Hamburgers are
often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and
condiments such as mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and relish.
One of the most important aspects of creating a top restaurant-quality
and tasty homemade hamburger is choosing the right cut of meat or
combination of different cuts of meat to be freshly ground or minced.
There are many cuts of beef that can be combined together to create the
most flavorful burger. Many would recommend mixing such cuts as sirloin,
chuck and brisket. You are at liberty to choose your own combination;
something which works well with you and your family. Just consider that
the best percentage of lean to fat is about 85 to 90%.
For these preparation though, we are constrained to the use of plain
minced beef available at our neighborhood supermarket. Since most of you
probably have better options use the right combination as suggested
above. For a 4 servings of hamburger, we purchased about 700 grams of
freshly minced beef. We thought a 175-gram beef patty is not really that
much for a single serving of hamburger for a hungry male. So we
thought. :-)
Additionally, we purchased 4 large burger buns. Not really freshly baked but still okay.
While
I have been told to only season (with salt) the beef after I have
formed them into patties, I still decided to add salt, freshly ground
pepper and olive oil beforehand. In a mixing bowl combine the minced
beef, 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 1 ½ tsp iodized salt and ½ tsp
ground pepper. Lightly stir to mix the ingredients together. Do not over
work the beef. Let it stand inside the fridge for about an hour.
Divide
the beef into four equal parts and form into patties about 1 inch
thick. Do not overwork the patties too much. It doesn’t need to be
perfect circle. We need it to be airy to have a tender and juicy patty.
For
the meantime, prepare the mustard-catsup dressing. In a small mixing
bowl combine 3 tsp mustard, 8 tbsp mayonnaise, 4 tbsp catsup and 2 tbsp
sweet pickle relish. Stir to blend properly. Set aside.
Prepare
the vegetable ingredients as follows: 1 large tomato, sliced thinly, 1
large onion, peeled and sliced into rings with end rings and small rings
separated and some iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped.
I
love my hamburger with caramelized onion. So I cooked the separated end
rings and small rings of the onion in a tsp of vegetable oil until
translucent. Then I added a pinch of sugar at the end for it to fully
caramelize. Set aside as well.
To
cook the patties, prepare your griddle over the oven burner or stove.
Alternately and much better, you can grill the patties over electric or
charcoal grills. :-) When the griddle is already hot, set the heat to
medium. Since I only have a small griddle, I cook the patties in two
batches.
Since the patty is quite thick, I covered them with a lid during cooking
to ensure that the inside is properly cooked through. Flip the patties
over to cook the underside. At the last minute of the cooking process
place 1 slice of cheddar or mozzarella cheese on top of the patty. Cover
again to properly melt the cheese.
While
cooking the patties, set a wide non-stick skillet on the other burner.
Slice the bread and warm them in batches on the skillet. Timing is
necessary to ensure that the bun is warmed on both sides at the same
time that the patties with cheese are cooked through.
To
prepare the hamburger: In a serving plate, arrange the bottom half of
the bun. Spread a good amount of the mustard-catsup dressing, place a
layer of lettuce followed by the beef patty topped with cheese. Arrange
the slices of tomato and onion on top of the cheese and finally place
the top half of the bun. Continue cooking and preparing until the four
servings of hamburgers with cheese are done. Serve while still warm.
My
hamburger is a little special for I like to add the caramelized onion
among the toppings. So on top of the melted cheese, I first place the
layer of caramelized onions followed by slices of tomato and onions.
Similarly, I finish it off with the top half of the bun. Gorgeous!
These
cheeseburgers are so delicious. The meat is cooked just right and the
dressing and veggies all complemented with one another into one luscious
sandwich. The burger is quite huge for a single serving but we are done
eating just after several minutes. The 175-gram patty is not that much
after all. Enjoy!
c”)
