I can talk the talk when it comes to burgers, but can I walk the walk?
That is the question. There will probably be a vast amount of people questioning my pickiness when it comes to burger reviewing. What gives me the right to quantify these meaty delights and apply number rankings to them. Well simply; I love burgers and I love cooking. Burgers require multiple elements to be successfully mastered in order to pile it all up into a stand out tower of taste. After having judged a few burgers now I'd like to give you an insight into what I expect when I order a burger by showing you one of my very own creations. Here is my version of the classic bacon cheeseburger: The Burger Man Special (BMS Burger).
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Contents for the BMS burger as follows:
The Burger
Handmade using a blend of prime butchers steak and beef mince (always support your local butcher), the small amount of beef mince adds a little bit of extra fat into the mix to ensure a seriously rich meaty taste. Another way to ensure the burger is the star is to keep them thick, I opt for around a one incher to ensure a solid medium rare cook and good amount of meat per bite. What else went into the burger I hear you ask, nothing! Since this is my classic bacon cheese I want the meat to shine, the only thing added was seasoning whilst cooking, lovingly added from a great height whilst pan frying on a smoking hot skillet. Ideally the greater the height from which you season the greater range and ensures a more even coverage. Don't just take my word for this, science can back me up with the use of the inverse square law. Essentially, the further away you season from, the greater area you can cover with said seasoning. I opt for the Ainsley Harriot style, holding the pan as low as possible in one hand, and with my other hand outstretched high above primed with fine sea salt flakes, shower the sizzling meat with a full arm span distance of salty goodness. Repeat with freshly ground pepper on both sides during cooking. Other methods include the salt bae* technique but this doesn't allow for enough height and I was wearing quite a nice shirt at the time and didn't want my elbow covered in salt.
Perfect medium rare pink cooking.
Since I wanted to keep this fairly classic I opted for a fresh sesame seed bun, lightly toasted in the pan which I cooked the burgers in to soak up the meaty juices and take this up a notch. I then lovingly smeared a generous dollop of home made lemon and olive oil mayonnaise on the base. The lemon adds a subtle sharpness which cuts through the intense overbearing meat flavour. On top of this lay several freshly plucked leaves of batavia lettuce (in summer I use freshly picked from the garden).
Crispy bacon, something which a lot of good eateries seem to struggle with, yet it's so easy to get right. Simply cook low and slow in an oven, then when half hour or so from service, ramp the oven up full whack and leave the bacon to sizzle away in that rampant inferno. For this burger I like to add a hint of sweetness to compliment and balance the dish, so I maple glaze the bacon right at the end and finally top off with some vintage extra mature cheddar cheese (and lots of it) and allow to melt and infuse with the crisp bacon. I always opt for extra mature for the stronger flavour. If you can't taste the cheese then in my opinion there's no point it being there. Go big or go home.
This behemoth is then topped off with fresh home made pickled onion. The recipe for which is a personal secret which I'd never share, unless subjected to four hours of Justin Bieber. Then I probably would crack. Essentially it is a light vinegary element to add a new flavour and again help to cut through the rich meat, since the burger itself was about an inch thick it does require this to even out the palate for a rounder taste. It also seems to highlight and accentuate just how good the quality of the meat was. I then added another homemade sauce, a lightly smoked pepper and tomato sauce. This burger is a classic: you've got the thick meaty flavour from the burger, the soft bun, the smoky tom sauce, the crisp salty yet sweet smoked Norfolk maple glazed bacon, rich mature cheese, the zesty twang from the mayo and the fresh lettuce. What more could you want from a bacon cheese burger?
I think it's safe to say it passed the burger slice in terms of rarity. If attempting to serve medium rare burgers at home you MUST use fresh quality beef, preferably from a butchers and only attempt if you are competent in the kitchen. If in doubt, cook it through. If it's good quality meat it should still taste good.
The Fries
Norfolk potatoes, sliced up skin on, not too thin but not too thick and double cooked in a secret blend of spices. The first cook low and slow to ensure the potato is cooked right through yet still soft. Then at the same time that the bacon is placed into the roasting inferno oven to crisp up the potatoes are put in to do the same. End result, seriously crispy chips that you could probably use to pick a yale lock with. Incredibly easy to do and allows a lot of expression of flavour as you can really add whatever takes your fancy. When good homemade chips are so easy to make why settle for McCains?
Overall
Obviously I can't rate my own burger as that would be biased, but it was good. All I wanted is to share my creation and genius with regards to the art of burger construction (and maybe get an endorsement here or there). My point I am trying to make is that when it comes to burgers and eating out, I expect high quality for my money because burgers don't have to be hard and if done right are actually quite easy to make, so why settle for substandard burgers or pay exuberant prices when the rough cost of this burger was about £4 sterling max. All freshly made with quality butchers meat. I ended up making four burgers for friends, they are the real judges here, and not a single plate was left with food on so I can only assume it went down well. Burger man out!
BurgerCave
Norwich
NR
Salt bae* - A man who loves meat as much, if not more than myself. He has some fairly outrageous seasoning techniques using his elbow to spread the salt, requiring less height.
