What's the Best Burger? - by Ruth Reichl
What kind of cheese was on your burger?
I grind my own chuck with the Kitchen Aid attachment. These days, it seems to me that chain grocers think that consumers won't buy hunks of meat that are fatty, so It's been difficult to find a chuck roast with enough fat to make an 80%/20% mixture. I often supplement with butter.
I add a teaspoon of kosher salt per pounof raw meat, then blast thin patties on a screaming-hot stovetop flat griddle until they're well done and crispy, diner style. I sprinkle with cracked pepper and top with Kraft Deli Deluxe American cheese after the first flip, then slide two patties onto toasted kaiser rolls with a dab of mayo, a thick slice of tomato, a thin slice of onion, and a leaf of romaine bent in half. Sometimes, I make 1/3-lb burgers and cook them so that they're crispy outside but medium in the middle.
I think the most underrated burger in America is the cheeseburger from Portillo's, which is finally expanding outside IL. The flame-charred burgers are cooked on a roller chain. So good.
Expand full comment
ncG1vNJzZmiqpam1s7HInJ%2BlZqOqr7TAwJyiZ5ufonyxe9ahmK2rXam1pnnBnqqtZZKqv6ix0WiaqKWdmru1vw%3D%3D