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E. coli be darned, I still order my burgers done "as rare as you possibly can." A girl's allowed a vice or two, right?
While plenty of places are still willing to bend the rules, legally speaking, ground beef must be cooked to 160 degrees to kill the creepy crawlies. But you can be safe while still enjoying thick, pink-centered, dripping cheeseburgers. Grind your own beef. Commercially ground beef, for reasons I won't go into here (but if you're curious, read Fast Food Nation), carries a much higher risk of contamination than meat freshly ground in a home grinder.
I buy fatty chuck - 20 percent fat, at least - and put it through the 'coarse' plate of my KitchenAid meat grinder attachment. You can get free-standing grinders pretty cheap at kitchenware stores. Then I mix it, by hand, with a healthy squeeze of ketchup, tons of salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce and chopped garlic, maybe some cayenne. Don't mix too much, or you'll compress the beef and end up with a too-hard burger. Then onto the grill. A friend just taught me a nifty test for doneness - when pressing on the burger, if it feels firm like the skin between your thumb and index finger when you're fingers are outstretched, it's well-done. If it feels slightly loose, like the same bit of skin when your hand's relaxed, it's medium-rare.
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5-21-2008 @11:14AM Chilaquiles said... I do this myself, but often times I'll use leaner cuts of beef and add some salt pork for fat and flavor. Also, you can add all your ketchup, salt, pepper, etc before grinding and save yourself some mixing at the end.
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5-21-2008 @12:12PM Alex Falk said... I have been aching for a meat grinder for ages.
My burgers get seasoned throughout as well, hand mixed.
I usually add some sort of cheese (bleu Parmesan, and feta work great) crushed garlic, cumin(lots!), salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar, sriacha, and if I am feeling particularly naughty, I mince up some pickled jalapeños and toss them in as well.
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5-21-2008 @6:59PM Brian said... I love to grind my own everything! The best part about grinding your own burger is you can easily make a "Squealer." Just put a couple of strips of bacon in with the beef whilst grinding and you get that awesome pork fat and smokey flavor from the bacon! I usually use 85% gb when doing that though!
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5-22-2008 @11:27AM bigkingken said... I'm a huge fan of all things Alton Brown, so his suggestion of grinding my own burgers in a food processor (1/2 pound sirloin and 1/2 pound chuck) was naturally appealing. As he suggested, I added nothing but a tablespoon of kosher salt, and the turned out WONDERFUL.
I do appreciate more toppings than just the mayo and pepper he suggested, however. Sauteed or grilled portabella mushrooms and onions smothered in swiss cheese with a bit of BBQ sauce is my favorite.
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