one time i had this revolutionary idea where i made a burger out of something OTHER than cow

i know, i know

it is really shocking you guys

for these burgers especially i feel like you don't need the bun though. OR the bun has to be really good and really minimal. not a taste sucker like sumfoo said. a bun, like ketchup, often just overpowers the whole thing and then its like what is the point. might as well just eat a ketchup sandwich.

7/8/2011 4:15:48 PM

Quote :

"From everything I've read Umami just means savory. I don't know why we can't just say savory."

Yeah pretty much. But apparently some hippie scientists in the 60s decided the word savory wasn't enough, and then some foodies today decided to start throwing the word around.

7/8/2011 4:17:30 PM

I make turkey burgers and eat them without buns all the time. In fact one time a friend was going to eat with me and I told her a couple things I was thinking about making, and we mentioned one of the burgers. When she asked what kind of bread I was going to use I had to explain I don't eat my turkey burgers with buns and I hadn't actually thought about bread. She was confused.

7/8/2011 4:17:58 PM

^^^^very difficult to do no, difficult to isolate and enhance? yes. I bet very few people on this board, if any have had a true umami experience. Sure you can throw some mushrooms and parmesean and call it umami but unless you eliminate the other, stronger flavors and enhance the umami through chemical processes, then you really won't have a true experience.

Quote :

" Glutamate in acid form (Glutamic acid) imparts little umami taste; whereas the salts of glutamic acid, known as glutamates, can easily ionize and give the characteristic umami taste. GMP and IMP amplify the taste intensity of glutamate.""

Basically you have to use that to combine a bunch of different things and chemically create umami.

http://ploader.net/files/365ad7276079b553e731f4c5d7cf3061.jpg

you guys that have flavor sucking buns need to follow a few rules. Slightly toast your buns, always have each side of the bun no more than half the thickness of the burger and find a type of bread that suits your taste. never use plain white bread. I usually go with an english muffin cut in half



[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 4:19 PM. Reason : k]

[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 4:22 PM. Reason : mmm]

[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 4:23 PM. Reason : k]

7/8/2011 4:19:05 PM

^^^ yep Just looked it up, guess what "Savoriness" redirects to in wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoriness

No English translation my ass

[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 4:20 PM. Reason : ]

7/8/2011 4:20:06 PM

i just don't need the bread

the ish i make or the places i eat burgers (there's a short list) have meat that tastes delicious sans bread

to me no bread could ever be good enough to make a burger better than it is without the bread. it might make it the same goodness but i have never eaten a burger and been like oh my god you guys know what made that burger? the bread.

7/8/2011 4:27:26 PM

i can see your reaction to local bread
but
the bread in NOVA and further north really make a huge difference to me

7/8/2011 4:29:30 PM

Quote :

"yep Just looked it up, guess what "Savoriness" redirects to in wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoriness No English translation my ass "

But it's different maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! You just haven't tasted it like I have

7/8/2011 4:32:00 PM

http://cheeseandburger.com/

7/8/2011 4:39:56 PM

I am a bread snob also so maybe I'm just too concerned about eating balanced meals to realize bread for the scam it really is?

Right now I am taking the same meat and using a marinade made from

spicy brown mustard
fresh garlic
fresh grated parmesean
minced portebellos
soy sauce (not going for umami obviously)
a1 and melted butter to keep it from being too hard

I'm putting in the gas broiler for 6 minutes and then placing it on a blueberry wheat waffle (4 quad style) bun that i've just made (don't know why i didnt think of this for a bun last night)

any suggestions for a dressing scheme to compliment these flavors (yes i've probably used too many)

I'm probably going to go with a fresh mayo
salsa
iceburg
onion disc

[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 4:51 PM. Reason : k]

7/8/2011 4:44:19 PM

Excellent! All the flavors actually came together pretty well and the waffles are a great base. I'm going to try the second one with just sharp cheddar.

7/8/2011 5:02:37 PM

http://ploader.net/files/e51dee692e1540d4471e40a334b9424b.jpg

7/8/2011 5:07:01 PM

Frozen waffle burger

7/8/2011 5:48:42 PM

Quote :

"at the times i never get a bun with my burger. i order that shit rare (ok fine i lied i'm a pussy, i get it medium rare)"

i thought burgers (and other minced meat dishes) had to be well done (or close to it), otherwise it is risky in terms of bacterial contamination, no?

(because unlike a steak, the meat's surface has been broken up and mixed up)



e man, you should use the macro mode on your camera, and make sure you are not inside the macro's limiting distance when taking the shot.

[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 5:57 PM. Reason : ]

7/8/2011 5:53:22 PM

i don't really know. i think that is correct but the places that grind their own meat you can order them rare from.

that is all i know

i try not to think about it too much or i get grossed out

7/8/2011 5:59:38 PM

Nothing was ever frozen. Grass fed hamburger doesn't have to be cooked well. Regular burger doesn't have to be cooked well persay, just has to reach a certain temperature.

I have no idea how to change the macro of my cameraphone.

[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 6:01 PM. Reason : you could literally eat grass fed raw off the counter. ]

7/8/2011 6:00:31 PM

Quote :

"i thought burgers (and other minced meat dishes) had to be well done (or close to it), otherwise it is risky in terms of bacterial contamination, no?"

If you're eating pre-ground meat then yes.

If you grind your own meat or are at a restaurant where they grind their own meat, then no.

[Edited on July 8, 2011 at 6:30 PM. Reason : ]

7/8/2011 6:29:50 PM

um, if you grind shit meat on site its still shit meat. ive never understood that qualifier making it ok to undercook meat if you grind on site.

7/8/2011 6:41:22 PM

^ probably because the sort of restaurant bothering to grind their own meat isn't using crap meat. Though the risk is still there. Delicious, delicious risk.

7/8/2011 7:34:56 PM

I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of the meat, it's how it's handled.

7/8/2011 8:30:30 PM

absolutely lame when mold happens. At least you didn't eat the bread before you realized the mold. That happened to me about 6 months ago.

7/8/2011 8:31:28 PM

yeah, has zero to do with quality and everything to do with opportunity for contamination

if meat is handled whole and then ground on site there is less opportunity for contamination, thus it's ok to cook it less

7/8/2011 8:35:23 PM

what happened to the pwnt by leftover food thread.

7/8/2011 11:08:02 PM

Whether a burger can be ordered rare or not has more to do with the restaurant than anything. Major chains often won't do a rare burger, because they assess that there could be a risk in doing so, and it's better to just not do so.

Then there are places like Player's Retreat, which have real balls and will serve my burger rare.

Fuck a well done burger.

7/9/2011 12:35:16 AM

^ that is the real truth

are we the only state that bans rare burgers? i feel like in a lot of other states (not sure if it is the majority or not) you can order rare w/ a disclaimer. just like seafood and stuff often comes with a disclaimer.

i know like PR, times, that place in durham aaaaand a few others will still do it up right for you, but technically aren't they breaking the law? i know you aren't even supposed to serve it medium rare here. if you ask at some restaurants (mainly chains like you say) they will refuse you.

7/9/2011 12:52:53 AM

According to Fox News, it is technically illegal, but you can't get shut down for it. You just lose points on your sanitation score. And North Carolina is one of the few states with this level of regulation.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/05/20/north-carolina-looks-ease-ban-rare-burgers/

7/9/2011 4:54:06 AM