By Matt Stone
As some of you may or may not know, I worked extensively at the top of the culinary industry before one day getting “fed up,” walking out, and vowing not to return to the kitchen until I had explored other things. That day was in April of 2005.
Then of course I became obsessively interested in health and nutrition and spent the last eight years deeply entrenched in that field. But at the end of all that I’ve come almost completely full circle to believe what I did then – that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with eating good food prepared for maximal deliciousness and enjoying every bite of it to the point of satisfaction. Coming to such a conclusion, and?retiring my slingshot from a near-decade?perfect diet snipe hunt, has finally led to a reawakening of my passionate love affair with making and eating heavenly things. By the way it took about a year of not caring about food at all and eating mostly boxed cereal and things that could be delivered to my doorstep to get there, so if you?could care less about this kind of thing right now it very?well could be a natural part of the evolutionary process. Don’t fight it or feel too guilty for not caring much at the moment.
That behind us,?it’s time to delve into a new personal project of mine – using a lot of innovation for creating the perfect burger out of relatively ordinary ingredients.?Sure, we could talk about home-grinding up the perfect blend of sirloin and short ribs from aged Wagyu beef all day long, but I’m talking about making the best burger possible from the local Publix – the beacon of mediocrity that resides down the street from my house (I?will probably be exiled from Florida after saying such?a thing about Publix -?Floridians talk about Publix like it’s the family pet or their firstborn child).
I was thinking that this?might be something to discuss later on after I had made burgers a half dozen different ways to discover true perfection. But I got lucky?enough on attempt #1 that I had to share it immediately. Wasn’t even really planning on posting today until?my teeth sank into this beauty…
While what you are about to read may sound “weird,” – feedback I often get when I truly create something that is?far superior to anything anyone is eating in their home?on a daily basis (like Rice-Krispy coated French toast… pay attention to the part about textural contrast below), you have my personal guarantee that this will knock your socks off, and the hidden ingredients will be practically unnoticeable. No way I could wear socks after this, I know that much for sure.
While this is a very elaborate process for a burger, there are many valuable lessons that you can incorporate into your own hamburgery habits…
Directions (makes about 6 small burgers):
The Meat
- Dice 5-6 large button mushrooms into tiny squares and get them going at high heat in about a half stick of butter. The smaller you cut them the better – as they enrich the?flavor of the burger and?give it a lighter’texture,?without making it unrecognizable as a burger. Let them start browning before you start tossing them around and stirring them?like some kind of noob.
- Dice up a little onion into tiny squares as well and add to the mushrooms once they have started browning a little.
- Dice?up?one beef hotdog into’teeny-tiny pieces and add to the pan?at the same time as the onions. Cook all of that’together until?brown and soft, adding plenty of salt.
- Add the’saut?ed stuff to a large bowl and add 1?whole egg, a handful of plain Panko bread crumbs, a pound?or so of fatty ground beef, a few ounces of hard cheese diced into small pieces (I used gorgonzola, other cheeses could be good), and enough salt to make all of it tasty.Mix well and fry up a quarter-sized sampler. Make sure it tastes very salty. Something’spicy like black pepper, cayenne pepper, or finely-minced fresh jalapeno?would also be nice.
Commentary – All of this stuff adds flavor while lightening up the texture of the burger to be more airy, fluffy, and soft. Texture should fall somewhere between the stiff hockey-puck like burgers most people make at home and a really good meatloaf.The added butter also makes’the burger much richer, as does the gorgonzola. It’s already approaching unbeatableness at this point, but several more additions take it to an elite level. Note:?You don’t have to like any of the individual ingredients. You’ll hardly know they are there, you’ll just think the burger is exceptionally tasty and the texture?and seasoning is flawless.
The Patty
- I for one don’t like burgers that are all meat and overly thick.Not properly balanced. So I make the patties relatively small and thin for this reason and a couple of others as you will see.
- After shaping them into patties somewhere between the size of a large homemade burger (massive) and a typical sausage patty (tiny), press each patty into a plate covered with plain Panko bread crumbs.
- Fry in?a pan with plenty of butter until both sides are dark brown and crusty all over. Don’t flip it too much or play with it excessively. The more you disturb it, the more bread crumbs will fall off. Morrissey was right when he said “The more you ignore me the closer I get.” I assume he?was talking through’the eyes of something cooking in hot fat.
- Remove from pan and set aside, preferably on a paper towel to drain any excess grease, then put them onto a plate and quickly cover each patty with a slice of?American cheese and move to?a preheated oven (just for a couple minutes – your plate should be fine). If you?are too snobby for American cheese?a rind-ripened soft cheese like Brie, Camembert, or?Pave D’Affinois would be fine.
Commentary – Texture contrast is always important with any food preparation. Making the burger meat extra soft, but giving it an extra crunchy outer layer takes hamburgery to truly?higher dimensions. Adding a panko crust adds a tiny bit of girth to the burger, which is another reason to form the patties on the small side.
The Bun
- Slice English muffins in half and pan fry them in the grease left behind from the burgers. Press on them to push them into the hot butter so they brown and get a?crispy crust – especially along the outer rim where it really counts (insert?perverted joke).
- Slap the?patty, covered with melted goodness, in?between the buns (insert another perverted joke).Traditional condiments are not just unnecessary but criminal in this scenario.
Commentary – The traditional hamburger bun is a mistake. When burger buns’soak up meat juice and such they get soggy and disgusting. Use something much denser like an English?muffin (reason #3 to make the patties smaller). English muffins?are spongy but retain their texture when wet.
And there you have it for Perfect Burger Attempt #1. I could probably win burger competitions and start a successful business built around this first?attempt already, but I’m going to keep toying around with it in the future. Thanks for humoring me on the food front. While food talk certainly isn’t going to take over this site, many readers do enjoy it, and I will do a food-related post at least once a month as long as my cooking passion remains afloat. Knowing how many health seekers have lost’their friendly?relationship with food, I know posts like this aren’t purely a form of entertainment, but something quite meaningful for many individuals.
“By the way it took about a year of not caring about food at all and eating mostly boxed cereal and things that could be delivered to my doorstep to get there, so if you could care less about this kind of thing right now it very well could be a natural part of the evolutionary process.”
Boy, is that ever true! Sounds a lot like me last year. Couldn’t be bothered to cook as much as I had previously. Now, I’m finally getting back to it because I have the ENERGY to do so! You gotta Eat The Food in order to Make The Food, apparently!
I always love your delicious recipes, Matt!
Love it!!! I have been loving burgers and anything beefy lately!! It sounde DELICIOUS!! I have been reading your blog for years but this is my second comment ever! Please keep the food recipes coming! Also I am a Floridian currently not living there and yes WE LOVE OUR PUBLIX!!! It is AMAZING! Lol :)
I may have to delete that part about Publix. My Florida-born girlfriend is going to dump me I think.
Lol! I even made my husband drink the kool-aid! He too knows how amazing Publix is!!! Having lived in FL my whole life prior to now I loved going there. I guess everyone drinks the kool aid down there. However, when I moved to Indiana it only confirmed Publix’s greatness! None of the stores here even compare! I told my sister what you said and she laughed and said it was her first born child! haha :)
Publix is perhaps the best chain middle America type grocery store. Better than a lot of depressing places for sure. The Albertson’s down here, before it closed, looked like some kind of degenerate breeding ground. Publix is definitely the best thing in Florida. But it ain’t exactly Sunshine Foods in St. Helena, CA or the places in NYC where you can stroll in and buy live seafood.
I liked Publix when I was living in FL. I am originally from Sacramento, CA. At home we like Raley’s best. Publix was a bit like a Raley’s, but not quite as good. When you live in FL the other options are just so bad and frankly disgusting. Stay out of the nasty WalMarts. Just don’t even go in there.
My first job was at a theme park, right out of college. That was where I really learned to work extremely hard. I worked custodial, up to 50 hours/week and 15 days straight. I was responsible for up to 58 cans per hour at 60lbs per bag. It was intense. I’m only 5’2″. Needless to say, I didn’t bother ‘working out’ at all at that time. No need to.
Publix is the best! Who else has this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CheM9RqfwZ0&feature=youtube_gdata_player?
Cheeseburgers for the win Matt!
I’ll see your Publix Bag Boy, and raise you a ‘Whole Foods Parking Lot:’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU
This is so many layers of awesome-sauce, Rob. I have no relationship with Publix, but I get the WF thing from every stereotypical angle.
All in, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXAt2XLyAl0&feature=youtube_gdata_player, are you?
Matt, found this really great cooking channel on youtube that really seems to jive perfectly with 180 theology. This is perhaps the best cheeseburger tut I’ve seen in a while that doesn’t try to cut out carbs, protein or fat or anything at all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XfLjK3o6GE
That was the best thing i have read in awhile. I will be doing this in the next few days. Keep the recipes coming!
I bet you guys have never shopped at Wegman’s, but I visit Florida and have shopped at Publix. It’s a good store, but Wegman’s wins, no contest.
I had a co-worker who used to work at Wegman’s. She said it was not only the best grocery store, but they were awesome to their employees.
Wegman’s is my favorite foraging grounds! I gotta drive a half hour to the nearest one, but it’s always worth it. And I like to chat up the cashiers, they all have nothing but good things to say about their employer. I think Wegman’s is one of the top five rated employers in the country. Plus, no automated check out Organic cashiers only. Like the good old days.
Wegman’s for the win!! <3 <3
Yes, I am in love with Wegmans. My favorite thing is that the quicker check out lanes have signs saying “10 or fewer items” instead of “10 items or less”. Yay for proper grammar!
Glad you love proper grammar Lorna. Now if you could conjure up the same enthusiasm for proper punctuation you’d be a total package!
mmmmm…although I hope you are not saying we can’t add ketchup!
You can add ketchup if you want, but if you add it in my presence it will be the last thing you ever do.
I used to be all about food and cooking, including food production, but I have definitely lost that drive. I always have a very large garden, wild mushrooms, gather seafood, we process all of our meats here, etc… good stuff. I used to think it was a shame for perfectly good ingredients be made into mediocre food, and was compelled to always try to make something at least really good, if not excellent. Now food is more utilitarian and I have to pep talk myself into cooking something decent and nutritious instead of heating up some tortillas and scrambled eggs with cheese. I hope it comes back. I miss wanting to eat well and really enjoying food and the artistry of making it. I’m rarely inspired to cook good food anymore and if I’m not inspired, I’m not a good cook (can’t follow a recipe for shit). I find myself somewhat more inspired when I have someone else to feed. Geeking out on diet tweaking ruined my girlfriend and I’s enjoyment of food pretty much. There was always something we weren’t supposed to eat and it was usually something crucial like white flour… no more amazing dumplings. Re-feeding in the beginning made me want to eat lots of food, but whatever was convenient and just reasonably tasty. Now I’m less hungry and still inclined to eat the most convenient thing and spend the least time preparing it. Ice cream makes a good meal, and it’s good, but not good like it used to be. The same goes for other food; nothing tastes amazing anymore. So, I’ll take heart from your experience and hope I end up there again. Part of my philosophy has been that sustainability has to be enjoyable to be sustainable. We seem to want to find the negative in those kinds of experiences, as if privation is the only option. Food is a key part of finding that place. Don’t invest time and energy into sustainable food solely out of a sense of obligation, but rather because a culture built around a sustainable and conscious food environment has the potential to be better in so many ways. We tend to turn those kinds of ideas into negative experiences, like extreme diets for example, but I’m convinced that making conscious food choices can be empowering and positive if we embrace the positive aspects and live them to the fullest, rather than focusing on what we aren’t supposed to eat or do. If some other lame asses hadn’t already used the term, sustainable hedonism fairly describes the vision I would have for a better future. Anyway, I hope to get back into full swing with creating a better food environment, including in my own kitchen.
I totally get what you’re saying, Stevene.
Sometimes I’m a great cook and other times I’m a failure. It’s really hard to break out of my comfort zone to try something new. Maybe I’m too much of a perfectionist when it comes to food? I don’t know. But I know your struggle with the egg-cheese-tortilla combo. I found an electric griddle last week in the closet and started making the same ingredients, only better. I butter the tortilla, lay it down on the griddle, layer on cheese, and remove once crispy. Then I scramble some eggs in the leftover grease, place in the cheesy tortilla, and top with avocado and salt. It’s been a good game changer in terms of ease and taste, without really changing anything.
I’m definitely a foodie, and a snobby one at that- although I’m working on that. I’ve been in the restaurant biz for 10 years now, mostly as a server- but I’ve subbed in on the other side of the line plenty of times. I’ve worked for tiny mom-and-pop’s and chains, but I’ve learned from all of them. The latest chain was an eye opener. It is a giant restaurant chain, not just in volume of how many stores, but the size of the restaurants and amount of guests that come in to eat. Astounding, really- like Vegas numbers, in nearly every big city (there are 3 in mine). Anyways, nearly everything is made on site. Soups, dressings, sauces, fillings, etc. They even cut the huge sides of tuna into slices of perfectly fine ahi tuna appetizers in the back. It was surprising, really, to learn the truth; that it was cheaper for them to slice their own cheese than to buy it pre-sliced. But I know that they are an anomaly (because they are so big). The only thing not made there is the bread, which everyone dies for (it is ?baked? there) and their desserts. That last bit is ironic, since the name of the restaurant implies that they make the desserts in house. Anyways, my point is, if you’re looking to RRARF, this is the place to do it, because it is all practically stamped Matt-Approved (*besides the PUFAs as cooking oil, which I don’t think you can avoid while eating out-and I know that’s a big deal, but they serve real butter with their bread and real milk and cream with soup, coffee drinks, dessert, etc.). My second point is that they actually have good tasting food that I wasn’t ashamed of serving (*this does depend on location as they all seem to differ slightly in terms of quality) or eating, given my orthorexic tendencies.
So this summer, I’m working hard on my orthorexia. I’m barely buying organic foods (milk, usually- I can’t help that!) Part of that is that my boyfriend is allergic to organic foods (anyone even heard of that?!) My goal is to live with grandma and eat more like how she eats, which is essentially you get what you get- organics aren’t feasible. I can’t help washing the fruits and veg real good, but I’m trying to regain control over my feelings of food. Banana bread is my favorite food to make (btw I make the most kick-ass banana bread EVER) but in the past I’ve turned G-ma’s down because she used vegetable oil and I could ?feel? the oxidized, rancid oil making me unhealthy. I want to get over that while still holding to what makes me feel good. I mean, really. Would eating a few slices kill me? Of course not! (*but I’m still trying to avoid PUFAs, just not in the ?it’s gonna kill me right now? way)
It has taken me a long way though, as I’ve followed Matt since late ?11, and found that I’ve gone over the hump of craving everything ?naughty? to being disinterested in food totally to being interested again with lots of back and forth. Nowadays I pin recipes on Pinterest that interest me- everything from green smoothies (which I still crave) to coconut cake to mushroom soup. I highly recommend recipe surfing on Pinterest for anyone looking for home cooking ideas because you get immediate satisfaction and cravings from the photos.
This is long, but I just wanted to lend my support and experience. It’s all okay, I believe you’ll get to where you want to be with food, and I’ll get there, too. I’m also plugging a little for the restaurant industry as the chains I’ve worked for don’t use microwaves and use real foods, too, so they can be helpful to get out of the mindset that is perpetuated by orthorexic “perfection is the enemy of the good”.
Tangytam, I like banana bread too. I’m not much of a cook, but I’ve made banana bread a few times lately and it’s been amazing. I won’t use oil in anything, so I just substituted applesauce for the oil….just a 1:1 substitution. The bread turned out great. So, use your grandma’s recipe, but use applesauce instead of oil….
Yeah, I can see how I wrote that made it confusing.
Thanks Banana Bread for the kind reply.
What I meant to say is that my recipe is kick ass. My G-ma knows I love banana bread and so makes her version, which I don’t like. My dilemma is, do I not like it just because it doesn’t taste as good (it’s usually dry and nearly white, with less sugar, while mine is super moist with a rich, dark color because I use, like, twice as many super ripe bananas) or that AND my aversion to veg oil? I think it’s the veg oil, which I can smell (sometimes she uses olive oil).
I’ve used coconut oil or butter for about 10 years but have tried applesauce when I wanted to clock less calories (my recipe calls for a full cup, haha). It tasted great as another variation that I might try again thanks to you, but I remember the density being off. But not off-putting.
I’m slowly trying to get her off the veg oils, though. We’re doing a BB testing series trying to “find” the perfect recipe (obviously, I believe I’ve found mine, but I’m trying on not being a snobby biotch and saying that I will only eat *this recipe) and tweaking hers ingredient by ingredient. I started with replacing the oil with butter with good results. Two years ago I told her she could throw out her margarine and just use butter and she was all like, hellz yeah! in her own way.
I like adding bananas to a traditional pound cake recipe for banana bread. That comes out pretty superb. The best banana bread I ever had was prepared that way and had black walnuts added to it. An acquired taste, but after many slices I found it getting better and better.
Sustainable hedonism.. how nice.
elina… I saw your comment and then read this, and thought it was appropriate.
http://meloukhia.net/2013/06/eating_as_performance_of_moral_superiority.html
I’m especially fond of the smashburger recipe by Kenji over at Serious Eats.
Love, love, love smashburgers! Miss them where I live now. The burgers here are so wimpy, that I started drooling at Matt’s headline. I haven’t tried the at-home hack yet, because I’m intimidated, but I’m gonna try to give it a crack soon.
I do tend to enjoy smashed burgers. Shake Shack in NYC and 5 Guys are definitely some of the better burger places. Because of the size, texture, and really brown outer crust from the panko – this burger was actually a lot more like a Shake Shack burger than you would think. They must use incredibly fatty meat.
Shake Shack, for the win! Their burgers are pretty damn good. Five Guys are my usual post-workout slab of meat, and their cajun fries are banging. Wonder what it would take for them to cook in coconut oil. Haha
My favorite mid-range burger joint is probably In n Out, though. Maybe that’s just cuz I only get em when I’m out west, and they marinate in my mind the rest of the time.
I’ll give Five Guys a slight edge over In n’ Out, but only because I can get fresh-sliced jalapenos on it. Untouchable. But of the three, Shake Shack is the best burger I’ve had if you subtract the jalapeno advantage. But perhaps I’m only saying that because it’s the one I’ve eaten at the least of the three! That which is scarce always tastes better.
Also, I like the emphasis on cooking techniques and the lesson that how you cook stuff or combine proportions etc… is as, or more, important than ingredients. I’m sure that your standard store ingredient burgers kick ass on my uninspired grass fed beef burgers. I generally have access to pretty gourmet ingredients but, I have definitely observed that it is easy to make mediocre, or even bad, food out of them. Combine the two though, and I find that a better place to be. I still think that quality, processing and origin of food matters though, and my point is sort of like- you don’t have to necessarily end up orthorexic to eat consciously. One of the most bad ass farmers I know around here is a regular starbucks customer. His life is dedicated to growing awesome food for local consumption, on more than a micro-scale. Starbucks just happens to be open and easy to access on his way to creating a better food environment early in the morning. Your philosophy of being more accepting of foods in general has really helped me, and is rather convenient since I’ve had to downgrade my food choices due to financial and energy constraints. But wouldn’t it be awesome if you went to the ice cream section and there were no artificial ingredients or colors, or whatever other crap they put in there. No bovine growth hormone etc.. just real ingredients. That’s the food environment I want, but I realize now that it’s not the one I live in now, and I’ve been fighting that battle on an empty stomach in a way. Just eating has to come first with a minimum of anxiety and neurosis about what I’m eating. Still, the only way to a better food environment is to be conscious of our food choices. Adequate food first, whatever it takes to get the job done, and better food later.
Sadly, good, quality, fresh, local food prepared a la minute at extremely low prices is the norm everywhere I’ve travelled. Only in North America is such a thing an expensive luxury – something that requires completely rearranging your life to fully obtain. Watching a couple seasons of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations will drive this reality home quickly. Truly fantastic comments Stevene. We are in a strange food era indeed. To eat normal we have to live out on a farm and be part of some cult. But there are some advantages not to be overlooked, such as having fresh food all winter long, having a wide range of food products from several continents to choose from. It’s not all a downer.
Yes, I agree on the benefits of the current food system. I’m not a total ludite and not completely down on the industrial food supply. I just think we should, in general, be devolving back toward food that we can understand better, and for that matter that our bodies can probably understand better. In fact, I think food can be a real factor in a sort of spiritual harmony in our lives where we come down to a sense of place through our sense of sustenance (don’t read that spiritual as religious or mystical. That’s not what I mean. I mean the totality that sort of defines the essence of who we are and how we fit or don’t fit into our world, or something like that). I think lack of food quality, and the proliferation of non-food ingredients in food, is probably my biggest problem when walking into a grocery store, but origin, transport and embodied energy should really be considered more than they are. Most of us only consider two things when we buy, do I want it (for whatever reason) and can I afford it. I was shocked to learn in my apple research, that America had a thriving export trade to England of the Newton Pippin apple via wooden sailing ship! I mean England of all places, probably top dog in apple diversity at the time. They wanted these apples so bad though, that we sailed them all the way over there in wooden ships. Specialty food items will always be in high demand and there’s no need to deny ourselves that much. Still, I think it behooves us to examine what we’re eating and where it comes from, and what that says about us to the end that it might help us make positive (not obsessive) choices that can lead to better things… but now I see that in a bigger sense, or as a larger slower progression where we can start working slowly toward those goals at a sustainable level. I’ve struggled to embody the idea that we should take responsibility for what we consume (food and otherwise), but as a result have often not eaten enough and picked up some neurosis about food on the way. When I think back now in this new light, I realize how orthorexic I’ve been indeed. Again though, I realize now that I can’t fight that battle on an empty stomach and tend to take a broader view where I give myself the tools I need to function and a break from the battle of constantly swimming uphill when my food environment does not come close to matching what I imagine as an idea. I watched my parents generation (hippies), and my generation (punks), go through a process where struggle ended in either conformity (aka, “working within the system”), atrophy (retaining the symbols ((like peace signs and misfit’s shirts)) but not the lifestyle), or self destruction. Not that there was no progress made, but it’s just too hard to swim up stream forever. It is a psychological strain and in the case of food, a physical strain. However, the attributes that have made ME able to keep swimming and going against the grain are the same ones that allowed me to NOT EAT ENOUGH FOOD when I really just needed to buy whatever was at hand, stuff it in my damn mouth and tell my inner voices the STFU! Anyway, for now it’s factory farm bacon and whatever I can afford in order to eat enough palatable food to get myself back on track, and I’m comfortable enough with that as a temporary measure. I had some bacon from a friends pig the other day though, and damn was it a far sight better tasting… and feeling for that matter.
this is something i’m dealing with today.
i’m at the point of wanting to start cooking for enjoyment rather than health, and i’m wanting to get this Modernist Cuisine at Home cookbook, that has all these sous vide and other fancy recipes. i know i would have so much fun, and probably want to sous vide everything.
but at the moment i’m totally hung up on the plastic safety issue. today i’ve read these and some other resources:
http://paleohacks.com/questions/1383/is-sous-vide-safe#axzz2Xq3X4kIc
http://chriskresser.com/how-plastic-food-containers-could-be-making-you-fat-infertile-and-sick
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/12463202060/cooking-sous-vide-plastic-safety
after at least 2 hours of googling this, i have to admit that the question is not going to be definitely resolved today. but i don’t want to buy a $140 cookbook and later decide that the plastic safety issues are prohibitive, because sous vide is a huge part of this cookbook.
has anyone here come up with a good answer for this – cooking in plastic at a low temperature?
there are like “polymer PhDs” making convincing-sounding claims on both sides, but the safest bags are supposedly silicone, polypropylene, or polyethylene bags.
I don’t have anything definitive to say about Sous Vide, but I will say that it is but one cooking method – good for some things, pathetic for others. Remember that there is negative information about everything. Look up negative effects of frying, grilling, smoking, and so on. Can’t win if you are shooting for perfection.
But I’m not into modernist cuisine so what would I know. My greatest food interests have always leaned towards rustic, ethnic, and finding ways to turn everyday food (like burgers) into something special.
yea, i’ve been sitting here trying to figure out what exactly comprises my cooking motivation. when i think about learning how to stir fry, for some reason that sounds boring to me. i wish i had enthusiasm for learning rustic and ethnic cooking, cuz boy do i like to eat it. the times i’ve gotten really fired up about cooking were all modernist-type projects (AKA molecular gastronomy, kitchen science). i made a lengthy foray into making mayonnaise out of all different oils, meanwhile eating takeout and frozen dinners the whole time.
i think the takeaway is that i should embrace my motivation and not question it. for some reason i like kitchen science. ok.
it will be a beautiful day when i can actually put a whole, coherent meal together and have a dinner party.
hate Sous Vide and it is a way past its glory in
a serious kitchens. Cooking your food in a plastic bag is
very unsexy.
I’ve looked into the plastics issue a little bit. I think it’s pretty hard for anyone to know for sure what the real safety level, or level of unsafeness of plastics it. I don’t trust the industry/governmental health take on plastics and feel like it’s better assume the worst. I use some plastics at home, but do go out of my way to avoid it. Silicone seems like probably the safest bet at this point. I have a small business idea that would replace canning jar lids with plastic free alternatives. I called a silicone manufacturer and he said that pure silicone in food preparation products is almost unheard of and there is almost always some additive for heat resistance, or wear resistance, etc. . I don’t know what those extra ingredients are because we didn’t get that far, but just beware of claims of 100% silicone. Cooking things in a plastic bag for a really long time does kind of sound sketchy. What about a mason jar? The lid should vent so the jar doesn’t explode and they only plastic is in the lid lining. Hard to imagine the plastic is essential to the concept! Yep, just googled it, people do use mason jars…
your jar lid idea sounds interesting. i saw a lot of people complaining online about jar lid options. maybe you can make sous vide bags as well, if you get that going.
i looked at your website and i had to laugh, because i dated an INTJ guy last year who was really into paleo, and boy, yea, he was all about his systems, continually tweaking the program.
If I can figure it out the way I want to, it will be awesome, but I may never get around to pulling it all off. I know it’s an issue for people, and definitely for me, which is why I started trying to figure it all out.
I always thought, because of my background in real paleo stuff, that the paleo diet was kind of dumb and based on a lot of probably erroneous assumptions. But I still somehow sort of got briefly sucked into that and low carb ideology a little bit. Dating an INTJ? my condolences…
Aside from sous vide, a huge component of that cookbook, which I own & cook from, is using pressure cookers. It has a bigger role in the book than sous vide in my opinion. And interestingly, while pressure cookers seem modern & new-fangled, they are widely used in rustic & ethnic cooking all over the world. Crazy versatile those things.
I love my pressure cooker. I make simple food with it. Just cabbage, potatoes, carrots, celery, and seasoning/herbs. I use wine in the cooking fluid. Sometimes I add meat, but only if I have it. Then I slather the result with organic butter and sour cream. Freshly ground pepper is required and lots of salt.
What about wrapping the food item in question in parchment before inserting into sous vide plastic? That way the food doesn’t touch the plastic and nothing will leach into it. Of course, you could just bake or steam in parchment without going all sous vide, too, which can produce some pretty tasty food all by its ownsome. Just a thought. I can get all excited by learning new stuff, too, know just what you mean…
Great!
“By the way it took about a year of not caring about food at all and eating mostly boxed cereal and things that could be delivered to my doorstep to get there, so if you could care less about this kind of thing right now it very well could be a natural part of the evolutionary process.” this is totally true.
Actually I’ve come to believe that true recovery from eating disorders is actually being able to direct all perfectionism towards cooking food. I’m not saying that Matt had an ED (had you, Matt?) but at least that’s the way I’ve come to live now.
But THANK YOU, thank you, thank you Matt Stone, for making all this “evolutionary process” so much faster for me and for most of your readers. I found your site on November ’12 and now, July ’13 I’m cooking really yummy things and my only concern about food is.. will it taste great, or just good?
I’m hungry now…
So we will start liking food again? I can’t wait. I thought it was starvation that made me such a mindful cook and a great food writer (and a major snob). Since starving will no longer be an issue, I thought I would be cursed into never feeling pleasure again through a great meal.
I try to eat one major, decadent meal each day, and work up at least a tiny bit of an appetite for it. I doubt it will ever be quite like it was back in the days I was starving. I think I’ve found a pretty good middle ground though.
By working up an appetite do you mean doing something physical or try to stretch the time bfore you get to eat,so you get more hungry?
and by one decadent meal,do you mean you kinda more snack/graze during the day?
One thing I never do is exercise and then not eat afterwards. I also can’t eat too much food late or I get way too hot and have restless legs. Considering all that, my typical day (although I’m never as good at consistency as I would like to be), is to eat a very high-carb breakfast that doesn’t kill any hopes of getting some exercise afterward, then feast with a late lunch, and maybe have a light snack in the evening. Lately that’s been a small dessert. I also tend to sip sweet drinks throughout the day, mostly orange juice, as well as drink water. So I’m not fully fasted between meals.
So Matt, I remember you saying that you were eating this way at least a couple/few months back. Interested and glad to see that you’re still doing this. So I don’t mean to read between the lines here, but are you eating dinner at all? Or (unless you are still hungry), does your food intake end at your evening snack?
I always eat something in the evening. I wouldn’t call it dinner though. Usually something like banana bread, chocolate cake, apple pie, etc.
Where’s the beetroot? No Kiwi burger would be complete without a slice of beetroot. :)
If you have to put beets on your burgers to make them taste better (or lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, etc.), you definitely aren’t eating this burger.
:D Not sure that it’s to make it taste better; to me, it’s just how it’s put together (like a marmite and cheese sandwich) – maybe the real thing got lost in translation.
Maybe add 3 Ps to the 4 Ss. Pleasure, Purpose, and Personal Enjoyment
“Vitamin P!” all the way!
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/metabolic-power-pleasure
“Galatea” first posted this link on your “strawberry short cake” post! What an amazing insight to how food effects us with or own thoughts towards eating in general.
Been cooking my own food at least 80% percent of the time over the last few weeks! Feeling amazing and not restricting anything except for being mindful of water intake and eating real fats with my foods that were available centuries ago, (butter, lard, bacon grease, coconut oil, olive oi) No Franken-Fats!!
In the next weeks I plan to learn how to make a banana bread, homemade apple pie, and hand made pasta. Just the thought of this has set me up to enjoy my foods weeks from now with out guilt or deprivation. How would that not be beneficial for some one on a psychological level. Food with out guilt and restriction with personal pleasure being the dominant factor. sounds like real sustainable health to me!! BTW, cant wait to make this burger and try the short cake recipe!
LOL!
LOOOOOOOOVE the very random Morrissey reference! Be still my heart, Matt.
Morrissey just can’t go completely unreferenced on this site. It was only a matter of time before he came out of the um, woodwork.
Internet confessional time. I’m splitting a CSA with a neighbor this season and I am having the worst time eating my veggies. Most are going in the compost. The farm is run by a friend whom I wanted to support. I hope it goes away because it’s a waste and i remember loving cooking too.
I don’t see how people eat so many vegetables, and that’s coming from someone who knows just about everything these is to know about making vegetables taste good. Eating vegetables is even more daunting now that I don’t eat any pork. Bacon is the only thing that can save half the vegetable kingdom from tasting terrible. The only way I could survive a CSA share is if it was at a fruit orchard or potato farm or something.
Some veggies (all greens, carrots, beets, squash… more?) can go in smoothies, use enough fruit and you won’t taste it. I drink a smoothie with some veggies in the a.m. every day and then I feel like I had my veggies for the day and I don’t worry about it the rest of the time.
I sure could go for a slice of chocolate cake right now. Whats the perfect dessert after a hamburger?
Chocolate cake is a mainstay in my household, but I had apple crumble.
BTW, Have made Matt’s shortcake biscuits a few times now. Recommend! I took the plunge because this recipe seemed easy compared to others I’d read. I make it even easier by haphazardly cutting the dough into squares or triangles, instead of using a circular cutter. Great with berries or cut up stone fruits like peaches, plums, etc., especially in hot weather when the fruit over-ripens quickly.
Matt, thanks for posting your burger recipe, can’t wait to try it. I was wondering how small do you cut up the hot dog, I would imagine the pieces would have to be as small as diced onions. Otherwise, wouldn’t the texture of hotdog interfere with the burger? Also, what do you think of adding Cholulu sauce and Fontina cheese instead of jalapenos and gorgonzola? I wish we had a Shake Shack in Phoenix, but I agree with your review of 5 Guys over In N Out, whatever happened to Fatburger?
Tiny. I must’ve cut that single hot dog into 200 pieces. And yeah, you could add any number of different things to it as long as it’s in small amounts and cut really small.
Thank you for your reply Matt.
I think there are a few Fatburgers here in the Phoenix area, aren’t there? Is it good eats there? I think I’ve seen one or two while running errands. Maybe.
We have an In N Out down the street from us and it’s yummy stuff. I’m sooo thankful it opened a few years ago (at the Metro Center) It’s a much better option to McDonald’s, Burger King, etc. In the summer, we go to McD’s for faux ice cream cones and playtime at the Playplace…I try not to eat anything else there. Smashburger and 5 Guys are on the list of places to eat at…I haven’t been to those places yet.
Yummy!!! This is high on the to-do list for my kitchen. We will be trying this one soon. I’m sorry that I will have to add ketchup. I guess our friendship ends here…..
How much salt are you using exactly, though? Can you at least establish some kind of starting point because it’s very vague when someone says, “lots of salt!”. Is that a teaspoon, a handful–an entire bag even? I guess you could say taste it until it’s salty, but there are varying degrees of how salty something should taste according to the recipe, so I really don’t see why it’d hurt to still give some kind of starting point lol
I don’t measure anything out. Being able to season something to the right taste is more of a skill than anything else that needs constant practice, tasting, feedback, and fine-tuning.
I agree with you in a way. The problem is when you’re dealing with something like raw hamburger meat–you’re not going to be able to effectively taste it until it’s all cooked, that is, if you’re not willing to risk getting some type of food poisoning from ingesting raw meat. Even something like ‘a walnut-sized amount of salt’ would help at this point because it would potentially be the only thing from keeping me dumping in an entire 50-lb bag of sea-salt on the basis of why-not-let’s-try-and-see. I’m just saying :P
The first go-around you should use small amounts and keep adding more and more until it tastes good, fry up a few samplers in the process to check seasoning. I wish I could explain the amount as I have seasoned so many things I tend to get them right the first time – known among my old culinary pals as “rain manning it.”
hmmm. I’m not sure I can get past the cut up hot dog. Not that I have anything against the might HD, just when it’s cut up and added to anything else– the thought of it makes me want to puke. But I love the idea of diced mushrooms.
I’m feeling a juvenile need to start something. But have any of you followed some of the comments over at cheeseslave where the logical follow-up to RRARF is an 800 calorie/day diet. All I can think of are (a) Matt’s adage that short term results are often the opposite of long-term results and (b) I really want to lose 20 lbs in 2 months :-) (just kiddin’…kinda) I guess I’ll have to see if she gains it all back.
http://www.cheeseslave.com/how-i-lost-20-pounds-in-2-months-on-a-high-carb-high-fat-diet/
I did notice that and I am concerned. I didn’t know it was 800 calories. Last I read she was just eating less and working out, but I became concerned because I thought the point was to just eat the food and work out if you feel like it. I don’t care about her weight. I am concerned about her health. Looking at past pictures of myself of when I thought I was fat I have come to realize that I had some serious issues. Dysmorphia. I thought I was so huge and now years later I am able to see the pictures objectively and see that I looked normal. Now I eat the food. I workout and do not concentrate to much energy on vanity. Although, I will say that dressing nicely has always helped me feel better about myself and have always believed no matter what weight one is if the person exuded confidence and dressed nicely he/she always looked good. Growing up there are a couple of women I saw who were “bigger” but I never saw them as fat because they seemed so comfortable and knew how to dress.
I stated my story because that’s how I have felt about cheeseslave since I first ran across her blog years ago. I’ve always felt she looked healthy and good and told her so. I’ve never thought she was “fat.”
I’ve met Cheeseslave in person twice. Just because a person doesn’t look like a fitness model does not make them “fat.” She looks great. She looks like Meg Ryan in a woman’s body.
I read this as well but she seems to be plugging some expensive equipment to assist weight loss; I wonder if she is on commission! Lots of the responses on her blog are very negative!
I read that. I’m shocked. And I’m even more shocked at how defensive she is in the comments. Has she learned nothing from this whole process?
I’m sure she’ll get away with it better than most for several reasons…
1) If her metabolic rate starts to show she knows the bazillion ways that manifests and will know to immediately add back calories
2) She is in excellent metabolic condition going into this with great sleep habits, well-primed for weight loss
3) She has no food issues, restricted foods, or demons that she’s ready to binge on.
Having said all that, 800 calories, if that’s true, is unnecessarily low. 20 pounds lost should be more of a 4-month project or longer.
Yeah, I just looked at all that. It’s true, she’s eating 800 calories per day. And I just read a comment she left about how she can’t possibly be starving herself because at 148 pounds she is overweight, and overweight people can’t be starving.
I *hope* she’s underestimating! Unfortunately, there are some really hard-core people who would take that literally and actually “succeed” in eating that little.
Susan, I could feed that burger to 100 people and not one would say “is there hot dog in this?” I’m telling you, there’s no way to detect it’s there. I began using diced hot dogs when I stopped eating pork as a flavor base every once in a while. Just ask Rob. He had some really good gumbo of mine, made with diced hot dogs instead of ham, bacon, and sausage like I would have used in the past.
That gumbo was awesome. And yes- tiny hot dog worked. I noticed it because it was the only meat in there, but in a burger, I reckon it would have faded into the background.
Ahhh, I was wondering about why you didn’t just use bacon–but, I get it, pork aversion. I always seem to have 1 Hebrew Natl. left over in the packso I may dare to try it and then when people ask my secret, I’ll get to say ‘diced hot dog’.
As for Cheeseslave, I agree that she’s a cutie to the max and I also think knowing the signs of metabolic down-regulation will keep her out of too much danger. But, I do think her advice is unnecessarily restrictive ( yes, she does say she’s trying to keep her calories under 1000 all while using a treadmill desk) and I’m kind of wondering if the weight loss will stick. Heck, maybe there’s some benefit of doing a quick crash diet and then getting back to normal eating rather than a year long 1500 calorie regime. But the commenters are all referencing 180 degree kind of like this is the logical next step to your program. Get your temps back up and then you can start dieting again!
wow. my grammar is awful.
I did state something to that effect in 180 Metabolism only to later recant it in the addendum. There is definitely a difference between dieting with a high metabolic rate vs. dieting with a low metabolic rate in terms of the fat loss one will experience and the ease with which the pounds will come off. Still not certain it will work out smoothly, but I hope ol’ Cheesy is one of the select few that manages to “get lucky.”
I have to wonder if she would admit that she gained it all back after some of the comments that she received.
I was saddened to read that she was restricting to that level and can admit that it made me want to restrict again just so I can lose weight. Although I will never diet again, I can’t help but sometimes be triggered in to thinking that it might not cause me much harm (too much out there that makes me realize otherwise though!). Her title was very misleading and I can see why she received some of the comments that she did.
It still amazes me the level of misinformation out there and how hard it is to break it. Maybe one day!
I kinda regret reading this post, because now I REALLY want a burger, but I do not have the necessary ingredients, and the shops are closed (and I live miles out of town)! Glad to hear that you’re a bun-toaster. Toasted buns are pretty much compulsory in our house.
Matt, on the subject of food, I just wanted to thank you thank you thank you for doing the knife skills tutorial on 180 degree kitchen.
http://180kitchen.wordpress.com/tag/matt-stone/
I’d been cooking for 30 years, and your video was a revelation. OMG, when I think about all the time I could have saved had I known how to handle the blade properly….
Still to this day my most popular video.
Agree, great video! Another good source for techniques is Jacques Pepin videos (lots free on KQED’s web site). His tips are more embedded in whatever he’s cooking that show than straight instruction, so you can’t quite find how to do XYZ by looking for it, necessarily, but might pick it up while he shows “my aunt’s gratin” or whatever.
Matt, I always find something thoughtful on your blog. I’ve been feeling vaguely guilty over the fact that all I feel like cooking these days is scrambled eggs, and toast…with plenty of butter. I have a background as a holistic health coach, and what a rude awakening to hit this point where I’m just not that turned-on about cooking healthy, delicious meals. It feels like a “should”.
I returned to your site after a recent bout of “emotional eating” and I put it in quotes because we’re always eating “emotionally” as human beings. The problem comes in when we start obsessing over having gained 5 pounds. And, having worked to heal this pattern over many years, I was disturbed to find myself wanting to get stricter, restrict without calling it a diet. Sneaky stuff like that.
So, thank you for creating this space where I can come for a dose of sanity and humor. And when I feel like cooking something, I will give that burger of yours a try. No ketchup, I promise.
It’s interesting that you would say that about emotional eating, as the more I think about it the less I believe that there is such a thing as an emotional eater, or at least it is ‘over-diagnosed’.
If you are stressed and unhappy and the very act of eating is the ultimate de-stressor, why is it emotional eating as it seems to be just the natural reaction to stressful situations?
Yeah! Exactly. It’s not the emotional eating that’s the problem, it’s the cause of the emotions. Your body’s only doing what it needs to do.
Sounds great, you just forgot the fried onions on top.
It’s pretty oniony on the inside. Crunchy texture is there with fried bun and panko crust. No fried onions needed.
Delicious food from a regular ol’ grocery store. Thank you, thank you! Can’t wait to try it. Would love to see many more yummy recipes! :)
OH. MY. WORD. Just had the BEST burger EVER! My Mini Matt made these for our 4th celebration. Matt, you seriously could win a contest with these. You are right, you can’t detect the hotdog at all. Seriously, the flavor is UNBELIEVABLE!!!! The yummy, buttery, crunchy-on -the -outside English muffin is just icing!
I’m so glad you mentioned the veggie thing. I thought I was the only one who SICK TO DEATH of veggies.(coming off 13 yrs mainly low carb) I think I’m just enjoying my more comfortable digestion without them!
It’s newb, not noob….newb.
English muffins? I’m in
if someone is to snobby for american cheese, they are probably also too snobby for a hot dog, which means this entire recipe probably isn’t for them. Just sayin’.
So Matt, Is your not eating pork left over from your RBTI days? That was a bad detour for me in many ways, thank you very much! Although, I did glean a few things that I continue to follow, like you, not too much water.
Great recipe, Matt! Perhaps you could start a burger franchise, starting small but then opening up more and more. You could call market it as the New Burger, or “the burger reimagined”, since the classic version isn’t optimal. Media would criticise you as “that guy who preaches that we’re actually supposed to enjoy eating”! Could be a good idea!