We generally buy our beef as a split side from a local farmer and have it in the freezer to use. The butcher wraps the hamburger in one pound packages, I’ve never asked them if we could get it wrapped in 1/2 pound packages. We get more stew beef than we do hamburger, but the result of all that is when Debbie and I make hamburgers we make a big 1/2 pound burger each.
So hamburgers for us are an over-the-top indulgent experience. Our favorite recipe for excessive burgers is the Schlow Burger. This recipe is from Michael Schlow’s cookbook, “It’s About Time.”
Makes two burgers
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons horseradish
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 slices good cheese
2 hamburger buns
crispy onions (recipe follows)
Procedure
Combine the ground beef with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and divide into two patties. Refrigerate until you’re ready to cook.
Combine the mayonnaise, horseradish, and lemon juice. Season with black pepper and set aside.
Cook the burgers until they’re almost as done you like. Cooking on a grill or a grill pan is your best bet.
Put a slice of cheese on each burger, turn off the heat, and cover the burgers. After about 4 minutes the cheese should be melted.
Toast the bun if that’s what you like (I do, Debbie doesn’t)
Place the burger on a bun and top the burgers with the horseradish sauce and the crispy onions.
Crispy Onions
Ingredients
One large yellow onion, sliced thin
Oil
Procedure
Put the onions and oil in a small sauce pan. Use enough oil to cover the onions by 1/2 inch or so.
Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to medium. Stir the onions around every few minutes.
Remove the onions and drain in a single layer when they are nicely browned. They’ll be soggy when you remove them, but will crisp up when they cool.
As incredibly excessive as the Schlow Burger is I wondered, “couldn’t we do better?” Continuous improvement is my mantra. When I saw Cooks Country make a ‘Juicy Lucy’ I thought I’d found the recipe to top the Schlow Burger.
Ingredients
1 pound hamburger
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 slices hearty white sandwich bread , torn into rough pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
two pieces of cheese, about 1/2 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches square
Procedure
Using a potato masher, mash bread, milk, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in large bowl until smooth. Add beef and gently knead until well combined.
Divide meat mixture into 4 equal portions. Take one portion of meat and wrap it around the cheese. Take the other portion of meat and wrap it around the cheese/meat pattie you just made. Repeat for the other burger.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Grill burgers over medium until well browned and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes per side.
Transfer to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes.
Serve with pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, or whatever you like.
While the molten cheese cooked in the Juicy Lucy was delightful, neither Debbie nor I liked the texture of the burger with bread and milk mixture.
For us, the Schlow Burger is still number one!
[1] If you’re searching for images of ‘juicy lucy’ you can do yourself a favor and search for ‘juicy lucy burger’ and avoid a lot of, er, interesting images.
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