30 years old

Well this is my last post. As promised I want to recap the last thirty weeks. My first burger was made on August 29th 2009. It was a simple Bacon Cheddar burger. My last burger was on March 21st. It was the classic cheeseburger. Two very plain and simple burgers as bookends to my blog. I made thirty burgers. I grilled fourteen of them and steamed five of them. I also pressed one, the Cuban burger. When I started the blog it was in the hot August days of summer. It was also 2009. As I ended the blog the spring was just starting to peak its head out although not quite there. I cooked fourteen burgers outdoors and sixteen of them inside. Since the blog began we have seen Thanksgiving, Christmas, and St Patrick's Day. I went to see Bruce Springsteen. The yankees won the World Series and The Giants tanked down the stretch. I went to a wedding and spent a weekend in Baltimore for my wife's birthday. I made a lot of different burgers with plenty of themes. I used a St Patti's day theme, a Thanksgiving theme, a Philly cheesesteak theme, and a breakfast theme. I also made burgers in very different styles, I made a Cuban burger, an Italian burger, two Mexican burgers, an Irish burger, a Greek burger, a Japanese burger, a Thai burger, and a southwestern burger. During the course of this blog I made a pretty big lifestyle switch. During the making of "The New American Burger" I decided to eat organic for all produce, meats, and dairy. The most popular meat was obviously beef. However, I also used Lamb, Buffalo, chicken, turkey, sausage, and portobello. The buns were mostly soft wheat hamburger rolls but I also used a few other types as well. I used Kaiser rolls, Sesame buns, potato rolls, and my favorite the Portuguese roll. I used Cheddar cheese five times and gorgonzola cheese twice. I also used feta, American, swiss, imported Irish cheddar, gouda, Parmesan, asiago, fontina, and cheese whiz. I used seven different types of buns including one burger with no bun at all. My most common vegetables were peppers. I used several different types. I used anaheim peppers, poblano peppers, bell peppers, pimento peppers, cherry peppers, piquillo peppers, and lots of jalapenos. I even used a homemade jalapeno guacamole in my Mexican Hamburger. There were two different elaborate spice rubs but the most common spice trio was salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. The most unusual ingredient that I used would have to be peanut butter. I definitely tried several new things that I never would have made or ordered before. I made several homemade sauces and dressings. My favorite was a the three cheese green chili sauce. I condiments as simple as ketchup and mustard. I also created my own mixes such as a chipotle mayo. I used two fruits in my burgers. The obvious one is tomatoes and the other was pear. I used three different types of bacon and two types of sausage. Lots of people have commented on their favorite burgers but the most common question that I received was which burger was your favorite. I think answering this question is kind of like asking who are the greatest baseball players of all time. Sure I can give you a list but once you get to the top two or three you are splitting hairs. So in no particular order my five best burgers in the last thirty weeks are:

The Cuban Burger

La Hamberguesa Mexicana

Lamb Gyro Burger

Philly Cheesesteak Burger

The Classic Cheeseburger

Thanks for everyone who read this blog and for those who made suggestions and commented online and to me in person. It was a lot of fun to do and to eat as well. The funny thing was throughout the whole process I never got sick of burgers. The possibilities were and remain endless. I even had two burgers out at restaurants outside of this blog in the past thirty weeks. Hopefully I inspired some of you to try a new idea for a burger, or a sandwich, or a meal. Take care everyone and thanks again for reading.

Joe

The classic cheeseburger

For my last burger I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I thought about a fancy sauce. I thought about using a new cheese that I have never tried. I thought about using thirty separate ingredients. I thought about using two pancakes as my buns and covering it with maple syrup. No, I really did think about that. At the end of the day it hit me. What's better than just a good cheeseburger? When a burger is done well you don't need fancy ingredients or themes. You just need the basics. Excellent quality fresh ground beef. Melted yellow American cheese. Crisp romaine lettuce. A slice of Jersey fresh tomato. Sliced Kosher pickles. All on a sesame seed bun with mustard and ketchup. I went to Whole Foods and had the butcher freshly ground 80% lean beef. I wanted the beef to be the star here and not the toppings. I made a monster burger with lots of ground beef. This ground beef looked and smelled great. It was the type that you could almost eat raw. I hand formed a pattie and seasoned it with just some salt and pepper. I also used my thumb to make an indentation on one side. I learned this from Bobby Flay. He does this to all of his burgers because it creates a pocket to help keep the moisture in when you cook the burger. For those of you who live in New Jersey the weather this past weekend was gorgeous. It was in the 70's with sun and no humidity. Because of this I was able to break out the grill and cook my last burger outside. I can't remember the last time I was able to cook outside on the grill. It was probably back in November. After I cleaned the grill off I was able to turn the heat up to high. When the grates were nice and hot I placed the thick burger seasoning side down to sear in the flavor. It has been a while since I last cooked outside so I had to really watch the burger to make sure I didn't overcook it. Also, this burger was a lot thicker than the ones I had made the past few weeks. I closed the lid to create a convection like cooking enviorment. I had to really create an even heat or the burger would be charred on the outside and raw in the middle. After I cooked the burger for about 8 minutes I flipped it over to see beautiful grill marks that you just can't get from cooking inside. I then covered with two slices of yellow American Cheese and covered again to melt. At this point I lightly toasted the bun on the grill. When the bun was done I added the ketchup and mustard on the top half. After about 14 minutes total cooking time the burger was done and I placed the burger on the toasted bun and covered with one piece of lettuce, a slice of tomato, and three kosher pickle slices. Wow was this burger good. In the end I have learned that sometimes less is more. The burger itself was really good and without a doubt it was the star of the show here. A lot of times a restaurant will make up for their lower quality beef by using a sauce to mask the flavor. When you make a good burger you really don't need all the other toppings. The fresh lettuce and tomato just compliment the burger. The pickles with the ketchup and mustard are up to the individual to decide but they are generally considered part of the classic cheeseburger. Well, the time is here for this burger blog to be done. Next Friday I will be thirty years old. What first seemed like an impossible task is now done. Honestly, I feel like I could keep going. I learned that burgers are limitless. Whatever your individual tastes are you can create into a burger. I am not sure what I plan to have for dinner next Sunday but I do have some left over chopped ground beef in the freezer. I do have one more blog entry to write before I say goodbye. Next week I plan to write a recap of the last 30 weeks. That should be fun. I want to take a look back at the highs and the lows and recap all of the different burgers. I guess I will finish with a quote from Tim McGraw's "My Next Thirty years". Oh my next thirty years, I'm gonna watch my weight. Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late. Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers. Maybe I'll remember my next thirty years. My next thirty years will be the best years of my life. Raise a little family and hang out with my wife.

St. Patti's Day Burger

In honor of St Patrick's Day I decided to make an Irish themed burger. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to cook a burger at all. Because of the torrential downpour and heavy winds we lost power from Saturday night until Sunday afternoon. We were without power for twenty one hours. When the power went back on at about 3:30 I had to rush out to the store and buy the groceries for this week's burger. For this burger I decided to use ground lamb. I seasoned the lamb with salt and pepper and then poured in a bottle of Sam Adams Boston Lager. If I really wanted to get Irish I probably should have used Guinness or Smithwick's. However all I had was the Sam Adams and I didn't feel like making an extra trip to the liquor store. After soaking the seasoned lamb in the Beer for a few minutes I then poured the contents of the mixing bowl into a strainer. After straining out the excess liquid I put the meat back into the mixing bowl and again seasoned with salt and pepper. During this process I preheated the oven to 450 degrees. I really wanted to find Irish bacon. However, I was on a time crunch and I looked at two different stores and could not find it anywhere. I had to settle for Canadian bacon. It is very similar to Irish bacon so that would have to do. I cooked the bacon in the oven on a wire rack until the edges crisped up. This took about 15 minutes. After I let the ground lamb which was soaked in the beer sit for a few minutes I then took my Irish butter and cut it into small cubes. The butter was Kerry Gold Irish butter. I took a few patties and used them to coat the bottom of my cast iron skillet. I also used some semi soft butter cubes to fold right into the burger pattie. I got this idea from Paula Dean on the Food Network. If you have ever seen her then you would know her love of butter. She used to make butter burgers for her kids when they were little. I thought the ideas was crazy but when you put the butter cubes actually inside the burger then it melts and gives the burger a great flavor from the inside out. It also helps to keep the burger moist while it cooks. I placed the burger on the cast iron and let it cook in the Irish butter. After about 6 minutes I flipped the burger over and covered with my cheese. My choice of cheese was an imported Irish Cheddar called Dubliner. I took two thin slices and covered the burger and then I covered with a lid to really melt the cheese. When the burger cooked it released the beer into the pan. Then when I covered the burger with the lid it created a steam to help cook the burger thoroughly. What can be better for flavor than a beer and butter steam bath? Because of the liquids steaming the burgers you don't get a crust like you would when you cook on a dry pan or on a grill. You do get a very moist and flavorful burger with a consistent texture. My choice of bread was of course a potato roll which I sliced and covered with a horseradish mustard. I again salted and peppered the bun with the mustard spread. When the bacon was done I seasoned that with fresh cracked pepper as well. I have learned from Bobby Flay that the key to a good meal is to layer your seasonings. Every layer needs to be properly seasoned. I then placed the burger on the roll and then the bacon on top. My first impression of the burger was the flavor of the beer. It really made a huge difference. Secondly was the moist burger with a crunchy piece of Canadian bacon on top. Last was the horseradish mustard. It provided a great kick for the burger. I definitely plan to use it again on Wednesday when we are having corned beef and cabbage. I can't believe I only have one burger left. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them. I really do not know what I plan to make next week. I also plan to write a 30 week recap of all of the burgers on the week of my 30th birthday. So with two posts to go until this blog is officially done I am excited. Take care and don't forget to send in suggestions for my last burger.

Thai Burger

Let me start by saying that I have never had Thai food. From what I know about Thai food it involves a lot of spicy sauces and peanut sauces and dressings. I eat peanut butter pretty much every day. I also love spicy foods so this seemed like a pretty good idea for a burger. I literally googled "Thai peanut burger" for an idea of how to go about this. I found one which seemed pretty good and went at it. Of course I tweaked it a little to my liking. I went to Whole Foods and bought out the Thai food section. In a large mixing bowl I hand mixed the ground beef with the seasonings. I used salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, and garlic. Then I mixed in the wet ingredients. I used soy sauce, teryiaki sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ginger paste, fresh lime juice, and a store bought Thai roasted red pepper paste. Lastly, I used Skippy peanut butter. I heaped on two large tablespoons. I used my hands to mix up all of this into a pattie for my burger. This was extremely messy but I formed the burger and placed it on a piece of tin foil. I coated my cast iron pan with habenero butter and turned the heat to high. When the butter melted and the pan was hot enough I placed the burger on it. I could see the peanut butter starting to melt but the outside of the burger was getting crusty in sections. After 6 minutes I flipped the burger over which was not easy to do. The peanut butter melted and the burger was not staying together in the pattie form. For the bun I used a hard sesame kaiser bun. I cut the bun in half and covered one half in honey while I used a "Hot Thai chili sauce" on the other half. I let the burger cool down and then placed it on the bun and covered with a little bit more of the Thai hot sauce. Overall I would say that this burger was pretty good. I am not quite sure how to describe it. Like I said I have never had Thai food before but this was my impression of what it is like. The burger was definitely spicy and definitely creamier than a normal burger. But I could still get a some texture from the beef searing on the pan and the hard crusty bread. It was unlike any burger I had ever had before. The overall flavor profile was heavy on the peanut butter but after you start to eat the burger then the spice hits you on the way down. I am glad that I decided to make this burger. Several times on this burger journey I got the opportunity to try something that I probably never would have decided to try. I look forward to next week because I don't have many left before the big 3 0.

Turkey Burger BLT

First of all I am sorry about the late post. I was very busy yesterday and did not have the time to go shopping and cook. My sister in Law is on a diet and therefore she is starving. Becasue of this she sits around all day and thinks of burgers she wishes she could have. Out of about twenty suggestions one sounded pretty good and also doable. The burger was supposed to be similar to a classic BLT that you can get in any Diner, Drive In, or Dive around the country. Add some turkey and you have a Turkey BLT. I used peppercorn bacon again just like I did last time I used bacon for this blog. I preheated the oven to 400 and cooked the bacon on a wire rack for about 15 or 20 minutes. The ground turkey I wanted as simple as possible. I just added a little bit of salt and black pepper. I tried to make the patties really thin and more rectangular so that it would fit well with the bread as opposed to a bun. I cooked up the turkey burgers on a cast iron skillet with just a little bit of vegetable oil to coat the pan. I cooked them for about 8 minutes on each side to make sure the turkey was cooked thoroughly. For the bread I used a light Jewish Rye bread which I toasted lightly. A typical BLT has Mayo for moisture. I found a bottle of a garlic aioli in the store. An aioli is just oil infused with some flavoring. This one was a garlic flavored sauce. I mixed some of the aioli with some Helman's mayo and used that in between slices of bread. Finally it was time to put the sandwich together. I started with the toasted bread slathered with the garlic dressing. Then I topped it with a thin turkey burger. Next was the peppercorn bacon, lettuce, and tomato. I repeated the entire process for a double decker turkey burger BLT. Three slices of bread, two turkey burgers, 2 tomatoes, 4 pieces of lettuce, 4 slices of bacon, and a delicious garlic dressing. This burger was a big one. Good thing I was pretty hungry after going back to work today. I stuck a large steak knife through the sandwich for the effect and this was a delicious burger. It was a simply good combo just like the classic BLT. I am running out of time folks. If you have any suggestion please send them in. Remember, if you like the blog then sign up to become a follower and don't forget you can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them. See you next week.

Coffee rubbed spice burger .

This burger had the special honor of having my mom come and visit. While she is not quite as adventurous as I am in eating she played along and ate the burger anyway. But as I told her, my blog would be pretty boring if every week was a plain cheeseburger. For this burger I created a spice rub which was similar to one I saw Bobby Flay use on a steak. The rub consisted of Mexican chili powder, sweet smoked paprika, garlic salt, yellow mustard seed, coriander, salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, and the main ingredient coffee grinds. The yellow mustard seed and the coriander I grinded myself and the rest was in powder form. Then I dumped all of the spices into a bowl on top of the ground beef and hand mixed until all the seasonings were soaked up by the beef. Then I hand formed into three even spice rubbed patties. The next step was to grate the cheese. For this burger I decided to use an aged Gouda cheese. For those of you who have never had Gouda it is probably my favorite cheese. I would recommend a 3 year aged Gouda. It is similar to cheddar but has a fuller and deeper flavor. It is also kind of a nutty cheese where a little goes a long way. I heated the cast iron skillet with a little vegetable oil and turned the heat up to high. Then when the skillet was hot enough I placed the burger on it to get a nice sear and really crust up those spices on the outside of the burger. Then after about 4 minutes I added some water onto the skillet to create the steam and covered it with a lid. Another 3 minutes and I flipped the burger over and covered with the grated Gouda. Then I added some more water and recovered just until the cheese was melted on top. For the bun this week I chose a Portuguese roll. The last step in the burger was a slathering of Mesa Grill barbecue sauce on top. The variety of pepper in this burger was evident from the first bite. Between the Mexican chili powder, the smoked paprika, and the black pepper the burger had plenty of flavor and a great crust. For those of you who have never used coffee as a rub before it really doesn't overpower the other flavorings. In fact the coffee just added a little richer flavor to the burger. If you didn't know it was coffee rubbed you probably wouldn't be able to pick it out by taste. I wouldn't say this burger was spicy but more so it was heavily seasoned. The spices make the different textures in the burger. The beef remains moist on the inside while the spices form a nice crunchy crust. The BBQ sauce from Mesa Grill is a nice touch as well because it has a little kick to it with great flavor and obviously moisture. The burger was solid. I wouldn't put this is my top five but it was definitely good. I recommend clicking on the picture of the burger to zoom in and really see the spice crust. I am down to only four weeks left.

Cheddar Bacon sliders with a honey mayo dressing

This week's burger was on Saturday night because my wife and I have a valentine's dinner date tomorrow at the Spanish Tavern in Newark. I wanted to go back to using my slider maker. I bought all of the ingredients at Whole Foods. I used beef for this burger. The ground beef was organic grass fed and was 85% lean meat. For the bacon I used an uncured peppercorn seasoned bacon that was delicious. I used a rack and set the oven to 400 degrees. While the bacon was cooking in the oven I prepared the beef into thin little patties and seasoned them with some sea salt. After the bacon was about half done I wrapped each burger with a thick slice of peppercorn bacon and covered it with some grated extra sharp cheddar cheese. Then I preheated the slider maker and the press and cooked the bacon wrapped cheddar burger until it was about medium. I found these great little rolls in the bread section at Whole Foods. These were soft and had a nice outer crust. I would say they were sort of like Potato rolls. The last step was to make my dressing to go on the buns. In a mixing bowl I combined some olive oil mayo and some honey. Then I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and red chili flakes. Lastly, I mixed in some brown mustard for taste. This burger was really good. The peppercorn bacon alone would have made anything taste good. It was seasoned very heavily which I loved. The dressing was a little sweet and a little spicy and provided a creamy back taste to the rest of the burger. As a whole the burger was another success. And finally for dessert I had a Reese's peanut butter heart and a chocolate covered pretzel which were valentine's day gifts from my wife and my mother in law. I better get to the gym early tomorrow morning because after this dinner and the Spanish Tavern tomorrow I will need to cut back for a while. To all of the people who read my blog please sign in as a follower. Also, I am not sure if everyone knows this but if you click on the pictures of the burgers you can see them zoomed in for a better look. See you next week.