Hey, whats up guys!
Welcome back to Basics with Babish
Where this week we're doing burgers and fries.
Do I really have to do like a whole... sales pitch?
Lets get down to Basics
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All right guys so the first thing we need to do is start the french fry making process
This means peeling and slicing some potatoes
So we're gonna start by peeling potatoes
Duh
And then slicing into planks and then into almost french fry like shapes
As thick or thin as you like them, this is only going to change frying time
Then we're immediately dropping these bad boys into some 375 degree Fahrenheit (190.5 degrees Celsius) peanut oil
That is my deep frying oil of choice, if you have an allergy to peanuts try canola or vegetable
You might be saying now: "Hey babish those fries aren't done!"
To which I would respond: "I know and that's not my real name"
What we're doing is freezing the fries after par frying
This is going to crystallize their interiors
And make them extra fluffy after a second fry
While those guys are freezing for at least 4 hours
It is time to address maybe one of the top two
most important part of the burger and fries the burger
I've got my preferred selection of meats here for grinding
Short rib, brisket, and sirloin
They're all bringing something different to the table
Be it fattiness, minerality or beefiness
And they're gonna come together and make a really flavorful fatty, beautiful burger
First thing we gotta do is get rid of the bone in the short rib, if you have a bone in short rib
Best to buy these boneless because you're going to get more meat and you have to do less butchery
Once you've removed the bones, trim off any silver skin that you see
Because this stuff will not break down
It'll be chewy bits in your burger
and you don't want that
and then start
cutting it into 1 inch strips
That we're gonna then cut crosswise into about 1 to 2 inch chunks
Which will be perfect for our meat grinder
Then we're going to rinse and repeat with our other cuts of beef
On the brisket this is nothing but fat, we can hang on to all of this
As long as you're knife cuts easily through it, it's probably fine for your burger
Now there is some silver skin hiding in the middle of our sirloin
So we're going to pull it apart at the seam to reveal the dastardly little devil hiding inside
Once you got all your sinew and silver skin removed
and all your meat broken down, its time to place all this on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes
To firm up the meat for the meat grinder
During which time we could get our burger accoutrements ready
Just going to very thinly slice some tomatoes, I like them about a quarter of the width of a sheet of paper
And a few slices of red onion, and last but not least some iceberg lettuce
This is the only kind of lettuce that belongs on a burger because it is nearly flavourless
We're gonna simply shred it by cutting it in half
Removing the core and then cutting into thin slices down the length of the lettuce half
And then cutting cross wise into perfect little burger size shreds
and That's what I like to top the burger with
put whatever you want in there but i reserve the right to judge you
Like if you didn't put special sauce on there, I'd think you are a real, true weirdo
And special sauce is simple enough to make
Simply mix together equal parts ketchup and mayo, maybe half cup each
Add a good sprinkling of garlic powder and onion powder
Then i like to add a little bit of smoked paprika, but you could use regular paprika if you don't want too much of a smokey vibe going on
A heaping helping of sweet relish
And that's about it, just mix the whole thing together
Even if you just mix together
Equal parts ketchup and mayo, it's a delicious sauce to put on a burger
Or dip your fries in, or to just eat with a spoon. That i will not judge you for
I promise
Give it a little taste, make sure its good
Of course it is
Then it's time to get down to the business of meat grinding
now I've had my grinder parts chilling in the freezer
With the meat for a little bit longer, maybe 30 minutes to an hour
To make sure everything is really super cold
This prevents the beef from smearing when we push it through the feed hole
That's what it is called...
We can see that our beef is all firmed up after about 20 minutes in the freezer
And, avoiding the spinning wheel of death on the bottom of our stand mixer
We're going to start feeding the beef into the grinder
A few pieces at a time, pushing the beef down the tube with whatever included
Baseball bat or night stick
The grinder came with
And watch the meat cascade, gleefully out the medium size grind plate
Which I think is the best size for ground beef, for burgers
Make sure the'res some gray stuff coming out
Which might indicate your grinder is grinding metal
Also make sure no long stringy stuff is coming out
That could be sinew or your beef might not be cold enough
And take a moment to appreciate the beautiful pebbly ground beef that you're able to achieve
When you grind your own meat at home
This pebbly-ness is going to help us create a burger that is less close textured
Than one made from a store bought ground beef
Which is a little mushy and paste-y
So now we're gonna start gently pressing these into 4 and 1/2 to 5 ounce patties
Im going for a solid 1/3rd pounder burger
But make them as thick as you want, It's your house
Once we've got the burgers formed, they can chill out in the fridge
While we finish up our fries
We've got the oil reheated to 375 °F (190.5 °C)
We've got our rock solid fries out of the freezer and into the oil
The initial fry was for about 8 minutes this is going to be from 4 to 6 minutes
Until we get beautifully browned exteriors and fluffy light interiors
As soon as you've let these guys drain for 30 seconds to 1 minute
We're gonna to put them immediately into a bowl and toss with a healthy sprinkle of kosher salt
Go ahead and taste one to make sure that it isn't poison
Maybe two just to be extra safe
And then these aren't the only things getting salted
Lets move over back to the patties
Whom will be receiving a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Do not ever salt your burgers before you form the patties
Please don't ever let me catch you doing this
Now one of the most important things you guys know
That I love to do, and that you should do for every burger you ever make is
Toast your buns in some butter
Please
I'm sorry I'm being so emphatic right now
But these things are important
Get a nice golden toast going on in there
Add some vegetable oil to your cast iron skillet and get that guy ripping hot!
Before adding your beef patty
I'm just doing one for the sake of demonstration
But you can do up to 4 at a time
Let this sit over medium high heat for a solid 3 to 4 minutes
Until a beautiful crust has formed on one side
And you can see a little bit of cooked brown-ness
Creeping up the side of the patty
Once you've flipped it, we're going to almost immediately hit it with some American cheese
Hate on American cheese all you like
It is the best cheese for burgers
Then we are going to add about a tablespoon of water and cover the burger
Allowing the cheese to melt and helping the burger to cook more evenly
I mean, come on. Look at that
Use an instant read thermometer to determine if you've cooked your burger to your desired degree of done-ness
And its time to plate up
Onto a waiting bed of lettuce, we're going to deposit our patty
Always best to put the lettuce underneath the burger as this helps to prevent the lettuce from wilting
And then top with our tomato, onion, special sauce, the top of the bun
Bottom of the bun if you want to be extra special
Top the whole thing up and serve along with your frenched fries
And there you have it
One very serious homemade burger and fries
Now it's time, of course, for the requisite cross section
I'm going to show you three levels of acceptable doneness
Lets start with medium
That's where you take burger off the heat at about 135 °f letting it rest until it hits maybe 140°f
Then for slightly braver souls
There is rare, where we're taking it off at 120°F letting it rest until 125°F
And then the sweet spot medium rare
125°F to 130°F
Tender, Juicy, Delicious
If you're freaking out about beef cooked below USDA recommended done-ness temperatures
You have much less to worry about if you're grinding your own beef at home
So give it a shot whatever minor risks there are
Are out weighed by the importance of enjoying a really delicious burger