babish is binging
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Bengie with babish is one of my favorite
dudes on the internet because like me
he's always down to improve his culinary
chops which is why I brought him to
George boats his kitchen the last time I
was there I learned about the unique
world of regional burgers and it blew my
mind
so I wanted to come back for another
round of schooling and taste test three
regional burger legends professor Gasol
yeah yeah I'm better you know the first
time I was here I was like starting my
burger journey and you showed me a
couple of regional burgers let's learn
more about some burgers and I brought
the homie here babish himself
babish nice wrap me welcome to my
kitchen it's like the Church of burgers
there's this way Ellen talks blooded
it's like coming to like a higher level
of burger education every time you come
here technique where it's from history
I've eaten thousands of thousands of
burgers in the last 18 years of research
and I have seen a lot of different
regional food ways what I have done this
is what I get to give to you is my
knowledge of method we did the East
Coast West Coast the new Angeles the Los
York burger in and out in China together
there's so many regional burgers out
there we've barely scratched the surface
we're gonna do three regional burgers
today one is the lacy edge burger that
exists pretty much only in central
Illinois the Juicy Lucy which is pretty
much only in Minneapolis and the Kuban
Freitag which again exists pretty much
only in Miami now is she ready for this
I'm tired I'm hungry I'm hungover I've
never been so this burger we sort of
called the lacy edge burger because it
has a lacy edge of beef can we call it
the laces Stacy I'm not changing the
name I don't know Stacy is but it's a
smash burger it's so thin on the edges
that when it cooks and of course as the
proteins and the beef start to
caramelize it becomes almost like a beef
candy a friend of mine in the Midwest
Titus Titus has really become my go-to
guy for all things Midwestern such a
burger named Titus Titus yeah
he has gone very very deep into the
world Glacia burger and he will be
discovered is that there is a very
definitive line you can draw
st. Louis almost to Chicago as there are
certain places nearby in Indiana and but
mostly in central Illinois it's very odd
because a place in st. Louis called
Carl's drivin and that place inspired
Danny Meyer to make Shake Shack he grew
up there he's from there yeah that was
his hometown burger we need a very hot
flattop
right now we're burnin it about look at
that 450 roughly right there's about a
three ounce ball of meat seasoning on
the but I'm literally salted right watch
this ready it's not smash straight down
it's smash and smear it flex it's ready
pop - what's up ladies
I should call up that doily oh my god
yeah out there
mr. smash Allah I sell these on my
website you see what's happening is
right away the proteins in the meat are
starting to turn the bag of beef candy
just about right yeah it's a Krispies
yes like a pancake with the outer crispy
edge oh I'll be the judge of that if you
go to Carl's drive-in in st. Louis they
put a little bit of chopped onion on
there and some pickles on top but that's
pretty much it it's done look at that
you can see through it you can see
through this guy that's really like sort
of turned the whole world of smash
burgers on its head for me because that
takes a lot of precision and expertise
Wayne
you think about smash burgers today is
that they've made it foolproof by using
something called a channel Smasher both
places like Shake Shack and five guys
the spatula actually has these sort of
these stops on it so when you go do
smash a burger so as like a thickness it
never changed it's always give you the
exact same thickness that's sort of make
it foolproof so you there's no way you
can ever cook a burger under Turner
burger but this actually involves method
because the center is still little bit
you know that's what makes it awesome
the edges are thin yeah you can tell
this is something that spawned Shake
Shack because there's soul in this that
burger you know it was substantial but
unfairly there it's all about crust it
is it is a it is a burger made of crust
whoa yeah next level next level in your
education the next line next level the
next burger on the syllabus is the Juicy
Lucy
the famous juicy list legendary as you
know is cheese stuffed I've [ __ ] this
up a hundred million times it's actually
pretty easy to [ __ ] up because it is
pure science George what's the what's
the back story behind this burger Juicy
Lucy I don't I think there was a Lucy a
guy ran into a bar
mass bar in Minneapolis and he said make
me something different and the time the
bartender the owner he said okay how
about I put some cheese in between two
patties I cook that for him what do you
think is great why not
and apparently you took one bite of the
burger and it burned his face nice in
whoa that's one Juicy Lucy no that's I
mean no I think there's one witness I'm
picturing this is like pork by a Josie
one Juicy Lucy that's actually two
pinched patties together only way that
should make this burger correctly is to
use a patty press one this is rad show
okay put two nearly identical size okay
now cheese goes on the inside cheese has
to be obviously folded up so that it can
fit I'm gonna watch this this please get
put together on the partner paper just
like that right see that they do this
every day at matchbox I'm not pinching
I'm actually pushing here onto the
flattop
now hey if you're at Matt's they do use
chopped onion they put one of these on
the grill and then they'll just throw
chopped onion all over the place stuff
it's like a PITA right now you know like
wouldn't you make a peanut like yeah it
starts to bubble up cuz like all the
heat length starting to build up on flip
look at that crust right so how do you
prevent cheese blowout toothpick top
Center relieve watch what happens here
watch this
very gonna sit right there those what
I'm sure is being relieved and liquid is
coming out the top yeah hot molten
cheese be careful that's hot
yes hot yeah look at that cheese it's
perfect this is a stunt burger making
some burgers
isn't necessarily efficient or practical
at all not at all most stuff burgers are
such flops but when you nail it and you
get something like this it's stuff of
legend and to think that this burger was
actually invented at Matt's because
they're trying to keep people in the bar
drinking mmm that was they used to give
them out for free at work was a famine
burgers be a free burger burn your
tongue the Cuban frita Florida
specifically in Miami it's only in
Little Havana I think every single human
being who shows up in Miami has to make
the point to cross 95 into the actual
cultural part of Miami and one of the
most incredible things happening there
is the freaked out take us there it's
the Cuban hamburger in 1959 Cubans began
to flee their country following the
Cuban Revolution and many settled in
Miami
only about 200 miles away the Freda was
one of the culinary survivors of the
Exodus sharing the same DNA as the
American hamburger the Freda was served
from Street carts in Havana before Fidel
Castro seized control of the country was
absolutely fascinating about this burger
is that today you can't find this burger
in Cuba it phased out yet communist Cuba
would not keep up with the demand from
look over how many breeds be happier
even lots of ingredients I noticed that
there's no she's here exactly no cheese
to a traditional freedom yes there's so
much going on this burger you don't
actually need cheese I'm sure in fact
it's cuz it's a sort of a line of
demarcation you can tell in a free to
place who's younger or older because
elder folks won't order cheese at all
I'm also noticing that looks like patent
kebab
is that that's right this is actually
exactly what this these are it's Cuban
bread in the shape of the hamburger bun
the most important part of the fruit
experience is actually spicing the meat
this is actually shaved onions right
chopped garlic freaking they're
obviously a pinch of cumin just like
that oh I can smell it already
pretty good-sized bite a 4-ounce ball
I'm going to use it gets onions first so
times a lot of onions onions in the
Ferger ready in Miami they use a sauce
everyone has a proprietary liquid look
it's mostly water butts water hot sauce
vinegar tomato paste garlic some onions
some sugar magic in swimming that's
basically it so it's a bottle magic in a
bottle and then watch this is what they
do that's the edges well you smell that
smell the liquids that bring the sugars
are certain the Karma for you is this
like pushing the boundaries of what's a
burger remains a burger pretty great
question
this is yeah that's a great question the
minute you started to put spice into the
meat I think you're already pushing the
definition of whatever real American
hamburger should be but you know it's
okay I'll let it slide for this because
this is a [ __ ] phenomenal burger
right anyway there you go I'll do a
waiting and look at that roll from
Miami's the first they do it they put
more - right they take their julienned
fried potatoes now on top of that which
I never would normally do again is put
ketchup on a burger and see Viper flip
the sauce I know but they do it this is
what they do I'm just giving you the
traditional house is it this is a
traditional Frieda with some here you go
the normal moment actually press it in
and the sandwich press BAM
I got a crunch
oh whoa that's way different than I was
expecting even Wow it definitely tastes
like chorizo for sure yeah that's the
first thing I thought of when I had a
garlic is nice the potato crunches work
yeah it's like The X Factor and I love
the pumpkin but I feel like yeah big
pillowy I'm actually not a big fan of
usually putting fries and sandwiches
it's frankly Griffin asked which I agree
but but this is a fabulous it's almost
like putting chips in their sandwich
which I'm much more in favor of yeah
this is this is why if you go to Miami
you cannot just put your ass on the
beach and go home you have to get your
butt across the highway and eat one of
these things knowing this story and then
eating the burger it's just like makes
it that much better
so three burgers today Laci edge burger
the Juicy Lucy
and now the free tab yeah if you could
pick a favorite you guys which would you
pick as your favorite yeah I think I
like the first American you know to me
it's like it's what a hamburger should
be I'm a purist if one could go national
well I can see this becoming like super
hot and spicy like right get hot chicken
it's now the hot burger right no it's
actually this that's what that's can be
both my favorite and the one that I
think should get national I think is the
Juicy Lucy for some reason I have this
affection for it even though I've only
ever been to Minneapolis once for some
reason I have this like hometown pride
about it it's like a sleeper all right
it's like an unassuming if you look at
it you do know stuff with cheesy just be
like awesome it's it's a burger George
thank you so much for having me in your
home in the burger Church exposing me to
these and broadening our burger horizons
thank you so much man I'll see you for
the next class
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