4 days ago
Make Better Burgers
Good morning. I've been putting in the miles this summer, driving north and south, east and west, 400 miles to pine trees, Ellsworth Schist and the nice folks at Left Bank Books in Belfast, Maine, and more than that to northern Ohio (shouts to Kim's Grocery!). Most recently, I laid down an easy 100 to Tivoli, N.Y. and the excellence of an Italian sub at Club Sandwich on Broadway. I see the road before me and think about food as I drive.
Most often, recently, that's meant burger reverie. You can, of course, get great hamburgers on the road. Try the Red Rooster on Route 22 in Brewster, N.Y., or the Fat Boy on Bath Road in Brunswick, Maine. But behind the wheel, I dream most often of being home in front of the grill, cooking patties for my family and myself, in advance of a nap in an Adirondack chair, free of deadlines and appointments.
Kenji López-Alt has been of great assistance in this regard. He's put together a terrific new Cooking 101 guide to cooking burgers, and accompanied it with recipes that deliver blue-ribbon results.
I like his instructions for a smash burger (above), worth doubling up if you're hungry. (I cook that one on a griddle on my grill, though you could certainly use a cast-iron pan in the kitchen.) Also, his diner-style burger to recall the crusty, beef-forward one served at J.G. Melon in Manhattan, and his backyard burger, dimpled at the center, thick and tender, with a smoky char.
I serve each of these beneath cloaks of cheese, on toasted potato buns, with a swipe of mayonnaise (Duke's or bust!) and a couple of bread-and-butter-pickle chips and Melissa Clark's lemon potato salad with mint on the side. I hope you'll join me in making one or more of these this weekend.
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