How To Make A Proper Burger

The title of this blog is deceiving. The purpose is actually to review a burger I recently at from Craft Burger. As Nitro discussed in his post below, I too am a purist and ordered the cheeseburger combo with onion rings... err... the onion rings combo with cheeseburger. Either way you look at it, it got me wondering: Why is it so difficult for a city the size of Toronto to offer several proper burger joints? To find out, I thought I'd first share my thoughts on what a proper burger is.

There are two philosophies. One argues that the ground meat should include all kinds of things mixed in, such as onions, sauces, herbs and whatever cool things you can think of. The other argues that the burger should be pure – nothing but ground meat, salt and pepper – and the interesting flavours added via gourmet topping choices. I have tried both variations and am firmly a believer in the latter. Neither is no right or wrong, it’s just my preference. Lucky for me, in order to accommodate different tastes, the industry caters to my philosophy. This is how I make my burgers at home and here are the rules that I follow, which I trust are consistent with all burger purists’ views:

1. Start with high quality meat. If you doubt the ground meat, ask the butcher to grind up a chuck or sirloin in front of you. This will ensure that rule #3 below is safe. Oh, and don’t skimp on the fat, as this is what adds flavour and juiciness.

2. The meat should be very loosely hand formed into patties. This is perhaps the most important step! If you overmix it, the burger will be tough. Loose forming ensure juiciness and every piece will fall apart in your mouth as you take a bite.
3. It should be cooked somewhere between medium-rare to medium-well, depending on your preference. I like medium. Again, just my preference.

4. It must, must, must be cooked at high heat. This will result in a deliciously charred exterior and not overcook nor dry inside.

Sounds simple, no? I thought so too, until I started trying some of these so-called “gourmet” burger joints and realized that it was much more difficult than it sounds. Not to say the burgers are bad, because I really enjoy some of them, even if they don’t follow my rules. But they’re not “proper” burgers that would please a purist. Just like Pizza Nova makes great pizza for a pizza chain, but it’s certainly no true Italian pizza.

Now that I’ve gotten my griping out of the way, I’m clear to talk about my Craft Burger

gourmet burger! I followed rule #1, as they offered organic meat of good quality. Where it lost ground was in the rest of the rules. The texture of the burger tells me that the meat was certainly over mixed. It was cooked medium well, which I’m happy to accept. The char marks were a little too pronounced, so it was on the grill too long. This, combined with the over mixing, explains the dryness. Thing is, they go through hundreds of burgers a day. So how can you expect them to make each one so perfect? I don’t, but it sure would be nice for the prices they charge. On my burger, I got lettuce, tomatoes and smoked cheddar. The bun was great. Nice texture, toasted and soft enough to hold everything together nicely. Now for the best part – the cheese! The smoked cheddar, in contrast to the burger, was (somehow) super juicy, extremely flavourful and transformed my burger from a 6.7/10 to a 7.9/10. Wow! If I had a re-do, I’d ask for triple cheese and light on the meat! I’m thinking of dropping by there and picking up a block of smoked cheddar. You know, just to eat as a snack when I get hungry.

Oh yeah, and the onion rings were awesome. But that’s pretty obvious from the post below…