The ongoing burger quest turned up a hand-pressed frozen-patty method as a fallback for smash burgers, alongside a first attempt at a plant-based veggie patty and an updated jerk chicken marinade. This month also has an early write-up of the “win the fridge” philosophy that would later become its own essay.
Undated.
The quest for a perfect burger
Still searching.
That said:
- smash burgers maximize flavour and minimize mass
- a simple bun is better than a large or dense bun
- lots of finely shredded lettuce
- ripe tomatoes
- lots of pickles
- mayo, mustard, and (if you have to), a tiny bit of ketchup
- raw onions (white or yellow)
- cheese is optional, bacon (only if it’s not chewy)
If you don’t have the equipment for a smash burger, a close second is a hand-pressed patty:
- Cut 10cm squares of parchment paper (I keep a baggie of these cut)
- Portion lean minced beef (85/15) into 100-150g balls
- Place ball between two piece of paper and press with a pot or cutting board
- Stack and freeze patties in a sealed container
The frozen patties cook well enough, especially if you flip them more than usual (to promote browning). Season the patties after cooking with salt, pepper, and (optionally) MSG.
Quick relish
I like to work the fridge down until it’s almost empty, to both win the fridge, and to make it easier to clean. Today I wanted some relish, but don’t normally stock it in the winter as I use it so rarely. So instead I made some:
- ½ cup of chopped, sweet pickles
- ½ cup of chopped, pickled peppers (mild - medium)
- ½ cup frozen corn, diced, and fried (until edges are brown and crispy)
- ¼ cup diced onions (purple is what I had on hand)
- ½ cup of mustard
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried dill (if it’s out of seasons)
- Salt, pepper to taste
Combine, adjust seasoning, and rest in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Local sub shops
I have an idealized version of a sub sandwich in my nostalgia library. It’s on a light, airy roll that can take some sauce, but isn’t too chewy. It has a tonne of shredded iceberg, thin tomatoes, purple onion, pickle, mayo, and mustard. The rest of the sandwich matter a lot less, but cheeses with some chew are nice (like swiss), or with flavour (like cheddar). Meats if you want, but the real gold is that crispy, sharp, crunch.
A no cookery Saturday
Some days I’m too tired to cook. This weekend I recharge!
Plant patties planning
I’m working on a method for making plant based patties that will grill, fry, or bake up nicely. The ideal patty will hold together, not be too dense or mushy, and have some texture and depth of flavour. I’m not aiming to replicate meat in any way, just to make tasty burgers and salad toppings.
Veggie burgers can go a few ways:
- Primary bases
- Bean-y
- TVP
- Rice/mushroom (like risotto)
- Egg/bready
- Textures
- Smooth -> chunky
- Dense -> light
- Crispy bits
- Dry -> mushy
First attempt
Cook (per package instructions)
- ~1 cup Lentils
- ~1 cup brown rice
Dice, season and bake on sheet pans until browned and fragrant:
- Mushrooms
- Onions and garlic
- Other veg parts (beet, sweet potato)
Let cool while prepping a bowl with:
- Miso
- Seasonings
- Binders (egg, oat flour, finely diced nuts)
- Fat (mayo, shredded coconut, and/or cheese)
Goal will be a patty that holds together and has visible chunks. Initially I’ll side with very simple seasoning and aim for natural flavours.
Chunky salad dressing
→ Simple chunky salad dressing
This is a hacky fridge-magnet recipe to use up some old herbs and sour cream. We had it this week over a chunky combination of sliced cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and celery.
- 2 tablespoon Hellman’s mayo
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- ~2 tablespoon (to taste) cider vinegar (Braggs is good)
- 2 tablespoon white sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon MSG (Accent in this case)
- Salt/pepper to taste
Combine ingredients in a small bowl and stir or whisk together. Season to taste, but should balance sweet/acid/salt in a pleasing way.
Win the fridge pasta
- Mushrooms
- Parm
- Thyme (left over from chicken)
- Small tomatoes (left over from salads)
- Lemon
Thinking a 2 pan build:
- cook / season veg and
- single pan shallow pasta (saving all of the water)
What a Jerk (Chicken)
I updated my Jerk marinade recipe after some research and a test run today. New changes are clearer method and more balancing of flavours.
Winning the fridge; less wasteful, better eats
We can always approach the things we do in a number of ways. We make conscious and unconscious tradeoffs, we’re more actively or passively invested. Food is like that, you can combine things in many different ways, with differing qualities on all axes.
One thing that drives my cookery more than most is the concept of winning the fridge. It’s an approach to being both frugal and respecting the resources and effort that goes into growing and producing our ingredients. More on this to come.
Sunday comfort food—Thai inspired soup
A recipe based on a photo I saw this morning:
- Shiitake mushrooms roughly sliced
- Pork thinly sliced and halved, marinated in garlic, shallot, lemongrass, and soy/sugar/lime
- Broccoli roughly chopped
- Chinese carrots sliced (and halved)
- Green onion sliced (on the bias), largish chunks
- Chicken stock
- Thai red curry paste (and coconut milk if we have any)
- Noodles!
Saturday cravings—stir fry
- Basic meat/tofu method:
- Salt, spices, baking soda, corn starch (single coating for a lighter deal), let marinate ~30
- Slice thinly, cubed, or whatever feels best
- Remove tough bits
- Veg
- Slice on bias, keep it small
- Flavours
- Chilis/rice vinegar/soy/sugar
- 1:.5:1:.5 soy, sugar, mirin, sake
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Lemongrass (finely)