I love to travel, whether it’s by plane, train, bicycle, or on foot. The destination may provide some purpose, but it’s not necessarily the main point.
Such was my search for hamburger parts these past few days. I say “parts” rather than “ingredients” as a burger is largely an assembly operation requiring few cooking skills.
Does it show I’m just a little antagonistic towards the idea of chowing down a big lump of seasoned ground beef lurking inside a gummy, stick-to-your-dental-work bun?
Burgers, for us, are an occasional indulgence. When traveling, I might order one if it’s apparent it’s best not to stretch the kitchen. At home, we plop them on the Weber once, maybe twice a year.
Last week we decided we’d mark America’s birthday with hamburgers. It was time to build bicycle rides around foraging for the main components: the bun and the meat.
July 2: The Bun
I settled on brioche buns because they’re richer and more sturdy than traditional burger buns. Towards the end of my cycle ride, I popped into The Wedge Community Co-op, where we’re members.
The buns came from St. Paul-based Rose Street Patisserie. I’m well familiar with their patisserie offerings, so I had high hopes for the buns as I cycled across Downtown to home. Back home, I double-bagged, then froze the day’s haul.
July 3: The Meat
For the ground meat, I opted to cycle over to an actual butcher shop in our former neighborhood, Lowry Hill Meats.
The store does all its own butchering with meat from named local family farms. I knew the meat came from Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, rather than some industrial plant where meat is consolidated from five states.
Another time, I may grind some whole chuck and sirloin in the food processor using a rougher grind than purchased ground beef. It would then have a better texture and be safe enough to grill to medium, rather than the usual, cautious well-done.
July 4: The Assemblage
We augmented the ground meat (fat content about 25% to keep it moist) with some seasoning and small amounts of grated Parmesan (to crank up the umami) and fresh breadcrumbs (to help hold things together). Finally, we grilled 6-ounce patties to well-done on our (gas) Weber.
The burgers were quite naked, with a minimal topping: some onion slices Dwight had pickled. The buns were nicely toasted, and not a bit gummy.
As the meal progressed, out came the ketchup and mayo. A deconstructed burger wasn’t enough.
July 5: Stilton, Bacon, and Mayo
It’s the burger toppings I really crave, specifically Stilton, bacon, and mayo: I’d happily forgo the patty.
For lunch, I transformed some leftover rice into a salad with a small amount of cubed Stilton, one chopped-up, microwaved rasher of bacon, a dollop of mayo, and, to provide an illusion of healthy eating, a handful of thawed peas from the freezer. Leftover broccoli salad balanced out the plates. We didn’t miss a large portion of meat.
