Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/4, 1/35 sec, ISO3200 “Burger Tower” Cedar Park, 2020
I got the request for burgers, and I was happy to oblige! Like last time, I fried up some bacon as well, but also grilled some onions and jalapeños for Koa and I. (Mariko prefers raw onions and peppers) We also had sliced avocado, so the cheeseburgers had a lot going on. The above photo is Mariko’s sky-high burger, and below is my creation, which turned out to be really messy and fun to eat.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/4, 1/70 sec, ISO3200 “Deluse Burger” Cedar Park, 2020
Homemade buns were beautiful and delicious and made a huge difference! Over the years, I’ve tweaked my burger recipe and technique: I add salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, and Japanese Worcestershire sauce to the 80/20 ground chuck, mixing with a fork.
The most important change I’ve made in cooking the burgers, is when I add the cheese. In the past, I used to add the cheese while the patties were still cooking on the grill. But now, I add the cheese later – when the patties are cooked, I transfer them into a warm casserole dish, add the cheese, and cover with foil while the burgers rest a few minutes. The cheese melts just the same, but the benefit is that the barbecue grill stays cleaner. I really don’t miss that smell of burning cheese the next time I fire up the grill!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO1000 “Burger Photo” Cedar Park, 2020
Bay had a last-minute request for burgers so we defrosted some ground beef and I fired up the ol’ grill. We didn’t have any lettuce or tomato, so we compensated by topping the burgers with fried eggs and peppers from the garden. Chips and a spinach salad (with salmon leftover from the previous day’s breakfast) and everyone was happy.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/75 sec, ISO1000 “Almost Human” Cedar Park, 2019
こんばんは。This evening a friend came over for dinner and I think the one who was most excited to have a guest over was Lani. She always gets extra treats, so it’s understandable. 😊 It was funny that when Lani recognized who was at the door, she went nuts and did a few laps around the house in excitement. She’s so funny.
Tonight’s menu included burgers and sliders, homemade fries, and a couple of yummy and fancy salads. And Mariko baked some fresh buns for the burgers so it was extra-good!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/75 sec, ISO640 “Slider” Cedar Park, 2019Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/75 sec, ISO800 “Homemade Fries” Cedar Park, 2019Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/75 sec, ISO400 “Broccoli Salad” Cedar Park, 2019Photo info: FUJIFILM X-T10, 35mm, f/2, 1/75 sec, ISO800 “Fresh-baked Buns” Cedar Park, 2019Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO3200 “Tomatoes” Cedar Park, 2019
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/75 sec, ISO3200 “Burger and Chips” Cedar Park, 2019
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Although this meal prep is probably typical of American households, I thought I’d write about how we do a hamburger dinner at our house. Who knows, someone might find this post 50 years from now, and it will be a fascinating read! 😄
For the hamburger patties, we’ll go for and 80-20 mix of ground chuck, and I’ll sometimes mix in some seasonings, for instance, tonight I put in some Japanese Worchestershire and Dijon mustard. Some burger purists would say you should just go with salt and pepper (which I usually do), but my family really likes the extra flavor so I went with the sauce and mustard.
These days I will make a total of six patties, at 1/3-lb. per patty. One burger each for Mariko and I, then two each for the kids. Since Mariko has the food scale handy for her baking, I can measure out exact amounts. I’ve come to rely more on measurement tools rather than eyeballing everything!
To cook, we’ll put them on the outside grill (I used the gas grill for convenience last night) seasoning each side with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder. When the juices start to form on top of the patty (usually around the four-minute mark), I’ll flip them over and season the other side.
Instead of relying on time or firmness to indicate when the burgers are at our preferred medium-rare, I’ll use an instant-read food thermometer to make sure I pull the burgers off the grill at 145° F. It’s often dark outside at the time I grill and hard to tell visually if the burgers are done, so the thermometer is great.
We love our burgers with cheese but I don’t put the cheese onto the patty while it’s on the grill. Instead, I will put the patties straight from the grill into a warm casserole dish, then put the cheese on and cover the dish with foil to let the burgers rest and the cheese melt. This is great because the grill doesn’t get all cheesy and messy.
Speaking of cheese, the kids prefer American cheese, I would go for cheddar, and Mariko likes anything except American. On this evening, the kids and I all went for double American cheese and Mariko went with shredded Mozzarella. Yum!!!
For condiments, we like the basic lettuce (Iceberg or Romaine), tomato, onion, and pickles (I never liked pickles on my burgers until a couple of years ago). Not as common are jalapeños, but I will always add them if I have them on hand. And lastly, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and sometimes samourai sauce to round it all out.
All of this is assembled onto buns, which are frequently homemade since Mariko is an amazing baker. Just look!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/90 sec, ISO6400 “Homemade Buns” Cedar Park, 2019
For sides, we’ll at least have potato chips (plain salted is the best) but potato or macaroni salad would be a definite upgrade. Sometimes we’ll have oven fries, but that’s very rare.
Anyway, that’s our typical burger evening. 🍔
I hope you had a nice day!
またね~
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/50 sec, ISO3200 “Burger Dinner” Cedar Park, 2019
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