Hamburgers are one of those perfect foods. Simple and complex all at once they can be too much or too little or just right. The perfect Saturday night before hockey meal and the mid week craving that just must be satisfied. All dressed, a burger can be all the major food groups in one sitting. Attempts to reinvent them tend to end in disappointment. This is not to imply that there is only one way to serve a burger. The endless list of toppings and bread choices make the combinations unlimited. But what must always stay the same is the patty itself. Simplicity is the rule here. I will let others debate the origins of the humble hamburger. I will simply discuss what I, in my many years of eating them, have come to view as a great burger.
Markham does not have a great burger. There are some good ones, I had a perfectly fine burger tonight at Liberty Burgers on Main Street. I had eaten there earlier this summer and felt that the burger was very good but the toppings left room for improvement. Not much has changed. The burgers are good and they are charbroiled which is good, I guess if you like that. But they seem to fall just a little short when it comes to the finish.
Let me try to explain. A great burger starts with great meat, we can argue how it gets ground up, but generally you need meat that is a maximum of 85% lean, I prefer 75%. The meat does not need much else, a little cumin, maybe some egg, a little worcestershire sauce and that's it. Salt and pepper would be added just prior to hitting the grill. The patties should not be thick, just 1/2 inch at most. This is important: a thick patty takes too long to cook through and by then the outside is too charred. Hey, if that's not enough meat for you add another patty. Why do you think double cheese burgers were invented? Care must be taken to ensure the patty properly fits the bun/bread of choice.
The cooking must be done on high heat and done quickly to a medium finish. For the very best results the perfect implement for cooking is the stainless steel flat grill that a professional kitchen has, this ensures you maximize the Maillard effect and allows the burger to retain those vital juices (a cast iron pan fills in nicely for home use). A charcoal style grill just lets the juices run off and away from the meat and causes the meat to dry out before the Maillard effect has a chance to enhance the flavour. Real charcoal would be an acceptable substitute only because the coals can get extremely hot and will add some great flavour.
Now, this is important. Follow these steps exactly or you run the risk of going out of business - just ask the Lick's franchise in town that just went under. Place the patty on the grill and LEAVE IT ALONE! Just don't touch it for at least 2 minutes depending on how done you want it. Do not press on it, do not continually flip it and for the love of all things holy do not cut into it to see if it's done! After 2 minutes flip the burger over and, again, leave it alone for 2 more minutes. As long as you followed my advice up until now, your burger is now done. Take it off the grill and let it rest while you toast/warm/whatever your bun/bread/whatever. If, however, you did not follow my advice and you have made one of those meatball like burgers, you will need further cooking time. Since you insist on ruining a perfectly good meal anyway, go ahead and put it in the microwave on high for 1 minute (next time do as you're told).
At this stage you have an exceptional burger and the chance to enhance it by adding any combination of great toppings. But we have been very particular up to now, haven't we? So particular attention must be paid to the toppings as well. These toppings are being given the opportunity to rest upon the shoulders of a giant (our perfect patty) and should not be given the same attention one gives to a garnish of parsley casually thrown on top. NO! Our toppings must put as much effort into this burger as our patty has. If we are using bacon we must go through the effort of properly cooking the bacon. If we are adding avocado we must choose the perfectly ripe avocado. If we are adding a special sauce it must truly be special and not just hot sauce mixed into mayo. Perhaps we are going to serve theme burgers, then every ingredient must be chosen for its authenticity in regards to said theme; you can not put cheddar cheese on a Bavarian burger and lettuce, tomato and onion are not mandatory on all burgers especially if you are having a Mexican burger with salsa. Use some creativity and try different types of buns instead of a sesame seed. In fact, try different types of bread. Imaginative use of ingredients will elevate a good burger to a great burger and allow a restaurant to stand out from the crowd of ok burgers.
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