The butter burger is our signature. If you want the published recipe with pictures pick up our book, Maximum Flavor. In recent months we have taken another look at burger making. While thinking about burgers, I looked elsewhere for improvements. I borrowed an idea from Chinese dumpling makers who add water to their dumpling mixture for additional moisture and tenderness.
The first time I made a water burger I cowboyed up and added some water to my burger mixture. The results were moist, tender and supple burgers. The second time I made the water burger, I followed my initial cowboy instincts and created equally delicious results without using weights and measure. For the third time making these burgers, I pulled out my scales. I wanted to be able to consistently and constantly recreate and share this technique with others. As I weighed my meat and salt I thought about the amount of water I should and would add. I guessed 20% would be an excellent starting point. I added the water and made some burgers. I also made burgers without the addition of the water. These were my baseline burgers. I cooked these burgers smashed in an iron skillet. When the burgers were cooked I observed the meat and weighed the burgers. Then I tasted.
The water burgers were softer and not browned like the straight up burgers. There were very few caramelized bits of meat. Basically the water burger was a failure when I set out to duplicate and record the results. I knew when I was mixing that 20% water was too much. But it's quite hard to remove water from a burger. My gut, my cooking intuition, knew better than my analytical self. I scribbled in my notebook to revisit with substantially less water and left it alone.
Tonight I revisited the water burger. I left the scales away. I listened to my gut. I mixed what may have been 5-10% water into the meat. I seasoned the mixture with salt. I flattened the mixture into wide thin irregular patties. I grilled the burgers on high heat, flipping then only once and topping some of them with cheese.
The grilled burgers were moist and caramelized. The patties were tender and crushable with a clear beefy flavor. I will revisit and formally record what makes a delicious water burger. For now I leave the idea in your hands so you can Cowboy Up to the Water Burger.
Years Past
June 15, 2006
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
