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If you don't make your own, find some good bread. The undercooked froth of bleached wheat flour posed as hamburger buns lacks flavor, nutrition and texture - unpalatable even to discerning bread mold. Suitable bread must, first of all, maintain its integrity while supporting a juicy hamburger. Bread should pleasure the eye like a plump Rubens nude and seduce the nose with promises; reveal sensual texture and give earthy sustenance. Choose any proper size, hefty rolls which tempt you or a loaf of hearty bread to be sliced into supporting roles. Later, I'll tell you how to make your own.
Choose greenery and condiments to complete the scene that your palate has envisioned. Iceberg lettuce has only crunch and pallid color; try a lettuce of substance, fresh spinach, cress or chard. Fresh, curly mustard leaves are a piquante surprise. Grated horseradish, mustard of choice, mayonnaise, sliced tomatoes and sweet onions, with perhaps grated cheese, sliced dill pickles and Greek peppers on the side, ought to do nicely. Remove catsup and "steak sauce" from the premises.
 Now another flavoring opportunity presents itself. "To season or not to season?" is the question. Shoot them straight for a few times - no seasoning in the meat before broiling. ( I never salt before broiling.) We will cover some seasoning variations in the future. Shape the meat into firm patties to fit your bread and about 3/4" thick and of even thickness.
Allow to warm to room temperature. Fire up the grill.
When all the trimmings are prepared, the grill should be right, with charcoal glowing red and the heat so intense that you cannot hold your hand within two inches of the grill for more than a couple of seconds. If you are cooking with gas, turn to the highest setting and keep the lid closed until ready.
Gently place the meat on the grill. If the temperature is right, meat will seize to the grill. Do not move or turn the patties until each releases. As soon as they release, turn them. When the second side releases, remove and serve.
There should be no flame-up from the lean meat, but if flames appear, close the lid.
The meat will be uncharred on the outside and medium to medium rare on the inside. Juicy and delicious. Cover with condiments and bread and experience a real hamburger.
That's a hamburger! Maybe, not quite a Mona, but even Leonardo did preliminary sketches.
 HOT DOGS
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Right after marshmallows, most people learn how to cremate a wiener. The kid who has never burned a hot dog on a little fire outdoors is truly deprived. Hot dogs have the exceptional characteristic that no matter how bad, or how burned or how gritty, one is always good to a kid. God knew what he was doing when he put hunger amongst us.
Hot dogs are reputed the item most often cooked on a grill. Somewhere around four billion pounds are consumed each year raw, boiled or roasted. Those of us in the know, realize that those cooked on a grill aren't actually roasted, they are more likely broiled - and most likely burned.
Because they are so popular, I thought hot dogs deserved a decent dissertation. So I went down to the local commissary and checked out the offerings.
Nothing is as simple as it used to be.
In addition to the traditional weenie of ground up pork and beef parts, there are a lot of strangers. Chicken, turkey and soybeans have joined the crowd, along with the beef people's representatives. In the interests of science, I got one of each. All except the soybean, that is. As far as I know, I eat soy beans in tofu and soy sauce - with emphasis on the soy sauce.
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Smoky's 5th basic position for really great barbecue'n.
'According to Smoky' is (c) by C. Clark Hale
who is solely responsible for its content. Comments
should be addresses to cchale@bellsouth.net |
