Hey, whats up guys! Welcome back to Basics with Babish Where this week we're doing burgers and fries. Do I really have to do like a whole... sales pitch? Lets get down to Basics Basics with Babish and the all new Basics with Babish.com are brought to you by Squarespace. Head there now to check out recipes from the show, kitchen equipment lists, my personal blog posts and more Get 10% your first Squarespace with offer code: BABISH Whether you need a domain, website, or online store, make your next move with squarespace All right guys so the first thing we need to do is start the french fry making process This means peeling and slicing some potatoes So we're gonna start by peeling potatoes Duh And then slicing into planks and then into almost french fry like shapes As thick or thin as you like them, this is only going to change frying time Then we're immediately dropping these bad boys into some 375 degree Fahrenheit (190.5 degrees Celsius) peanut oil That is my deep frying oil of choice, if you have an allergy to peanuts try canola or vegetable You might be saying now: "Hey babish those fries aren't done!" To which I would respond: "I know and that's not my real name" What we're doing is freezing the fries after par frying This is going to crystallize their interiors And make them extra fluffy after a second fry While those guys are freezing for at least 4 hours It is time to address maybe one of the top two most important part of the burger and fries the burger I've got my preferred selection of meats here for grinding Short rib, brisket, and sirloin They're all bringing something different to the table Be it fattiness, minerality or beefiness And they're gonna come together and make a really flavorful fatty, beautiful burger First thing we gotta do is get rid of the bone in the short rib, if you have a bone in short rib Best to buy these boneless because you're going to get more meat and you have to do less butchery Once you've removed the bones, trim off any silver skin that you see Because this stuff will not break down It'll be chewy bits in your burger and you don't want that and then start cutting it into 1 inch strips That we're gonna then cut crosswise into about 1 to 2 inch chunks Which will be perfect for our meat grinder Then we're going to rinse and repeat with our other cuts of beef On the brisket this is nothing but fat, we can hang on to all of this As long as you're knife cuts easily through it, it's probably fine for your burger Now there is some silver skin hiding in the middle of our sirloin So we're going to pull it apart at the seam to reveal the dastardly little devil hiding inside Once you got all your sinew and silver skin removed and all your meat broken down, its time to place all this on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes To firm up the meat for the meat grinder During which time we could get our burger accoutrements ready Just going to very thinly slice some tomatoes, I like them about a quarter of the width of a sheet of paper And a few slices of red onion, and last but not least some iceberg lettuce This is the only kind of lettuce that belongs on a burger because it is nearly flavourless We're gonna simply shred it by cutting it in half Removing the core and then cutting into thin slices down the length of the lettuce half And then cutting cross wise into perfect little burger size shreds and That's what I like to top the burger with put whatever you want in there but i reserve the right to judge you Like if you didn't put special sauce on there, I'd think you are a real, true weirdo And special sauce is simple enough to make Simply mix together equal parts ketchup and mayo, maybe half cup each Add a good sprinkling of garlic powder and onion powder Then i like to add a little bit of smoked paprika, but you could use regular paprika if you don't want too much of a smokey vibe going on A heaping helping of sweet relish And that's about it, just mix the whole thing together Even if you just mix together Equal parts ketchup and mayo, it's a delicious sauce to put on a burger Or dip your fries in, or to just eat with a spoon. That i will not judge you for I promise Give it a little taste, make sure its good Of course it is Then it's time to get down to the business of meat grinding now I've had my grinder parts chilling in the freezer With the meat for a little bit longer, maybe 30 minutes to an hour To make sure everything is really super cold This prevents the beef from smearing when we push it through the feed hole That's what it is called... We can see that our beef is all firmed up after about 20 minutes in the freezer And, avoiding the spinning wheel of death on the bottom of our stand mixer We're going to start feeding the beef into the grinder A few pieces at a time, pushing the beef down the tube with whatever included Baseball bat or night stick The grinder came with And watch the meat cascade, gleefully out the medium size grind plate Which I think is the best size for ground beef, for burgers Make sure the'res some gray stuff coming out Which might indicate your grinder is grinding metal Also make sure no long stringy stuff is coming out That could be sinew or your beef might not be cold enough And take a moment to appreciate the beautiful pebbly ground beef that you're able to achieve When you grind your own meat at home This pebbly-ness is going to help us create a burger that is less close textured Than one made from a store bought ground beef Which is a little mushy and paste-y So now we're gonna start gently pressing these into 4 and 1/2 to 5 ounce patties Im going for a solid 1/3rd pounder burger But make them as thick as you want, It's your house Once we've got the burgers formed, they can chill out in the fridge While we finish up our fries We've got the oil reheated to 375 °F (190.5 °C) We've got our rock solid fries out of the freezer and into the oil The initial fry was for about 8 minutes this is going to be from 4 to 6 minutes Until we get beautifully browned exteriors and fluffy light interiors As soon as you've let these guys drain for 30 seconds to 1 minute We're gonna to put them immediately into a bowl and toss with a healthy sprinkle of kosher salt Go ahead and taste one to make sure that it isn't poison Maybe two just to be extra safe And then these aren't the only things getting salted Lets move over back to the patties Whom will be receiving a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper Do not ever salt your burgers before you form the patties Please don't ever let me catch you doing this Now one of the most important things you guys know That I love to do, and that you should do for every burger you ever make is Toast your buns in some butter Please I'm sorry I'm being so emphatic right now But these things are important Get a nice golden toast going on in there Add some vegetable oil to your cast iron skillet and get that guy ripping hot! Before adding your beef patty I'm just doing one for the sake of demonstration But you can do up to 4 at a time Let this sit over medium high heat for a solid 3 to 4 minutes Until a beautiful crust has formed on one side And you can see a little bit of cooked brown-ness Creeping up the side of the patty Once you've flipped it, we're going to almost immediately hit it with some American cheese Hate on American cheese all you like It is the best cheese for burgers Then we are going to add about a tablespoon of water and cover the burger Allowing the cheese to melt and helping the burger to cook more evenly I mean, come on. Look at that Use an instant read thermometer to determine if you've cooked your burger to your desired degree of done-ness And its time to plate up Onto a waiting bed of lettuce, we're going to deposit our patty Always best to put the lettuce underneath the burger as this helps to prevent the lettuce from wilting And then top with our tomato, onion, special sauce, the top of the bun Bottom of the bun if you want to be extra special Top the whole thing up and serve along with your frenched fries And there you have it One very serious homemade burger and fries Now it's time, of course, for the requisite cross section I'm going to show you three levels of acceptable doneness Lets start with medium That's where you take burger off the heat at about 135 °f letting it rest until it hits maybe 140°f Then for slightly braver souls There is rare, where we're taking it off at 120°F letting it rest until 125°F And then the sweet spot medium rare 125°F to 130°F Tender, Juicy, Delicious If you're freaking out about beef cooked below USDA recommended done-ness temperatures You have much less to worry about if you're grinding your own beef at home So give it a shot whatever minor risks there are Are out weighed by the importance of enjoying a really delicious burger
Am I the only one that feels like this isn't a Basics video anymore? The new kitchen seems to have set you up with more toys to play with but I think you should stick to more basic methods for preparing and cooking, namely using a pot with oil instead of an actual fryer and keeping with the food processor for grinding your meat. The fryer and grinder are much more specific tools that most people don't have in the kitchen and the show is called Basics. Felt like you were missing the thought process behind more things you did the way you did as well.
Just my two cents.
Why shouldn't you salt until the patties are formed?
Alright, stupid question time.
If iceberg lettuce is basically flavorless...WHY PUT IT ON A BURGER, a thing that is devoted to flavor??
what is the point??
granted, this is also me, so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMKeLyDJP5I
So what are everyone's favorite burger toppings? Clearly Babish prefers iceberg, red onion, and tomato, how about y'all?
Personally, I've got two different favorite burger designs:
A: mayo (with a bit of black pepper), bacon, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and grilled jalapenos.
B: mustard (especially a spicy yellow like shiner mustard or horseradish mustard but plain yellow is good, too), dill pickles, tomato, and raw white onion (diced). In this case the pickles and onions provide plenty of texture but you can add iceberg or romaine if you want, too.
Also, toasted buns, always.
How about y'all?
I wonder if Andrew has ever tried frying his fries in beef tallow?
There was a great podcast on the topic: http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcdonalds-broke-my-heart
Apparently it's a superior way to make french fries, but McDonald's had to switch in the early nineties because people thought animal fats were worse for your health (and they're not).
Need some opinions and advice. If I cant grind my own meat, and have to buy store bought. Should I just cook it to USDA recommended temp? Or risk it with a medium burger?
I wish he had gone more in depth here. There are so many ways to do it and he could have explained quite a bit for people who aren't already in the know. Things like:
1) how to avoid shrinkage in your burgers
2) myths about pressing your burger down with spatulas
3) different kinds of burgers (I mean, dude has a cast iron ready to go: why not do up some smash burgers to show the technique?)
Yup American cheese is better then aged cheese on a burger. Melting aged cheese just destroys the flavor.
Maybe it's just that I'm old, but there's something deeply unappealing about pink burgers.