- [Narrator] This episode of "Basics" is presented by the Singleton. I've partnered with Singleton
for our second installment in how to utilize different cuts of meat. Today's delicious pairing is all about the ultimate grilled steakhouse burger, which is fitting since today
is National Grilling Day. The Singleton is an award-winning
a single malt scotch that's versatile enough
to enjoy neat over ice or mixed in a cocktail. It's perfect for a
refreshing summer beverage around the grill with friends. But before we get to that, we need to make some burgers. Let's get down to basics. (upbeat music) All right, so in pursuit of
the ultimate steakhouse burger, we must start with the
ultimate steakhouse burger bun. I'm starting off by combining
500 grams of bread flour, seven grams instant yeast, 25 grams sugar, and 10 grams kosher salt in
the bowl of a stand mixer. Tiny whisking to combine, then adding 100 grams of whole
milk and 200 grams of water, both heated to a tepid
to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Affix dough hooks and get to kneading, just until the dough
starts to come together and no dry spots remain. Then one little piece at a time, we're adding 85 grams of
very soft unsalted butter, making sure that each
piece is fully emulsified into the dough before adding the next. This is gonna give our buns
a rich brioche-like quality. After kneading for five or six minutes after the last piece of butter is added, you should end up with a
soft, springy, silky dough that passes the windowpane
test with flying colors, and is ready to be rolled
into a smooth, taut ball plopped back into the
bowl from whence it came, maybe give it a little toss
in the air for good, whoa. For good luck, plopped in the bowl, and covered with a plate,
where it's gonna rise at room temperature for one
hour until doubled in size. Now it is ready to be
shaped into burger buns. This dough plays nicest on
a well-oiled countertop, so go ahead and hit your work
surface with a little bit of neutral flavored oil
like vegetable or canola, and since we want six identical buns, we're gonna weigh the
whole batch of dough, divide that number by six,
and weigh out six pieces that weigh exactly one sixth
of the whole batch of d- You know what I'm trying to say. Stretch those into taut,
smooth-topped buns, which we're gonna allow to
rise for another 45 minutes to one hour on a parchment
lined baking sheet. Pat each bowl of dough
down into a little disk, so it's gonna form more
like a hamburger bun than a loaf of bread, and you can cover these guys
with a clean kitchen towel, or if you happen to have a proofing box the exact width and height
of your baking sheet, that will work too, probably very well. Go ahead and give those rest
for 45 minutes to one hour until they've poofed a bit,
maybe grown by about 50%. We've got our oven preheated
to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, but before these boys go in the sauna, we're brushing them down
thoroughly with a beaten egg yolk and optionally covering
with a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds. Just make sure you do it quick, because the egg dries pretty quickly, and then they won't stick as well. Into the oven they go,
350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes,
rotating halfway through until they emerge the
most beautiful burger buns you've ever bunned. Allow these cool completely before using in your favorite burger application. Next step on our bougie burger hit list is the caramelized onions. Two large Vidalia onions
thinly sliced into half rings and slowly, gently cooked
over medium, medium low heat, adding a little splash
of water as necessary until they have formed
a dark, impossibly rich, sweet and savory onion jam, the only condiment our
burger is going to need, because we care a lot about the meat. And here they are, are a whole bunch of different cuts of cow
that you might consider putting into a burger. We're gonna focus more on
the specific cuts of beef and what they bring to the party in an upcoming episode of
"Basics," the smashburger episode. But today we are decidedly
splurging on dry aged ribeye. A lot of folks might be
very upset at my taking this beautiful ribeye and
turning it into a burger, but that's really the
only way we're gonna make one of those amazing
steakhouse burgers at home. Steakhouses dry age their own beef, which means they end up with lots and lots of dry aged scraps with
which to make burgers. Our next best option is to grind up one very expensive piece of
beef and cut it, so to speak, with the next best thing. We ground up seven different kinds of beef so we can taste them individually and come up with our favorite
blends for smashburgers, regular burgers, and
the steakhouse burger. Like I said, we'll hit
smashburgers on a future episode, but for this one, as you may have guessed, the dry aged ribeye tasted
far and away the best. So what we need is a
similarly rich, flavorful beef that we can cut the mix with
so we don't use as much ribeye. And for me, that was brisket. A 50/50 mix of both is gonna
make a fatty, buttery burger that's perfect to serve
thick and medium rare. So there you have it, our very expensive, but very delicious burger mix. Now comes the time to form patties, and these are gonna be
surprisingly upsettingly huge. I'm going for 10 ounce patties. Again, steakhouses are all about excess, and their burgers are no exception, so pile 'em high and start
patting them out into patties. A lot of you might be familiar
with the divot method, pressing a deep divot into
the center of your burger to compensate for any
contraction that happens during the cooking process, you know, when you throw
a burger on the grill and you end up with a meatball. But since we ground our own beef, that's not really necessary. I like to make them slightly
thinner in the center than they are on the
outsides, but overall, they should keep their shape pretty well. Now for one last dash of decadence, after I cut my buns in half, I'm gonna smear them with
duck fat before toasting for an extra hit of richness. Again, totally optional. You can use butter and
it'll still turn out really, really, really good. For cooking on the stove top, I like a nice flat cast
iron griddle like this one, perfect for both toasting
buns and searing patties, patties that we're not
seasoning with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
until the very last minute, right before they hit the griddle. Basically you want to blast
your burgers with as much heat as humanly possible until
you've formed a nice crust on one side, give them a flip, and top them with cheese right
before they're done cooking. How long it's going to
take for them to cook depends on about a billion factors, the thickness of your beef,
the power of your stove, your cat's emotional health. The only real ways to know
are with a thermometer or with experience. You make a lot of burgers, you're gonna start to know what the meat is supposed to feel and look like. I know that practice makes
perfect is an annoying answer, but until that day comes that you're inside your burger's head, just get a thermometer. Anyway, we're plating up with a big smear of our caramelized onions, a couple of slices of Munster
cheese, and that's it. That's all this burger needs, except maybe the kiss of a flame. If you want to do this out on your grill, the rules are pretty much the same. Season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper right before plopping on the
hottest part of your grill. I like to keep my two
left burners on full blast and my two right burners
on medium low flame. This gives you a nice hot
place to sear the exterior of the burger and a cooler place where you can slowly cook it if you want to bring it up to
temp and/or toast your buns. Is this better than an
indoor burger? Yeah, kinda. Mostly because you're
not filling your kitchen with a cloud of smoke,
but however you cook it, this ended up being the most
delicious burger I've ever had. You might be wondering
why I'm not loading it up with condiments and vegetables, and that's because this
burger puts the emphasis on the beef. Munster is a very mild cheese that's adding texture
more than anything else, and the caramelized onions
only serve to add unctuousness to the juicy, beefy, beefy beef. In fact, all this burger really needs now is a bold, refreshing cocktail, what I'm gonna call the Rosemary's Babby. This starts fittingly enough
with a sprig of rosemary being placed into a chilled coupe glass, over which we're gonna pour a 1/4 ounce of absinthe or Chartreuse. Set that aside, and then in
a cocktail shaker with ice we are combining 1 1/4
ounces of the Singleton 12, 3/4 of an ounce of freshly
squeezed lemon juice, and half an ounce of simple syrup. We're then going to shake
rigorously for about 30 seconds. This chills, aerates, and
lightly dilutes the cocktail. But before we strain it out, we're going to very
carefully torch our rosemary. You don't have to use
absinthe in this cocktail, but make sure you use
something high proof enough that it sets our herbs alight. If a high proof spirit isn't available, you can always use dried
rosemary and just torch it. Let that burn for a few seconds
to get a nice smoky flavor, and then extinguish it
with the strained contents of our shaker. And there you have it,
the Rosemary's Babby, a smoky, punchy cocktail, perfect for summer grilling, and all the rich unctuous flavors of our steakhouse burgers in particular. And these cocktails and burgers are best when shared with friends, so here's Jess to give me a little help polishing things off. After all, this is like my
third or fourth burger today, so really she's just
looking out for my health. Thanks again to the Singleton
for partnering with me on today's episode. The Singleton 12 year old
is perfect for newcomers to the world of scotch whiskey. It's light, fruity, versatile, and mixes beautifully in
a refreshing cocktail, plus tastes great on its own. There's really nothing
better than an enjoying a summer cocktail with
friends at your next patio or backyard barbecue,
so grab a few friends, a few ingredients, and a
bottle of the Singleton at the link in the video description. (upbeat music)
