Fourth of July Hamburger

The great American Fourth of July cookout is this weekend and I have been reading for several weeks about how to make the best hamburger. And I would agree there is nothing better than a good hamburger. As I have mentioned before I think the best burger I have had was at Husk in Charleston. I have the recipe for that and will give it to you. You need a meat grinder but the butcher can do the grinding for you if you do not have one. So this is my gift to you on the Fourth---you will have the best burger in town!!

From Sean Brock’s Heritage cookbook, 2014.

Husk Cheeseburger

Makes 10 cheeseburgers

 

Special sauce

1 ¾ cups mayonnaise, preferably Duke’s

1 ¼ cups, yellow mustard

5 tablespoons ketchup

½ cup Bread-and-Butter Pickles

Grated zest and juice of one lemon

1 tablespoon hot sauce

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons pepper vinegar, preferably Texas Pete Brand

 

Cheeseburgers

One 3-pound fresh boneless chuck roast

12 ounces fresh flank steak

3 ounces bacon, preferably Benton’s (I do believe Benton’s is the best. You can order it.)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

10 hamburger buns, preferably potato rolls

1 cup shaved white onion

20 slices American cheese

50 Bread-and-Butter Pickles

For the Sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a large container and stir together to blend well. Cover, and refrigerate. (Tightly covered sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.)

For the Cheeseburgers: Grind the chuck, flank steak, and bacon through a meat grinder fitted with the large die into a bowl. Mix gently to combine. Then run half of the mixture through the small die. Mix the two together.

Portion the meat mixture into twenty 3-ounce patties, about ½ inch thick (each burger gets 2 patties). If not cooking right away, arrange on a baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. (The patties can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Remove from the refrigerator about30 minutes before you’re ready to cook; it’s important that the patties are not ice-cold when they hit the hot pan.)

Generously butter the tops and bottoms of the buns. Toast on a griddle until nice and golden brown. Reserve.

Heat two 12-inch cast-iron skillets until hot as possible. (I like to grill my burgers.) Divide the patties between the two hot pans. When the patties are nice and charred, about 2 minutes, flip them over and cook for 2 minutes more for medium. Place the onion slices on 10 of the patties. Place a slice of the cheese on all of the patties and allow it to melt, about 30 seconds. Stack the non-onion patties on top of the onion patties. Remove from the heat.

Smear both sides of the buns with special sauce. Place 5 pickles on bottom half of each bun. Add the burger patties and top with the top halves of the buns. Serve at once.

Happy 4^th!!!