Ingredients (per hamburger)

• 3 ounces (86-88 grams) ground beef (<=80% lean)
• 1 1/4 ounces (36-40 grams) grated cheddar cheese (mixture of sharp and mild)
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 hamburger bun or (soft) Kaiser roll
• 4-5 dill pickle slices or “chips”
• Mayo and mustard
• Oil or shortening for frying

Preparation

Get a nice big dutch oven and add enough oil or shortening to be two inches deep. Install your fry/candy thermometer to the side of the pot and crank the heat to medium high. Your thermal destination is 320 degrees F.

Turn on your broiler and position rack in top position. This is a perfect time to use your toaster oven if you have one.

Meanwhile, weigh out the meat portions for however many burgers you want to make. Roll into balls and set aside. Do not refrigerate.

Grate the cheese. If you want 4 burgers, obviously you need 5 ounces total. Six would be 7 1/2, eight would be 10 ounces. Toss this cheese with the spices until all the powder has stuck to the cheese.

Place a thin layer of mayo on the bottom of the buns. Place half the cheese mixture on top of this. Spread mustard on bun tops and place the rest of the cheese on this. You should have half the cheese on the bottoms (on mayo) and half on the tops (on mustard). Place these under the broiler so that the cheese will melt as you cook the burgers.

When the oil hits 320 degrees F, place one of the meat balls on an upside-down sheet pan. Dip a wide metal grill spatula in the hot fat then use it to smash and spread the meat ball out into a 5 to 6-inch-wide disk. It will be irregular around the circumference and that’s good as all those irregularities will become crunchy goodness. The meat will also shrink by a couple of inches. Gently scrape the patty/wafer off the pan with the spatula and gently drop into the fat. Cook one minute, no more, no less. You can cook up to three patties at a time, but watch the oil temp and don’t let it drop to under 300 degrees F.

Remove meat to a paper towel to drain briefly then place it on the bun bottom right away. Place the pickles on top, then the bun top. The goal: bread/mayo/cheese/meat/cheese/pickles/mustard/bread.

Consume or wrap in foil and hold for up to half an hour.

Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 1/4 cups (390 g) whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup wheat gluten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp. instant yeast or active dry yeast

Preparation

Place all ingredients in your bread machine. Select ‘dough’ cycle. Allow cycle to run.

Dump out onto lightly floured surface.

Divide into 8 pieces.

Shape each piece into a hot dog or hamburger bun.

Place on greased cookie sheets (or bun pans), cover; let rise 30 to 40 minutes.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.

Cool on wire racks.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb ground turkey or lean ground beef
• 2-4 Tbl dried minced white onion
• 1-3 Tbl dried minced garlic
• 1/4 c water
• 1-2 Tbl sweet curry poweder
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/4 c crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tsp chopped crystalized ginger (optional)

Preparation

Cover the minced white onion and garlic with the water for 5 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid and combine the onions and garlic with the ground meat, curry powder, and cilantro. Mix well and form 4 patties. Grill or broil just short of your preferred degree of doneness, turning once. Put 1 tbl of crunchy peanut butter atop each patty, cover the grill, and finish grilling or broiling to your desired doneness–at least another minute to soften and warm the peanut butter. Chop the crystalized ginger into small bits and sprinkle on the peanut butter topping for the final minute of cooking if desired.

Penzey’s, Summer 2010