Saturday, June 15, 2019

Black & Blue Steak Burger – Wait Until the Guys Hear About This!

Chopping up perfectly good steaks to make burgers with is going to raise a few eyebrows, and that’s just one of the reasons to do it. The great taste and texture are a couple other ones, not to mention it’s always nice to know exactly what you’re eating. Besides, imagine the mileage your dad’s going to get out of the story about the time you hand-chopped a rib eye just to make him a burger for Father’s Day. That’s pure chatting with your buddies at the hardware store gold.

This will also work with cheaper cuts like chuck, or round, but there’s a certain luxuriousness starting out with meat that’s already tender before it’s even chopped. By the way, using premium cuts for burgers is nothing new, and steakhouses have been doing just that with their trimmings for decades, which reminds me, if you can find some extra flavorful dry-aged beef, this will be even more memorable.

Above and beyond the taste, as long as you’re using cuts with enough fat, hand chopping the meat to a course grind will produce a very tender burger. Most hamburger meat from the store is too finely ground, and horribly overworked, and by the time you form it into patties, it can’t help but be a little tough. That’s not a problem here. By using a sharp knife, and partially frozen meat, there will be little to no fat smearing, which is one of the things that makes for a chewy burger.

Feel free to use no cheese, or a different variety, but the sharp, slightly salty funkiness of the blue cheese really works perfectly here. And the glorious crust we get as our meat sears in that melted fat is a wonder to behold. Homemade buns will also add to the experience, and here’s the link for making your own, but even if you’re going to serve this on a store-bought bun, and really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients to make 4 normal, or 3 giant Black & Blue Steak Burgers:
3/4 pound fatty rib eye steak
3/4 pound top sirloin steak
2 ounces (about 1/2 cup not packed) crumbled blue cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
-Sear about 3 minutes per side in a dry, very hot cast iron pan set over medium-high heat.

For the red onions:
1 red onion, sliced
big pinch of salt
enough red wine vinegar to cover
- Combine ingredients and let sit in fridge overnight, or until the onions turn color and soften slightly.
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9 comments:

steelheader said...

Using two cleavers for the 'ol chop a chop a is a lot more fun and both of your hands are protected.

Unknown said...

Would I get the same result if I were to grind the steaks and cheese in my kitchen-aid grinder attachment? Also hope your feeling better!!

Unknown said...

Chef John, which cheese would you recommend for those of us who prefer our cheese not moldy?

Thank you, sir!

ABean said...

How does using a mixer grinder attachment compare to hand chopping? Does the grinder overwork the meat?

Bob's your uncle said...

Ribeye seems a little over the top. Chuck or short rib would probably make a better burger.

Free Ballard said...

Do you have a link to how you pickled the onion?

SW said...

Could you grill these or would the cheese melt into the fire too much?

konberg said...

Free Ballard, the blog post describes it. Maybe I'm missing what you really want.

SW, seems like it would defeat the purpose of Chef John's suggestion. That said, you might get a delicious burger, but it wouldn't caramelize like it wound in a pan.

Chef John, you avoid giving recommended times for keeping the meat in the freezer without actually freezing the meat. But if you could give any other guidance, I'd be grateful, both for planning as well as not screwing it up. I am, after all, sacrificing some perfectly good steak for this. :D

Unknown said...

Is there a recipe for the buns?