Blue Cheese burger with guacamole and fries

I decided this Saturday was perfect for a burger with some home made fries, so I headed down to Ted’s Butcherblock to pick up some quality beef and a few other things.  Instead of having the butcher grind it I decided to do it myself. There are a number of theories on what to grind and the two prevalent camps are 85% lean Chuck and Sirloin. I got two pounds of both sirloin and chuck roast to combine them getting the best of both worlds. The chuck has enough fat in it to give the juiciness and mouth-feel and the sirloin has the good beefy flavor. Before jumping in I put the grinding attachment in the freezer for a few hours. This is an important step when griding any meat. If I’m doing large batches of meat (especially pork for sausage) I’ll even half freeze the cubed meat and the collection bowl. This keeps the proteins from becoming too sticky and creating what I like to call, meat glue. Also I always re-clean the grinding attachment before every use just in case. If you are going to make fries it is a good idea to do the blanching stage before you start any of the burger prep. Follow my instructions for the fries here.

Take the two cuts of beef (Chuck on the left Sirloin on the right) and cut them into around 1 inch cubes.

Once cut into 1 inch cubes I set up the Kitchen Aide mixer with the grind attachment and the smallest grind plate (which has been in the freezer for the last few hours). Add the cubes of beef to the grinder hopper and slowly grind making sure to catch the beef in some clean container. If you are grinding a large amount of meat it might be a good idea to set which ever collection bowl you are using in a icewater bath.

Next step is to weigh out the ground meat, season and form into patties. I ground 4 lbs of meat which is way more than I plan on using for 2 patties so I weighed out 14 oz combined for two patties and then froze the remaining beef separated into 1 lbs. portions and using a vacuum sealer. It’s a good idea to use any frozen ground meat within 3 months of freezing. I seasoned with fresh cracked three color peppercorns, chiptole chili powder, kosher salt and one minced garlic clove.

When forming the patties make sure to not overwork the meat. That is the number one thing that will cause your burger to have the shape and texture of a solid ball instead of the light juicy burger you should be gunning for. Add the seasoning to the meat in a bowl, lightly mix and the separate into two 7 oz. portions. Using very little pressure form them into two even patties flat enough that they won’t cook into little balls but not too flat or you’ll end up eating something close to a McDonalds patty. Overcooked and dry.

Now it’s time to get your mise en plas ready. I planned on serving the burger on some nice rolls I picked up at wholefoods bakery, thinly sliced Spanish onion, guacamole, thin slices of carbon black heirloom tomato, Sierra Nevada Porter and Spicy brown mustard, Duke’s Mayonnaise (is there any other commercial brand?) and some Point Reyes blue cheese. I put the grill pan on two burners (it was raining so I decided against firing up the charcoal) and slightly charred the rolls, sliced the tomato, onion and cheese and made the guacamole.

Simple Guacamole

• 1 ripe avocado (slightly soft to the touch but not overripe)
• Juice of one lime
• tsp of kosher salt or more to taste. Salt is very important to a good guac because the salt releases the smokey character of the avocado. You’ll more than likely need more salt than you think.
• 2 tbs rough chopped fresh cilantro. This is an estimate. I never measure when I make guac, it’s all by feel and taste
• 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper or more to taste.
• optional – 1 tsp chipotle powder

1. cut the avocado in half
2. remove pit. Best way to do this is to hold the half in your hand with the pit, take a chefs knife (or other heavy knife) and slightly whack the pit with the sharp edge. Turn 1/4 and remove. Be careful please.
3. scoop the avocado flesh into a bowl.
4. smash the avocado with a potato masher or a fork until mostly crushed. Slight chunks are fine. Hell big chunks are fine, this is your guac.  Do as you please.
5. add the cilantro, salt, pepper, lime juice and chipotle powder if you choose. Mix well.
6. to store leftovers. Put in a bowl take tinfoil or plastic wrap and cover, pressing the wrap onto the guac eliminating as much air contact as possible. Some people say if you add the pit back to the guac it keeps it from browning. Honestly I think the only thing that keeps it from browning is the amount of lime juice and how much contact with air.

About this time you should be finished with your first beer. Oh I didn’t mention that? Sorry. Go bet a beer right now. I’ll wait.

Ok good. Better? I thought so.

Next it’s time to cook the burgers. Now there are a few ways you can do this. Some people swear by the charcoal grill some swear by a fry pan. Both are fantastic ways. You choose what you want to do. I actually decided to whip out the grill pan. Normally I would have gone for the charcoal but the rain was keeping that option closed and the grill pan works just fine. I turned the fire on both burners to medium and let the pan heat up, gave the pan a quick once over with a cooking spray and place each patty over a burner. For medium rare a total of 7-8 mins is usually good but it all depends on the thickness, weight etc. of your patties. If you are concerned you can use a probe thermometer. Rare is around120- 125° F, Mid Rare is 130-135° F, Medium is 140-145°. If you chose to cook your burger anything above this I can suggest a place just down the road from where you live. Look for two big golden arches. You ground the meat, you can cook it rare with no fear of contacting E coli or any other weirdness if you sourced your beef from a reliable butcher and used clean equipment. Moving along…. It is important not to get all ADHD with the burgers at this point and start flipping and turning willy nilly. Let them cook 4 mins on one side then flip. One more time, do not screw with the burgers. You can add cheese now if its something like blue cheese that does not melt well. If you are using something like cheddar, American or some other cheese that tends to melt well, wait another minute or two. You can always flash them under the broiler if the cheese doesn’t melt to your liking. You can also use a tin foil tent over each patty to speed melting (and also cooking).

Once the burgers are done to the temperature of your liking. Remove them and let them rest for about 3 or 4 mins. Now is a good time to do the final stage of the fries. Once the fries are done build the burger and serve with more beer. I choose to have a Stoudt’s Double IPA and a Braves baseball game. I also choose to serve the burger and fries with homemade pickled jalapeño and garlic. Enjoy.

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