I really wanted a good hamburger. I craved one all of Memorial Day weekend, but then circumstances changed so that it just didn't happen. The following week was filled with meetings and planned dinners, with little room for hamburgers grilled in the backyard over charcoal briquettes.
Therefore I planned for the next weekend. The wait made the burgers that much better.
The basic recipe came from The Best of American Beer & Food: Pairing & Cooking with Craft Beer by Lucy Saunders. With a little tweaking, the resulting beer burgers were near perfect, if just slightly overcooked.
The patties were made from a pound of ground sirloin that was mixed with bread crumbs; minced garlic, onions, and rosemary; salt and pepper; and stout. I substituted a sweet stout for the recommended dry stout. This was partly due to personal preference and partly due to using on-hand ale.
The child had a mini burger with cheddar cheese. The wife and I had burgers with pepperjack cheese. Mine also had bacon that was prepared on the grill. Dijon mustard gave an extra little kick to the burger without being overpowering.
The best part, though, was the play between the burger and Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Hamburger and ale complemented one another well.
2 comments:
thanks for the note about the burger recipe, Troy - it made me think about a craft beer and burger festival held in Madison WI last May. It was a benefit for a sustainable farming group called reapfoodgroup.org - featuring a local chef, a local brewer and a local cheesemaker - check out these pairings:
# An asian-inspired Jordandal Farm pork burger from Chef Bill at Bluephies with a cool slaw on top and paired with a Capital Brewery beer
# The Old Fashioned's Northwood Farm beef burger with Seymour Dairy blue cheese and caramelized onions accompanied by Tyranena beer
# A mini-version of The Weary Traveler's Bad Breath Burger prepared by Chef Joey with Lange Farm beef and local cheese combined with a brew from Lake Louie
# Pizza turned veggie burger from the creative mind of Chef Cindy at Ian's Pizza and matched with Ale Asylum beer and Natural Valley cheese
# Brasserie V's beef burger served with 2-year white cheddar and topped with onion straws on a Madison Sourdough roll and accompanied by a Fauerbach Amber.
# Or a chive, walnut and Himalayan red rice burger on olive rosemary foccacia spread with roasted garlic lemon aoli from Chef Josh at the Willy Street Co-op
Thank you for the comment.
And, thank you for the great book. I like the idea of a craft beer and burger festival, especially the local aspect of the participants. It seems like something that would work well in the Seattle and/or Portland areas.
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