Thin Burger Food

THIN BUT JUICY CHARGRILLED BURGERS

Steps:

• Divide the beef: Line a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the ground beef into 4 even balls. Working with one ball at a time, massage the meat gently in your hands until it is cohesive and tacky, about 15 seconds. Next, using clean hands, roll each into a smooth ball about the size of a golf ball. Place the balls on the baking sheet, one ball in the center of each quadrant.
• Form the patties: Lay a second sheet of parchment on top, then place a second rimmed baking sheet on top of the first. Press down very firmly on the baking sheet, pressing directly over each patty in turn, to spread each ball into a thin patty that is wide enough that it will extend at least a full inch around your burger buns on all sides. (If using a vegan beef alternative, form a patty that is just large enough to extend 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch beyond the edges of the buns, as vegan beef alternatives do not shrink as much during cooking.) Refrigerate the patties until ready to cook.
• Heat the grill: If cooking with charcoal (the preferred method, as charcoal gets hotter than gas), ignite a full chimney of coals. When the coals are mostly covered with gray ash, spread them out evenly under one side of the grill and allow the grill to heat with the lid off for 5 minutes. If cooking with gas, set the hottest burners to high heat, cover and let the grill heat for at least 15 minutes.
• Season the burgers: When ready to cook, gently peel the top sheet of parchment off the burgers and season them generously with salt and pepper. Replace the top parchment, flip the parchment sheets with the burgers in between them over entirely, then peel off the other piece of parchment, which will now be on top. Season burgers generously with salt and pepper on the second side.
• These burgers will cook very quickly, so prepare your buns with toppings and condiments as desired. (Placing any vegetables on the bottom bun makes the burger more stable and allows them to absorb juices that may drip from the patties.)
• Cook the patties: Using your hands or a spatula, carefully lay the patties on the grill over the hottest part of the flame. If using charcoal, leave the lid open. If using gas, keep the lid closed as much as possible. Let cook, undisturbed, until the patties are well charred and juices start to pool on their top surfaces, about 1 minute.
• Carefully flip the patties. (There will most likely be flare-ups; this is OK.) Add a slice of cheese, if using, to each, and continue to cook until the meat is just barely cooked through, about 15 seconds.
• Transfer the patties to the buns, add any extra toppings or or condiments as desired, close, and serve immediately.

THIN BURGER

Steps:

• Divide beef into 4 mounds, and evenly place on a 12-by-14-inch piece of plastic wrap. Place another piece of plastic on top. Roll into 5 1/2-inch patties, about 1/3 inch thick, with a rolling pin.
• Heat a griddle or 2 large cast-iron skillets over medium-high. Season both sides of patties with salt and pepper. Cook patties, pressing with a spatula, 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, flip, and top with cheese. Cook 2 minutes.
• Butter cut sides of rolls, and toast on griddle until edges just start to brown, about 1 minute.
• Sandwich burgers in rolls with onion, pickle, lettuce, and mustard.

THIN SANDWICH BUNS

Steps:

• In a bowl sprinkle the sugar over the warm water, then do the same with the yeast. Add the egg and oil and combine. In a separate container, use a fork or a whisk to stir together the flour, bran, wheat gluten, and salt. Add 1/2 of this mixture to the wet ingredients and blend. This is the sponge.
• Let rise 30 - 45 minutes.
• Add rest of flour mixture and knead for about 5 minutes. I use my stand mixer with the dough attachment. This dough will be sticky.
• Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. This is a wet dough so instead of adding any additional flour, I weigh the dough on a food scale and divide it by 16. Then I weigh out each portion and put 8 on each cookie sheet. Don't worry about how it looks now.
• Take a 4" biscuit cutter and place it over one of the dough portions. If you wet the inside of the cutter as well as your fingers you can spread the dough into a perfect circle by using your fingers to flatten it to the inside edge of the biscuit cutter. (These will be very thin but they will rise). Remove the cutter, re-wet the inside and use it to do the same thing to the remaining 15 buns.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the buns rise until double in bulk, about 30-45 minutes.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Don't overbake. Cool the buns and then cut them in half for sandwich buns.
• Edit Note: Since I first started making these I've made 2 changes. One is that I make them in muffin top pans sprayed with Pam. No cutting involved.
• The other thing is that I use oat fiber instead of the wheat bran. I ordered oat fiber online. It is NOT the same as oat bran and is in many things these days, so I decided to try it instead of wheat bran. It is very high fiber, few calories, and pleasant tasting. Just use in moderation. In this recipe I use only 1/4 cup. It is 5 calories and 26 grams of fiber for the 1/4 cup. Also, it is more mild tasting than the wheat bran.
• Each bun has 108 Calories; 1g Fat; 5g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 13mg Cholesterol; 124mg Sodium.

INSANITY BURGER

Steps:

• For the best burger, go to your butcher and ask them to grind 1 3/4 lbs of chuck steak for you. This cut has a really good balance of fat and flavorsome meat. Divide it into 4 and, with wet hands, roll each piece into a ball, then press into flat patties roughly 5 inches wide and about 3/4 inch wider than your buns. Place on an oiled plate and chill in the fridge. Next, finely slice the red onion, then dress in a bowl with the vinegar and a pinch of sea salt. Slice the gherkins and halve the buns. Finely chop the lettuce and mix with the rest of the burger sauce ingredients in a bowl, then season to taste.
• I like to cook only 2 burgers at a time to achieve perfection, so get two pans on the go-a large non-stick frying pan on a high heat for your burgers and another on a medium heat for the bacon. Pat your burgers with oil and season them with salt and pepper. Put 2 burgers into the first pan, pressing down on them with a slotted spatula, then put half the bacon into the other pan. After 1 minute, flip the burgers and brush each cooked side with a 1/2 teaspoon of mustard and a dash of Tabasco. After another minute, flip onto the mustard side and brush again with another 1/2 teaspoon of mustard and a second dash of Tabasco on the other side. Cook for 1 more minute, by which point you can place some crispy bacon on top of each burger with a slice of cheese. Add a tiny splash of water to the pan and place a heatproof bowl over the burgers to melt the cheese-30 seconds should do it. At the same time, toast 2 split buns in the bacon fat in the other pan until lightly golden. Repeat with the remaining 2 burgers.
• To build each burger, add a quarter of the burger sauce to the bun base, then top with a cheesy bacon burger, a quarter of the onions, and gherkins. Rub the bun top with a teaspoon of ketchup, then gently press together. As the burger rests, juices will soak into the bun, so serve right away, which is great, or for an extra-naughty experience, wrap each one in parchment paper, then give it a minute to go gorgeous and sloppy.

JULIA CHILD'S PAN-FRIED THIN BURGER

Steps:

• In a small saute pan, over high heat, saute the shallots in the butter until soft, about 5 minutes. Divide the meat into 4 portions. One at a time, flatten each by chopping and spreading the meat with light strokes of your chefs knife. Season each with salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of the shallots. Blend into the meat, chopping and turning it as you shape the portions into 4 1/2 to 5-inch round patties, 1/4-inch thick. Toast the hamburger buns and distribute them to your guests. Suggest that they dress the bottom halves of their rolls as they wish while you cook the burgers. Lightly dust the surface of a large, hot saute pan, with salt. When the pan is very hot, but not smoking, lay a patty in the pan. Rapidly add a second burger. Brown the meat, about 20 seconds. Turn patties to other side. Cook until done, about 1 minute. Remove cooked burgers to a warm platter. Repeat process with 2 remaining burgers. Place finished burgers onto guests buns as quickly as possible so they can add their finishing touches.