The Kitchen Is Open

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beef, cheeseburger, hamburger, lyall bay

 

The first cheeseburger made in the kitchen at our place in Lyall Bay.  It feels good to be cooking in the kitchen again.

Grilled Cheeseburger

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beef, cheeseburger, hamburger, the mighty hibachi

A grilled cheeseburger from The Mighty Hibachi.

 

Chargrilled over hardwood charcoal

Grilled Cheeseburger

Tags

beef, cheeseburger, grilled onions, hamburger, the mighty hibachi

This evening I fired up The Mighty Hibachi and grilled a couple burgers over hardwood charcoal, with grilled onions.

Medium rare. Delicious.

Cheeseburger With Dill Pickles

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beef, dill pickles, hamburger, mayonnaise

The jar of homemade refrigerator dill pickles has been getting happy in the fridge over the last few days. I tasted a couple pickles this morning (purely for quality control, mind you) and decided they were ready to be used.

I made a batch of homemade mayonnaise this morning and noticed a red onion sitting in the basket and fresh beef mince and vintage cheddar cheese in the fridge…

A perfectly good excuse to practice cooking a cheeseburger.

The pickles were great on the burger and balanced the richness of the cheese and burger juices. Delicious.

Cheeseburger

Tags

cast iron, cheese, cheeseburger, hamburger, sandwich

Fried in a cast iron pan until medium rare, then removed to rest and topped with sliced Colby cheese. Whilst the meat rested, the bun was toasted in butter and sliced onions were grilled in the pan juices in the cast iron pan. The meat was slipped under the broiler to melt the cheese, then placed on top of the grilled onions on the bun.

That is all.

No tomato chutney, no plum sauce, no beetroot, no salad. Why must hamburgers be so defiled in New Zealand?

Just a plain cheeseburger. Delicious.

The Mighty Hibachi Burger

Tags

beef, charcoal, cheeseburger, chiles, chiles anaheim, grilled, hamburger, hardwood charcoal, hibachi, tomato, vintage cheddar cheese

270g (before cooking!) Coarsely ground, loosely packed beef grilled medium rare over hardwood charcoal with grilled red onion, fire roasted Anaheim chile, vintage cheddar cheese (aged 24 months), and tomato.

Buns & Burgers

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auckland, baking, beef, brioche hamburger buns, chile jalapeños, hamburger bun, hamburgers, one tree hill, red onion, vintage cheddar cheese, volcano

Morgan and I walked around the volcano the other day and we passed a paddock with cows and their newborn calves.

I got to thinking about beef and was inspired to bake another batch of light brioche hamburger buns.

Last year we had a pretty good crop of jalapeños. We ate our fill and there were still plenty left, so I picked the remainder, fire roasted them, and stuck them in the freezer. They freeze well and it’s very easy to pull a few out of the freezer when you want them and pop them in a hot oven for a few minutes to defrost. I sliced a couple and topped the burgers with them.

I like to keep my burgers simple. This burger had mayonnaise, red onions, cheddar cheese, jalapeños.

I like my burgers coarse ground and medium rare – warm enough to melt the fat in the grind and create a juicy burger.

Not too bad. I would prefer the cheese to be a bit more melted, so next time I’ll leave them under the broiler for a longer time. I chose an aged cheddar (Vintage), which is a good sharp cheese, but it ended up overpowering the jalapeños. I may try a more mild flavoured cheese with good melting qualities next time. Havarti, perhaps? The light brioche buns are good and can handle the burger juice just fine without being chewy.

California Burger

Tags

beef, brioche hamburger buns, california burger, chiles jalapeños, fire roasted chiles, hamburger, light brioche hamburger buns, vintage cheddar cheese

The other day I baked a batch of light brioche hamburger buns.

There is only one thing to be done with burger buns: make a cheeseburger.

California Burger: Medium Rare Pan Seared Hamburger with Aged Cheddar, Fire Roasted Jalapeño, and Roasted Pepper Mayonnaise on a Home-Made Light Brioche Hamburger Bun.