Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Why are my burgers mushy?

Its probably ground using a room temperature grinder or a peice of meat close to the experiation date (wet aged) which tends to be more tender due to the enzymes breaking down the muscle tissue in th meat.

bubasla at 5:08PM on 06/02/10

My Pie Monday (Tuesday Edition): Nathan's Amazing-Looking Conventional-Oven Pizzas

recipe please !

bubasla at 12:56PM on 06/01/10

Another Arizona Near-Miss Burger: Zinburger in Phoenix

Try the Chuck Box on University Dr. Amazing burgers grilled on mesquite wood.

bubasla at 10:01AM on 05/13/10

Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria, a Gallery

Is this a pizza or a burnt cracker ?

bubasla at 4:38PM on 03/16/10

Poll: Do You Eat and/or Dip Your Pizza Crusts?

It really depends on the quality and size of the crust. You dont want to fill half your tummy with dough ! If the crust is good and a bit too large to be eaten alone then a some EVOO with Aged Balsamic & fresh black pepper and sea salt is the ultimate complimetary dip.

bubasla at 2:06PM on 03/15/10

Naples 45: Skip the Neapolitan Pizza Here and Get Their New York–Style Slice Instead

The even browning of the crust gives tell tale signs of the use of sugar in the dough. This is against VPN rules, so I wonder how they are keeping it. I bake my pizza's at 900 F and would only get leopard spotting with no sugar in the dough. You add sugar and you can bake at 500 to 600 F with browning but takes a bit longer, causing the cheese to dry out. In other words, using sugar means less wood consumption and ultimately lowering food cost in this shakey economic environment.

bubasla at 6:01PM on 03/13/10

The Burger Lab's Top Ten Tips for Making Better Burgers

What about grinding across the grain ?

bubasla at 5:41PM on 03/13/10

Need help re-creating restaurant pizza

Grill lemon wedges until they char and caramelize. Squeeze on top right after it comes out of the oven.

bubasla at 10:47AM on 03/11/10

Dear AHT: Good Burgers in London

The burgers at Automat are great.

bubasla at 5:59AM on 03/05/10

Contest: Win a Hardee's Happy Star Slanket

Juicy burger in my hand
Drip Drip
Wash my slanket again

bubasla at 4:23PM on 03/04/10

Data Visualization: The Eight Largest Burger Chains in the U.S.

This is interesting. What is more interesting is the weakness of McDonald's in it's birthplace, California. Moreover, California seems to have less affinity for burger chains than mom and pop burger joints.

bubasla at 4:29AM on 03/04/10

The Burger Lab: How Often Should You Flip a Burger?

@ESNY1077

I never said anything about throwing the patty in the air. That would be completely ridiculous. I was reffering to drop height. Turning over in a skillet is fairly easy, not the case in the back of a charcoal grill with flameups from various cuts. Not everyone likes their burgers cooked bathing in their own fat on a skillet.

bubasla at 1:29PM on 02/28/10

The Burger Lab: How Often Should You Flip a Burger?

@Kenji

What I am suggesting is that the drop height is a very important factor you cannot ignore. Can you survive jumping from a two story building ? The heavier you are the lesser you are likely to survive. The same principles apply here albeit on a smaller scale, in this case squeezing the juices out of patties with various weights.There are many occassions such as a busy family BBQ where patty drop heights are higher especially at the back of a huge grill. The handling is definitely different than that of a home skillet. Add to that the smaller surface of the grill which exacerbates the issue by adding pressure points to the patty particularly heavier patties. Now I would love to do an experiment myself to verify my theory, but I think you would have more concrete results with your various testing methods.

@tmj529
For the sake of burger science, I wont :)

bubasla at 5:35AM on 02/28/10

The Burger Lab: How Often Should You Flip a Burger?

I think you arrived to a conclusion on the flip experiment too soon for various reasons:

1- The height of the drop. The higher an object is lifted, the greater the impact.
2- The weight of the patty. The heavier the patty the more force it will have on impact.
3- The cooking surface. Outdoor grills have way lesser surface area than a skillet. This makes a big difference on impact. Force over area will be far greater than a skillet. Patty rupture under grill marks ?

I'm sure if you ask your facebook fans to answer the above, you will be surprised why most are in the camp of single flip.

bubasla at 2:56AM on 02/27/10

Where can I get Land o' Lakes American Cheese shipped to europe?

There is nothing wrong with Kraft. The one you are using is made in Germany, which most probably is not formulated exactly like American made American cheese. There is also a difference between an individual wrapped single and singles cut from a block. The melting points and textures are slighty different.

This is probably the type used by McDonald's but a bit thicker. It's called Kraft Deli Deluxe American Slices. It is not individually wrapped, so it comes from a large block. It is clearly stated that it is cheese rather than cheese product which are most wrapped singles.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kraft-Deli-Deluxe-American-Slices-24-Ct-Cheese-16-oz/10452907

This is American cheese "product"
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kraft-Singles-American-Slices-16-Ct-Cheese-12-oz/11964619

I hope this helps pointing out the difference and hopefully getting your hands on some good American.

bubasla at 2:14AM on 02/27/10

Midtown Manhattan: K! Pizzacones Come to NYC

This place will shut down as quick as the super hot geyser that shoots up your mouth as you bite this toy.

bubasla at 3:37PM on 02/23/10

Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta: Flavorful and Well Crafted

Thier logo is way too similar to this www.burgerboutique.com which started in 2005.

bubasla at 3:41AM on 01/29/10

does anybody make their own hamburger buns?

Whatever recipe you decide to go with, use the following for superior results:

- Delayed salt technique (add salt in the last minute of kneading)
- vital wheat gluten
- dough enhancers

You will never go back to store bought buns again !

bubasla at 4:26PM on 01/27/10

The Burger Lab's First Annual Burger (Outstanding) of the Year (The B.O.O.T.Y.)

A classic case of where the sum of the parts is actually less than the parts themself.

bubasla at 7:05PM on 01/01/10

Shake Shack Coming to Miami Next Year

I think the quality will be compromised the same way P.F. Changs got compromised by using Indian basmati rice instead of chinese in their Kuwait branch ! If Danny Meyer thinks its a distant location and no one would know the difference, he is dead wrong. I think someone should get in touch with Pat Lafreida and confirm if he will be supplying fresh chilled ground patties overseas anytime soon.

bubasla at 4:07PM on 12/16/09

The Burger Lab: The Fake Shack

How will a Keating Miraclean griddle, Hobart grinder and a APW Wyott toaster improve this recipe over home-made results ?

bubasla at 3:00AM on 10/21/09

Famous Chef Digs In-N-Out

I never expected such a comment from Gordon Ramsay. The guy thinks that everything is crap except his own. I'm so far away from In-N-Out and I can't stop reminiscing the animal style double. I need a quick fix now and there is nothing close. Pure freshness.

bubasla at 7:46AM on 04/22/08