Wild West
I do not think we will truly be happy, we can always find something in our burger that can be better. The last couple of months we have left the beast to be, not changing anything. It has not been because we have become complacent. It is more about the repeat experience, the set expectation. We want guest to return and have the same experience with every mouthful. So now we keep the experiments to the kitchen. This way I can eat a lot more burgers.
The only big change has been with the beef, as we try and stay true with grass fed beef, only this time we are adding Dexter, a smaller breed of cattle from Ireland. Nicole from Terra Madre brought us a sample, at first I was very sceptical as it was very lean. The colour dark and it reminded me of venison. In addition to trying different breeds we are also investigating adding a third cut to the mix, as the chuck and brisket are becoming increasingly popular in demand and in price. We have had some mixed results with the third and fourth additions. This might sound trivial, but in the end it does make difference to the end product, the texture, the mouth feel and the way it cooks.
As for the price of beef, I believe we will be in for a huge surprise later this year. The margins will get smaller and tighter. To make a good burger that one prides on self in is not a cheap trick, good quality ingredients come at a premium. The good thing about us is that we will not compromise.
I have been mulling with a new idea for some time now, after reading the article in SAVEUR- Magazine(July 2015), I saw a beautiful beast displayed on page 17, Ernest Hemingways wild-west burger. Many have written about this legendary recipe, it almost reminds me of a frikadelle. I wanted to understand it, a far cry from the burger I have been trying to perfect. I was surprised at the amount of ingredients in the patty, from India Relish to apple, cheese, MSG, celery salt to name a few. It made me think though, perhaps the answer lies in these individual seasonings and flavourings that can be used to enhance the bling.
As it is we are looking for the right pickle/chutney, the right balance of sweet, sour and spice so we are recreating our own India Relish to understand the balance, if my thought process is correct it could open the door to our chutney and pickles we are using. Then the MSG in the Mei Yen Powder, this is something I will need to look at not because of the MSG, but rather the umami it brings together. But where? Perhaps we could recreate a basting with some much umami it will drive us to edge of insanity.
Next spice used was called Beau Monde Seasoning this would also add to the more umami and savoury, unfortunately not available anywhere. We made our own, made up of celery, onion and salt with some sweetness. Other ingredients used in making the patty was ham, wine, cheddar, capers, apple, sage, garlic, egg, carrot and tomato. Sounds more like a drunk chef after a long day coming home very hungry and then squashing the pantry together as if a balanced meal between two buns was being created.
I want to create a burger based on the wild west beast but with all the ingredients stacked on top and not as part of the patty. I would probably not be the first to think of this, but we are still going to stack it up.
So how does it taste? Honestly….I do not know, slightly confusing. I like the balance of the sweet, sour and savoury all the flavours were amplified. If I was making a meatball I would most likely say it was great. As a semi purist I will stick to the pure beef patty.
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