Burger King Create the Worlds Most Expensive Burger

Good news for the burger world - Burger King, famous for its fast food burgers, has decided to produce a real whopper of a burger. The burger, named 'The Burger', costs GBP95.00 and is only available in one Burger King restaurant, the Gloucester Road, West London branch. So, what are the ingredients of the world's most expensive burger? Wagyu beef* White truffle Pata negra ham slices Cristal onion straws Modena balsamic vinegar Lambs lettuce Pink himalayan rock salt** Organic white wine Shallot infused mayonnaise Served in an Iranian saffron and white truffle dusted bun Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson simply said that the "It sounds delicious." I would love to try the burger to be able to provide a review, straight from the horses mouth, but cannot afford the bus fare to the West End, so will have to pass. I am not convinced that "organic white wine" is the best choice however. The ingredients are sourced from all over the world, so a splash of organic wine can only be there to attract the green vote. But wouldn't it be great of Burger King, and its rival burger bars and restaurants, made a greater attempt to produce a better burger? I would happily pay six pounds for a high quality burger sandwich (not meal) but we only have the whoopers and Big Macs to choose from, with poor quality bread, bland meat and a garnish that tries to disguise the meat rather than compliment it. *Wagyu refers to several breeds of cattle genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to producing a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. Also known as Kobe-style beef, the meat from wagyu cattle is known worldwide for its marbling characteristics, increased eating quality through a naturally enhanced flavor, tenderness and juiciness. Because of the wagyu cattle's genetic predisposition and special diet including beer and sake, wagyu yields a beef that contains a higher percentage of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids than typical beef. The increased marbling also improves the ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats. (Definition from Wikipedia). **why not use Maldon Sea Salt?

Heston Blumenthal Burger Recipe

Last week I watched Heston Blumenthal's TV show In Search of Perfection in eager anticipation, as I saw a review that he was on a mission to find and cook the perfect burger. His journey for burger perfection first took him to the USA, to a small cafe that claims to be the birth place of the burger. Their burgers were simple meat patties served in a white toast sandwich, with runny cheese sauce. Strictly no ketchup allowed. Blumenthal then went to New York to sample a McDonalds hamburger, which obviously disappointed. He also stopped in on an old friend who served Lady Burgers, or something similar, which were mini bite sized burgers neatly presented, albeit with a bit too much greenery falling out, and not an onion in site. As we know, the core ingredient in a good burger is the meat. And this is where things started to get interesting for the Burgermeister. Firstly, the steak used is minced, wrapped, and stored for a month. Then when ready, the burgers are sliced directly, rather than moulded by hand. The reason being that the line of the fibres and tissues in the meat is essential to the flavour and texture of the burger. Also, rather than using just one cut of meat, Blumenthal uses three different cuts, to provide the perfect flavour, texture and consistency for the burger. Naturally binding burgers are essential to a good burger, remember the Burger mantra NEVER ADD EGG! For this, he used a combination of beef chuck, short-rib meat and minimum 30-day dry-aged beef brisket. Now, this really is going into new realms of burger-discover, as I always use minced meat as it comes from the butchers. I always use the best minced meat available, but have never minced it myself. For the rest of the burger, Heston Blumenthal prefers a plain white bun with sesame seeds (the seeds are added using an egg wash). The buns are then covered in cheese slices (made with sodium citrate!) and put under a grill. I am glad to say that this has been my preferred method for sometime now, as it ensures that the bun remains in tact throughout the whole burger eating experience. His burger sauce obviously has the standard foundation of tomato sauce, mayonnaise and mustard, with the usual extras including onion (sliced thinly and the rings blanched for 20 seconds in boiling water), crisp lettuce and gherkins and other pickles. The BBC Cooking web page has the full method for making the dough for the buns, the burgers, the cheese slices, the tomato concentrate for the sauce plus a description on how to construct the burger the Blumenthal way. Take a look, try it out and enjoy. Burger perfection is finally here. We bow to Heston Blumenthal, and thank him for dedicating his time and efforts to improving the knowledge and furthering our cause, of making the perfect burger!

Burger Review: The Marriott Burger

As part of my search for the perfect burger, I like to try every famous burger I can, to enable me to improve my own burger recipes. During a recent tour of southern England I found myself at the Marriott Highcliff hotel in Bournemouth, so therefore could not resist trying out the famous Marriott Burger. The Marriot Burger is an 8oz burger with cheese and crispy bacon, and comes with chips and a salad garnish. At first glance it did look a good burger. It was well presented in a white sesame seed bun, the chips were golden on the outside, and the salad was OK as far as salads go. Unfortunately it was soon obvious that the first impressions were misleading. The presentation did not make up for what was a very disappointing burger. The first problem was the bun was slightly stale and over toasted. It seemed that the bun may have been frozen, then quickly defrosted. Or it may have just been a bit stale. Either way, not what I would expect from the brand as highly respected as Marriott. The burger was rather disappointing too. The burger itself was slightly over cooked, and bland, there seemed little if any seasoning to the meat, and certainly no spice. There was no juice whatsoever. The bacon was certainly crispy, and the cheese was cheesy, but neither complimented the burger. There was also no burger sauce or relish provided with the burger, just the standard tomato sauce, mustard and mayonnaise. The Marriott burger was a real disappointment, especially as it came with a price tag of GBP10.45 (about 22 US dollars). Maybe the chefs at Marriott should take a look at the recipes here before putting their burgers back on the menu.

Burger Sauce

A good burger sauce is prepared fresh from old ingredients. Fresh ingredients could be used, but this will add several hours to the preparation time. My burger sauce recipe: tomato sauce mayonnaise English mustard Mix it all up. It should turn into a nice pink burger sauce colour. I sometimes throw in some brown sauce instead, or leave out the mayo. Depends on how I feel. You can also add some spices, such as chili powder or Tabasco sauce. The best burger sauces are prepared once the burger is cooked, as until you cook the burger, you never eally know what sort of mood you are in. Some days you may want spicy, some days tomatoey, some with more mayo. So mix it while the burger is cooling down, or the cheese is melting, then enjoy.

Bacon Burgers

450g minced beef 2 tablespoons chopped parsley salt and pepper 4 rasher of streaky bacon Dijon mustard oil 50g butter 4 long / finger rolls Mix together the beef and parsley with plenty of seasoning. Divide the mixture into four sausage shapes. Remove the bacon rinds and stretch the rashers. Spread each one on one side with some mustard. Wrap the mustard-spread rasher around each burger and secure it with a wooden cocktail stick. Fry them in the pan with oil and serve in the rolls hot dog style with your favourite burger sauce.

Grilled Blue Cheese Burgers

100g Danish blue 1.5kg minced beef 4 spring onions, finely chopped 1 teaspoon (or more if you like) Worcestershire sauce salt and pepper pinkch of dry mustard 12 buns ! Crumble the cheese into a bowl and mix in the beef, onionsm Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and mustard. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour. Divide the mixture in 12 burgers and grill / griddle. Serve in warmed buns. Ofcourse, there is no reason why this should not serve 6 instead of 12 people.

Wine-glazed Burgers

Another classic burger recipe, to serve 4. This can be made as a nice meal. Serve with some salad, or even have as a starter. Use 675g minced beef 2 tabelspoons chopped parsley salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon of oil 50g butter 2 buns 4 spring onions, chopped 1 clove of garlic, crushed 1/2 teaspoon of French mustard 150ml red wine Mix together the beef, parsley and s&p. Divide the mixture into 4 equal sized burgers. Heat the oil and butter together in a frying pan and fry the burgers for about 4 minutes on each side. Keep them warm in an pven at about 140 degrees C and put the buns in the over to heat through. Add the onions, garlic and mustard to the pan and saute for 2-3 minutes. Pour in the wine and boil until reduced by half. Serve as open burgers, with a burger on each half of a bun. Spoon the wine sauce over the burgers and garnish with a sprig of parsley.

The Zurich Burger

This is the method used by my mate Rich out in Zurich. I have not tried it myself, but he informed me that he got very good results. Here is what he said: "Sifu, you would have been proud of me yesterday; made some tanfastic beefburgers! In fact, they were so good I had some more for breakfast this morning. My Burger-Fu is a slightly different style to yours, though... I used a lot more beer, mixed the spices and worcester sauce into in and then broke up and mixed up the beef into it to soak about an hour before I cooking. I was a bit worried that they would break-up in the pan, but they held up just fine. They also had an unique shape which would, perhaps, disqualify them in an official burger tournament: I forgot to buy burger buns and only had little mini-baggettes so I made the burgers almost kibi-shaped. It worked well." So that's the Zurich Burger. It worries me slightly, this breaking the mince up, as it goes against the rules set out in the Mighty Mince Cookbook (Jane Todd, 1980), but I am tempted to try it sometime. I also must add a recipe for kibe, as they are great Arab influenced Brazilian meat ball.

The Basic Burger

Ok, so you want to make yourself a decent burger. Then this is what you need: Meat. That's about it. Minced beef is the main ingredient of a proper burger. Do not let people tell you that a burger needs egg in it to bind it, or flour in it to make it flowery. If you want egg, fry an egg and put it on top of the burger, preferably with some bacon and cheese. And lots of burger sauce (recipe to follow). So, meat is not enough, although you are 99% of the way there. This is what you do: Take the minced meat and place in a bowl. Allow anywhere between 125 grams and a kilo for a burger (125 grams is approximately to 1/4 of a pound). Sprinkle a generous pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Add some other exotic spices, such as cumin, coriander, curry powder is good too, chilly powder if you like it hot, whatever you have in the cupboard really. Now, I like to add a splash of Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce, and a good helping of English beer (real ale). Pour the beer over, and watch all those spices fizz on the meat for a bit. Feel free to put your feet up, make a cup of tea, pour another beer. No need to rush into the the burger moulding phase. Right, now mould the burger. The best way is to use your hands. It is messy, but much more rewarding. Take the meat and mould into a ball first and squeeze, this will cause some of the beer to be forced out, but it helps to bind the burger without the need for eggs, flour, wood glue or whatever else you may have been told to use in the past. Now, cook it. I used to grill them under a grill, then I moved to frying them, as this kept them intact better, and now I have a cast iron griddle to cook them on. I still cook in vegetable oil, but I guess lard or some other animal fat would be pretty good. Try it, and if it is better, tell me, and I'll sneak some into the house. Okay, once cooked, all you need is a decent wholemeal bun (or white seseme seed if you are not being healthy like me) and some salad. Oh, I almost forgot, cheese. If you want cheese on it, there are several methods depending on how you are cooking it. If under a grill, just chuck the cheese on top at the end. If in a frying pan or griddle, put the cheese on after turning. If you have a lid, then you can put the cheese on later and put the lid on to speed up the cheese melting process. Finish the burger off with some burger sauce. Serve with cold beer. I link a photo of the most recent one I made. The best I have really.