First, we'll need two English muffins. I've found that there are no English muffins like Thomas' English Muffins. The supermarket brand muffins just don't taste the same. The term English muffin is a misnomer as they are technically not muffins (and not from England). Instead they resemble crumpets (also a soft yeast dough shaped into rounds and cooked on a griddle). In any case, either make your own English muffins or buy Thomas' brand.
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Deciding how you want your hamburgers cooked is important. Sometimes you want a thick, juicy burger, and sometimes you want a multiple thin patty burger that's been cooked so the patties have a crisp shell and the inside is done but chewy. I felt the latter would work best on my English muffins.
I split my ground beef into four 1/8 lb. chuck patties and flattened them down into rounds that looked like they would fit the patty. (I did not make my patties large enough because they will shrink a bit while cooking. Flatten them down until they look like they're too big for the muffins.) Don't be too concerned with overworking the ground beef (which can be a problem with thick burger patties) since we're making thin patties.
You can grill or broil these burgers, but heating a pan was easiest for me. I heated an empty pan over medium-high heat until water sizzled and jumped when I tossed in a few drops. Then I transferred the patties over to the pan and started my timer. I was going for well done since these were thin patties, so five minutes on the first side.
The patties don't stick to the pan because some of the fat renders out. Once the first side is done, it should be quite easy to flip them over with a metal spatula. Five more minutes and the other side all also have a gorgeous and tasty crust.
About a minute before the second side is done, any toppings you desire should be placed on the patty. I put some Pepper Jack cheese (Monterey Jack cheese with Jalapeno chiles) on top of my burgers. I then realized that I had some bacon left over from the Bacon Test, Part I and broke some pieces off and placed them on the cheese.Meanwhile, I had taken my English muffins and halved them with two forks. Using a knife produces a smoother finish on the muffin halves which doesn't toast as well or produce the famous nooks and crannies for sauce and dressing to fill. The muffins went into a toaster for a light toast and I topped one side with poor man's Russian dressing (equal parts ketchup and mayonnaise, adjust proportions to taste). Real Russian dressing should have grated onions and herbs in it. By the way, Russian dressing isn't from Russia... both English muffins and Russian dressing were invented in America by English and Russian immigrants.
I stacked two patties on top of each bottom half of an English muffin.
I slipped in a piece of romaine lettuce for a little crispy texture and plated the burgers with kosher pickles. Dinner in less than fifteen minutes.Mini Hamburgers (serves 2 or one hearty eater)
| 1/2 lb. (225 g) ground beef chuck | form into four patties | 5 min. on medium-high | flip, cook 4 minutes | top, cook 1 minute | assemble |
| favorite toppings (cheese, bacon, etc.) | |||||
| 2 English muffins | split with forks | toast | spread | ||
| favorite dressing | |||||
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Get a life, get another beer.
BTW, have you seen my recipe for vegemite rice?
Obviously nobody is going to bake hamburger buns. That would be madness.
The things they sell in supermarkets as hamburger buns are lame. The texture is all wrong. They fall apart.
The buns they serve at In-N-Out are ideal in every way, for that size burger. My ideal at-home bun would be a larger version of that.
Anyhoo -- I suspect that while English Muffins must come close in terms of density and not-falling-apart, aren't they kinda dry? And that dusting of cornmeal or whatever on the outside... not right.
I must be completely mad then, as I have been making my own hamburger/brat buns for about year now. Why? Because I enjoy it, and the end result is much better than anything I have purchased at the store. Besides, you ever read the list of ingredients on those bags of buns?
-eric
One of you commented that the muffins might be too dry. I believe this could very well be true IF you didn't have plenty of wet stuff in your burger. I use thick juicy burgers, rather than Mike's multiple-patty approach, and I use lots of ketchup and green tomato relish, so the somewhat drier texture of the english muffin is a welcome contrast. With his russian dressing I imagine Mike achieved a similar effect. I like sliced onions on there, too. With multiple patties you might even be able to put onion between the patties for a tasty layered effect.
Anyway, my point in posting here was just to say THANKS! for trying out an english muffin burger! Too cool.
Now split the mass into pattys.
Instead of cooking the pattys on pan or grill, you can do them in oven. ~10 minutes at 350F(175C), or until they look done.
I have a hamburger recipe I've been using for a while now that creates a great tasting burger. to your ground beef, I prefer 85% lean, add finely diced onions, minced garlic and chopped basil, plus salt and pepper to taste. I've added hot pepper flakes on occasion. Mix this up and preferably let it rest for a couple hours in the fridge to allow the tastes to mingle. Form into patties, grill these bad-boys up, add a slice of good deli cheese - Black Forest white american is my favorite, and enjoy.
thanks again, Ken.
Having recently moved to Iowa from Chicago I am having trouble finding good buns (I have mostly been looking for the crusty brat buns or french rolls), they do not have my brands here and I am very picky, I doubt I'm talented enough to make my own, and being single it seems like a lot of work for just me.
kskerr
i'm colltroonik. this web is very nice :), soryy for my poor english, i'm from mexico
I can post the recipe if anyone is interested. What say you all? (That's not the southern Yall. I am in Seattle.)
The solution - swing by Five Guys (one of the better hamburger joints) on the way home. Once home, ditch the (by then) soggy rolls and repackage in freshly toasted English Muffins. Add some onion and a little A-1 Sauce. Mmmmm.
Best,
john
We try to be healthier, so we use extra lean ground beef to make our patties. Since lean meat does not hold it's shape well, we add pieces of bread. We also add spices and garlic to the burger, which are very common, but we also add chunks of green apple. I have never seen green apples in burgers anywhere else, and if you have never tried it, this is a MUST in any burger recipe! SL
We try to be healthier, so we use extra lean ground beef to make our patties. Since lean meat does not hold it's shape well, we add pieces of bread. We also add spices and garlic to the burger, which are very common, but we also add chunks of green apple. I have never seen green apples in burgers anywhere else, and if you have never tried it, this is a MUST in any burger recipe! SL
My family goes the same route. We always try to cook healthier whenever possible, and burgers are no exception. Maybe it's just me and my odd taste buds, but I think the extra lean ground beef tastes just as good if not better than normal ground beef.
Anyway, I just want you to correct that statement about (English) muffins being created in America. They were widespread - including "Muffin Factories" in England long before they reached these shores. You know what they called them? Yep, you're right, MUFFINS :lol: The only thing created in America was calling them English Muffins to differentiate them from what in England they call - nope, not American Muffins - BUNS! :shock:
Can you tell I'm English? Now I'm off to cook my first ever hamburger. Thanks for the great recipes B)
In btw, this is my first time on the site..