The best burgers are the ones you make yourself

So.....yesterday I decided I wanted a fresh burger for dinner. So the only way to do that is make the burger yourself.

First you need to decide what meat you want to use for the burger. There are plenty of different opinions on this and my favorite is boneless short ribs. Great combo of meat and fat. The store didn't have any so I went to the next best which I think is chuck roast.

Now.......we have all had bacon on a burger and we have all had onions on a burger but I think the best way is to COMBINE the bacon and onion right into the burger.

Why?

Well......flavors are always better when they are cooked in rather then simply placed on top!

So as I ground up the beef I ground up the bacon and added the onion as well so the finished product included all three.

 

You may notice that the mix is dropping into a bowl resting on ice. I got this tip from the internet to help keep the meat cold. It's a good idea as it helps when making the patties.

As the mixture is falling into the bowl, carefully mix it with your hands to insure the three elements are evenly folded in. Handling the meat too much makes the patties tough.

Here is the finished product.

Another tip I picked up is the press a hole in the top of the burger. This will keep the burger from "balling up" when you cook it which helps retain the juices.

Believe me.....cooking the bacon and onion in the burger tastes way better then slapping it on top!

So here is the deal:

• Two or so pounds of whatever meat you choose be it sirloin, chuck roast, or my preferred boneless short ribs.
• One pound of thick sliced hickory smoked bacon
• One medium sweet onion (Vidalia is the best)

What am I drinking with that??

When most folks think of Beaujolais wine they think of the stuff that is sold around the holidays called Beaujolais Nouveau (also called vin primeur or first wine). It is usually from the lesser districts in the Beaujolais region and is typically only seven to nine weeks old. Like Thanksgiving, it is meant to be a celebratory wine to welcome in the new harvest. 

In 1985 the third Thursday in November was established as its release date which has become a cleverly hyped event here and around the world. The stuff is fun to drink and is usually gone within a month of its release and accounts for over one third of all the wine produced in Beaujolais.

Unfortunately it also overshadows the really good wines that are produced in Beaujolais.

Beaujolais wines are not considered to be nearly as "serious" as their cousins to the north (Burgundy) or their cousins to the south (Northern Rhone) They are lighter and fruitier.....more to be considered a Bistro wine which makes Beaujolais the perfect wine of choice for a burger!

There are three levels of Beaujolais with the best being the Cru wines. The term cru here does not indicate a vineyard as it does in other areas of France but refers to the ten villages in the appellation that have been given special recognition for their wine.
 (Note....the above information about Beaujolais comes from the great book by Karen MacNeil titled:
The Wine Bible.)

The wine we drank with the burgers is from Morgon one of the ten cru villages.

So that's it!

A great burger and a great wine for a perfect Friday night dinner!

So now what?

Too hot to play golf and so I got these great organic Roma's at Whole Foods so I'm making homemade tomato sauce this afternoon. If I get around to it I'll blog about that too.