In Search of the Perfect Burger (Part 5, Buns)
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that my recent lab efforts have been dedicated to baking my own breads, pizzas, and buns. How can you possibly have a “perfect burger” without it?
One of the more frustrating things about restaurant burgers is that many of them do not pay attention to the bun. Imagine putting all of that time and effort to create the perfect blend of beef, cheese and spices, just to ruin it with a cheap store bought bun. Wow, that really is a depressing thought…
So I started my research into bread making by studying YouTube videos of Jim Lahey, Peter Reinhart, Nancy Silverton, and Chad Robertson. Their passion for bread is infectious. After successfully using Lahey’s “No Knead” method, I was hooked on being able to make bread. Was it perfect? No, but it was bread out of my oven and it tasted better than most of the supermarket bread I have eaten.
With that success under my belt, the next step was to tackle making hamburger buns. With the help of my favorite new book, Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day I was able to make the basic white buns and a white sandwich loaf. I know that white bread is not “artisan”, but for many people a soft white bun is “perfect!” In any case, don’t these buns look great?
I can honestly say that these hamburger buns were pretty good and will act as a platform for developing the right bun for the perfect burger. I am going to play around with Reinhart’s recipe a bit to see if can make the bun more to my taste. I am thinking maybe I would add whole wheat flour or playing with the hydration level. Once I have worked out those tweaks, I will post the recipe. Until then, enjoy the loaf I made using the same dough I used for the buns.
Making Duck Prosciutto (Recipe)
This post will be short and sweet. Excellent meat produces excellent product. During my first experiment with duck prosciutto, I realized that I am selling myself short by buying grocery store meat. So I went to my new favorite place, Rain Shadow meats in Seattle and bought myself some serious Muscovy duck breast. I paid a pretty penny for 2.5 pounds of duck and I can not afford to make this a monthly habit, but the results were fantastic.
Ingredients:
1.134 kilograms (2.5 pounds) duck breast
1300 grams kosher salt
Several sprigs of thyme (to taste)
2-3 juniper berries (trust me, you don’t want to use much more)
Application:
The goal here is to completely cover the duck in herbs and salt. I used a plate for each duck breast half. Spread about 350 grams of kosher salt down on each of the plates. Grind the juniper berries in a spice grinder and sprinkle it equally over the two plates. Next, place the thyme sprigs down on the salt. Lay the duck breasts skin side up on the salt and herb mixture. Use the remaining salt to cover the duck breast. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Note: Don’t be stingy with the salt, salt is cheap!
Place the duck breast in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. Since the duck breasts were huge, I cured it for 48 hours. After 24-48 hours, rinse the salt and herbs off the duck breast. Dry them off, wrap in cheese cloth and hang in curing chamber for 10-14 days. Because of the duck’s size, I chose to hang the duck longer (14 days) to make sure it was done.
To store the duck prosciutto, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. To serve, just slice thinly. Enjoy.
