Monster burgers

J

Josh Feltman

Joined
Feb 12, 2001
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I've seen a few articles recently about restaurants that serve giant hamburgers--multi-pound monstrosities. Naturally, I was curious. My wife and I decided to try our hands at building a massive burger. It was surprisingly easy, incredibly impressive, and rather delicious.

Ours was rather small compared to some of the commercially available ones. I started by cooking some bacon in the trusty cast iron skillet. While the bacon was cooking, I made a large hamburger patty with about 3lbs of lean ground beef. After the bacon was done, I left a little bit of grease in the skillet, and carefully placed the patty in. I then covered the skillet, and cooked it as you would a normal hamburger. Flipping it was the only tricky part, and that wasn't too difficult. I used two spatulas to carefully lift the patty onto a plate, sandwiched it with another plate on top, quickly flipped it over while clasping it between the two plates, then slid it back in to finish cooking the other side.

We used a whole loaf of sheepherder's bread as a bun, added two avocados, a whole red onion, the bacon, and a bunch of thinly sliced sharp cheddar. To serve, I just sliced it up like a small pizza. My wife an I ate two gluttonous dinners off that one gigantic burger.
 
What? You didn't just try to flip the 3-lb burger in the cast iron pan?

I would have ... then again I'd probably also have a concussion, a hernia and a house burned down due to a suspicious grease fire. ;)
 
I'm glad that spanned 2 meals for 2 people, I can't imagine eating 3lbs of beef anymore... though in my hefty days I'm sure I could have.
I wonder if you could finish it off in the oven, using a meat thermometer to ensure it was cooked through. Not having a grill, that's usually how I cook a steak- heat a cast-iron pan to red hot, and sear a salt&pepper rubbed steak on it, 30 sec a side, finish in the pre-heated 350 degree oven 7 minutes. Juuuuuicy.
As for burgers, my favorite place for them nowadays is the Red Robin Grill, a decent national chain. Sadly, Nunzio's diner, the place I loved them from best, closed when I was a teenager. They'd grill a burger, top it with fried onions and put it on a chewy kaiser roll wrapped in foil (to go). The bun would steam inside the foil. Mmmm.
 
Just meat? Nothing added or mixed in? :confused:
Good trick for flipping, Josh. I always take yer cookin' tips to heart. You know yer stuff ;)
 
Jjust in time for the diet :grumpy: ;) I always liked Fuddruckers for burgers. I think they are the best I've ever eaten.....including homemade.....they must add some horrible chemical to them to make them taste so good. Oh well. I'll enjoy one in Dec....maybe my Christmas present....LOL :rolleyes:
 
Yeah, it was two very substantial meals. My wife made fries the first night, lol. I don't think either of us made it that far. 1/4 slice of that thing was still a very substantial burger--I'm a pretty big guy, and I still found it challenging to finish. I'd say the burger we made would easily feed four hungry folks with no side dishes.

Bri in Chi--yeah, just plain beef. no seasonings whatsoever :eek: --came out great though. One of the best burgers I've ever eaten.

mamav--I used very lean ground beef--that makes it diet friendly, right :confused:


Noah--give me a few weeks to recover :D
 
Flipping it was the only tricky part

Next time, use rebar.



(There was a great hamburger joint?/chain down in Longview, Texas: Whattaburgers, with great top-of-the-line super-sized hamburgers.

If you didn't want that much to eat, they offered the "justaburger." Loved it.)
 
I've always been a fan of a great burger. A traditionalist, the mongo burger doesn't captivate me. A little town not far from here put together the largest burger in the world one year. (Malta lost the title a couple years later..) Afterwards, the town fell to bickering over parking reciepts. It took several years of court to settle it out, and no one's talking about making another burger any time soon, if at all.

Burgers generally fall into three categories. (Well, maybe four if you want to accept the dollar burger.) There's a two dollar burger. In and Out in Ca is the best of this category, though a couple other LA spots are pretty close. Then there's the 4 to 5 dollar burger. This should be the best, but isn't always. Sometimes it's not even as good as the two dollar burger. Finally, the designer burger. If I'm going to pay 8 bucks for one of those, though, it better be almost as good as sex with the young waitress.


munk
 
Something I picked up here in Japan was using chopped onions to thin out hamburger meat. I didnt like it at first, but I think its probably a good idea.
It stretches your meat further and its healthier for you too.
 
munk said:
I've always been a fan of a great burger. A traditionalist, the mongo burger doesn't captivate me. A little town not far from here put together the largest burger in the world one year. (Malta lost the title a couple years later..) Afterwards, the town fell to bickering over parking reciepts. It took several years of court to settle it out, and no one's talking about making another burger any time soon, if at all.

Burgers generally fall into three categories. (Well, maybe four if you want to accept the dollar burger.) There's a two dollar burger. In and Out in Ca is the best of this category, though a couple other LA spots are pretty close. Then there's the 4 to 5 dollar burger. This should be the best, but isn't always. Sometimes it's not even as good as the two dollar burger. Finally, the designer burger. If I'm going to pay 8 bucks for one of those, though, it better be almost as good as sex with the young waitress.


munk
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Burgers are like sex, the more you pay the more ya might get!!!!***** Sometimes, anyway, if you are lucky, married and respect your wife enough to keep her happy! Now, there is the secret of the $8.00 burger! Keep em' happy and they will keep coming back for more!
YeeeHaw!
iBear
 
Kismet said:
Flipping it was the only tricky part

Next time, use rebar.



(There was a great hamburger joint?/chain down in Longview, Texas: Whattaburgers, with great top-of-the-line super-sized hamburgers.

If you didn't want that much to eat, they offered the "justaburger." Loved it.)
Click to expand...
We used to eat at the same WHATTABURGER place in Phoenix, a few years ago. May be one there still! I have no idea!
iBear
 
I thought the meat at the only Fuddruckers I ever tried was below par for a burger of that cost. It may have been high quality meat, but the preparation left it tasting like any old pre-pasted burger stand.

Never had a Whattaburger. Is that for the "what the f---" and "what the hell" folks?

I wish I could remember the LA chain of decent burgers. I almost want to say Tommys, but that might be wrong after so many years with my bad memory. They had a chili sauce that was great.

Donuts, peanut butter, burgers and icecream are simple foods if done right become high cusine.


munk
 
munk said:
I thought the meat at the only Fuddruckers I ever tried was below par for a burger of that cost. It may have been high quality meat, but the preparation left it tasting like any old pre-pasted burger stand.

Never had a Whattaburger. Is that for the "what the f---" and "what the hell" folks?

I wish I could remember the LA chain of decent burgers. I almost want to say Tommys, but that might be wrong after so many years with my bad memory. They had a chili sauce that was great.

Donuts, peanut butter, burgers and icecream are simple foods if done right become high cusine.


munk
Click to expand...
WHATTABURGERS WERE ALLRIGHT! A decent burger!
iBear
 
We have a Whataburger place not far from us that's okay. We may have been in there on an off night but it's not as good as I remember the ones in other places including Prescott Arizona.;)

The Lottaburgers here were better but I refuse to eat at them since one of the big bosses came in while I was eating at our used to be local one out here one day and asked the help rather loudly, "WHY AREN"T YOU IN THE BACK FRYING UP SOME SQUAW BREAD?" after looking straight at me when he came in the door.:mad:
I squashed my first instinct of throwing my food to the floor and then wiping it up with the sumbitch but I did tell them all about it when I got ready to leave.
The guy said he didn't mean anything about it and I told him that if I had of been an African American he damned sure wouldn't have come in asking the help why they weren't in the back cooking up some chitlins.:rolleyes:
I also told them that I was going to tell everyone I knew about the incident, it's a largely ndn community where I live even if you wouldn't know it and word passes fast.:D
It was about a year later that they shut the doors on this one out here. There are some others in town but I won't eat at those either.:mad:

We have a place called Hatfield's that make a hamburger they call, "The Real McCoy" that's pretty good too.:D ;)
 
Josh,

That sounds excellent, except perhaps for the bacon. One day I'm going to have a restaurant called "The Awesome Avocado". It will be dedicated to the proposition that all food is better with avocado and cheese on it. :D

A little horseradish sauce rarely hurts, either.


There was a Whattaburger in Mobile, Al, where I grew up, but I don't know if it's still there. I was always especially partial to Burger King Whoppers...didja know that getting them sans mayo drops the fat by about half?

John
 
One day I'm going to have a restaurant called "The Awesome Avocado". It will be dedicated to the proposition that all food is better with avocado and cheese on it >>>>>>>

You have something there.



munk
 
One of the monster burgers hit the news a while ago, and my friends wanted to load me and a defib kit into a car for a road trip, they had faith in me at least giving it a good run if not taking it down.

at home I go:
1lb ground beef
1/2 minced onion
one or two thinly sliced green onions
and egg
some bread crumbs
and a couple glugs of A1
rolled into 5 or 6 patties, on kaiser rolls with sliced pepperjack. Grilled mushrooms and onions encouraged but optional (still trying to bring my daughter to the light)

usually do steak fries or oven roasted spuds, and often Breyers and whole milk (plus a little sugar) milkshakes as well, which partly explains why I'm 90lbs over what I was in my youth..
 
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