Well, I finally got a sous vide machine. Nothing fancy like Sally at Bewitching Kitchen but it works and it’s mine and I’m happy with it. My first steaks were out of this world. My second steaks were not the best quality and consequently not cooked long enough. I could have drilled holes and worn them as thongs. John, ever the trooper, ate his. The pork chops were brilliant.
I was trolling the web for sous vide inspiration when I heard John say, “We haven’t had a good burger in a while, can you do that in your new machine thing?” I’m up for a challenge.
I bought the minced beef and added salt, pepper, a large clove of garlic, Worcestershire sauce, ground coriander and parsley and mixed it well. I formed large patties and wrapped in cling film and froze them for 2 hours so the vacuum seal wouldn’t wreck their shape.
Then I followed the advice of a sous vide machine company who said to cook them at 135F/57.5C so that’s what I did. Overcooked for my liking but they were not dry nor did they taste like cardboard. I took them out of the bags and patted them dry and then on the BBQ at very high heat. It took 60 seconds per side to get good grill marks. For John, the burger must be Aussie style complete with fried egg, beetroot slices, bacon, lettuce, tomato, relish and mustard. What was missing? Cheese! He doesn’t eat cheese on a burger.
I can’t complain because the thought of an egg on a cheeseburger just seems too weird. I got cheese.
We love onions on our burgers so I decided to play with those too. I sliced the onions and sweated them in a frying pan with a pinch of salt and then drizzled a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar over them. I cooled them and then bagged and tossed them in the sous vide. The result was lovely lightly caramelized onions that were great on the burgers. I’m going to use the rest to make some French onion soup.
We’re looking forward to our next burger try because according to J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at Serious Eats, I should have cooked the burgers at 130F/54.5C. Whatever that man says, I listen to it.
- 500 grams / 1 pound beef mince
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper - not required but it will make your burgers taste better. Use what you like.
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley (can use dried)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 hamburger buns, sliced and toasted.
- Mix all ingredients but the buns in a bowl and mix well.
- Form two burgers but don't press too hard. Press just hard enough to form the burger - trust me, it will taste better.
- Wrap in cling film and freeze for 2 hours.
- Preheat sous vide machine to 54.5C/130F
- After 2 hours, remove cling film and place in vacuum sealer bags and vacuum seal.
- Place burger bag(s) in sous vide machine and cook for a minimum 45 minutes but can leave up to 10 hours with little loss in texture.
- minutes before serving, heat the BBQ on high heat. (or you can use a grill pan heated to high heat)
- Remove burgers from the bag and pat dry. Place on the grill for about 60 seconds per side to get good grill marks.
- Serve on hamburger buns with any toppings you enjoy. ( For example: tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, fried egg, beetroot, pineapple)
I put the egg on the wrong burger (notice the cheese on the bottom) and cut the burger thinking it was John’s. He was already eating when I noticed it. Don’t laugh but I can only eat half a burger so there’s no “stuff” on the back side. I’m an idiot. My apologies.