Food Philosophy Thread: The Hamburger

[Anonymous No.9447579]

Trying out something new. There are certain food items that are so iconic and that we encounter often enough that we can't help but have a very strong opinions about it. Towards this, please post your thoughts and opinions regarding the preparation and what makes a hamburger a great hamburger.

I'll start:
My main thoughts regarding hamburgers nowadays is how often people see a .5lb patty and thing "now that's a great burger", when I couldn't disagree more. A big patty is a thick patty, and when you're biting through a burger with a thick patty you might as well be eating only the patty - as the rest of the ingredients fall by the wayside. In my opinion, a great burger has a thin patty, maybe .5 to .7 inches thick. The thickness is key but isn't what really makes a burger great - the greatness comes from the ratio of crusty "bark" to "juicy inner meat". With a thick burger the ratio will never be high enough in "bark" and thus will be overpowered by the center "juicy meat", which is more bland than the "bark". Thin pattys have a better ratio (maybe 2/3 bark/juicy meat or so) so the flavor and texture is always better. I argue that you don't truly get that great burger flavor if you're using thick patties. My only other thought about burgers I want to share is that you should use 80% beef with worcestershire sauce and salt only in your mix.

[Anonymous No.9447619]

>we
quality thread OP

[Anonymous No.9447662]

>>9447579
>bark

[Anonymous No.9447820]

>>9447579
The hamburger has gotten a makeover during the last decade and a half. Plenty of chefs in good restaurants stopped seeing it as something they kept on the menu for diners who were intimidated by the other offerings and actually gave it some love and attention. This means that in addition to the better end of fast food burgers (In-N-Out, Shake Shack) there are now some truly amazing burgers out there served in places with Michelin stars for top dollars.

But part of me feels like we ought to be past the point where we're celebrating the burger as an icon. Because so many other things are available to us in relatively fast form that I don't get how the burger's blast of fat and salt manages to hold its appeal. There's no nuance. Yes, it's delicious. You could hand me an In-N-Out double double right now and I'd eat it, and honestly say it was fucking delicious. Because it is. But after you've eaten a bunch of them, had some amazing ones and awful ones why keep eating them when there's so many other delicious things you could be eating? It's not the 1950's or 60's anymore. We have other, more interesting options. And if you've already eaten a couple decades' worth of burgers why are you still seeking them out given those other options?

I guess I'm just kinda over burgers, which were never really a favorite food of mine to begin with.

[Anonymous No.9447951]

I love burgers so much. Out of the taco-pizza-burger meme trinity the burger reigns supreme, God Bless America.

[Anonymous No.9447970]

Burger king hits these ratios exactly on point every time.