Thursday, May 19, 2011

Nathan Myhrvold's Modernist Burger

Click to enlarge


I am craving a good burger and remembered this. Sounds like a lot of work, but I would love to try it.

From the top down, here's what's in it:

  • A top bun, made from scratch, toasted in rendered beef suet.

  • Burger glaze made from an emulsified mix of suet, stock, tomato, and smoked salt. Something like meatonnaise.

  • Maitake mushroom, sliced into a burger-sized round, sauteed in beef suet.

  • Romaine lettuce, sliced into a medallion and infused under pressure with condensed hickory smoke.

  • Heirloom tomato, compressed in a vacuum bag to concentrate its flavor and texture.

  • Cheese slice made by emulsifying Emmental and ComtĂ© cheese into a base of wheat ale, then pouring onto silicone, and slicing. This is an idea cribbed from Heston Blumenthal's playbook.

  • The burger, made from short rib ground and formed into a log so that the grain aligns vertically (another Blumenburger technique). Though the patty picture appears to have been grilled, Dr. Myhrvold described a different cooking method: The patty gets cooked sous-vide in suet, dropped in a liquid nitrogen bath, then immediately deep fried to crisp the exterior without overcooking the center.

  • Crimini mushroom ketchup flavored with honey, horseradish, fish sauce, ginger, and allspice.

  • The bottom bun.


From Serious Eats

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