Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [35]
INGREDIENTS:
1 beef shoulder tender roast (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ cup baby arugula or microgreens
½ teaspoon minced shallots
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ cup Pourable Herbed Mayonnaise
1½ tablespoons drained small capers
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct high heat, about 450°F. Keep the roast cold until just before grilling, and then coat the cold roast with about 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Grill the roast directly over the heat just until grill-marked on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes total. The center should remain raw.
Quickly chill the roast in the refrigerator, then wrap tightly in plastic and freeze until partially frozen, about 1 hour. Slice paper-thin on a meat slicer. Or slice thinly by hand, and then sandwich each slice between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound until paper-thin.
Arrange the slices on chilled plates. Toss the arugula or microgreens with the shallots, lemon juice, and remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Mound a small portion of the greens in the center of each plate. Drizzle lightly with the thinned mayonnaise and garnish with the capers.
GROUND BEEF/CHUCK, ROUND, OR SIRLOIN
Ultimate Cheeseburger
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
The best beef burgers are all about the meat itself instead of fancy toppings. And not all ground beef is created equal. You need some fat or the burger will be dry. You also want flavor, which means choosing meat ground from a well-exercised muscle group such as the chuck. We prefer ground chuck with a meat-to-fat ratio of about 4 to 1 (80 percent lean). Don’t skimp on the fat. Many of the flavorful compounds in beef are fat-soluble and you need fat to carry that flavor. You also need some fat for moistness.
Burgers taste best when the meat is ground just before cooking. If you have a grinder or grinder attachment for your mixer at home, cut the meat into thick strips or chunks, and chill it in the freezer until very cold or partially frozen. Then grind it twice. The next best thing is to buy a chuck roast, and have your butcher grind it the same day you plan to cook the burgers. In last place is supermarket beef that has been sitting in plastic for a few days, which yields the blandest, driest burgers because so many of the juices have drained away.
We know that some people like a rounder burger to keep the center rare and red, while others prefer a flatter burger to provide a stable shelf for toppings. Either way, ground meat will swell up slightly in the center during grilling because the meat shrinks around the circumference of the burger, where the heat is highest, squeezing the cooler center and puffing it outward. If you like a rounder, puffier cooked burger, gently shape the raw meat into flat or discus-shaped patties that taper to the edge. If you like a flat cooked burger, make a slight depression in the center of the patty when shaping. It will swell and form a flat surface as the burger cooks.
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds cold freshly ground beef chuck, 80 percent lean
⅓ cup ice-cold water
¾ teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 to 5 ounces cold cheddar, Swiss, Jack, or blue cheese, shredded or crumbled
Butter for the rolls (optional)
6 crusty yet soft rolls, such as kaiser, split
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, about 425°F. Using your hands and a light touch, mix together the beef, water, salt, pepper, and cheese. Gently shape into 6 patties no more than 1 inch thick. Refrigerate the burgers until the grill is ready.