Day 3: #2 Makes Hamburgers

Thanks to a chef on YouTube, #2 learned how to cook some delicious burgers tonight!  We made them all at once and decided to freeze the rest.  He was a little grossed out by the meat, but he said it was the best burger he has ever had.  He also insisted I eat one and yes, it was delicious!  I didn't even miss the cheese.  Lately cheese is what makes dried out beef patties tolerable.



Rather than use wine like the chef did, I added a little milk to the mixture along with some finely diced onion, minced garlic, salt, and a little dried oregano (my son's choice).  It poofed up a lot when we cooked it, so next time we will flatten it more, but we are definitely converted to making fresh beef patties.  These were some of the chef's tips.

1.  Use 80/20 beef.  "Fat is flavor."
2.  Use only cold ingredients.
3.  Don't mix it up with your hands.  It warms up the fat and dries it out.  Only touch it to form it into a ball.
4.  After it's formed into a ball, put it between two sheets of wax paper and then use a plate to flatten it into a patty.  Fix the edges a bit with your fingers, but don't worry too much about the shape.
5.  Don't press the burgers with the spatula.  You're just squeezing out the juices and making them dry.  I am positive this is true.

He put it on the grill.  I couldn't grill tonight, so I just put my oven rack on the highest setting and broiled the patties.  Seriously good, but I still don't want to touch ground beef!  :-D

#2 ate sliced tomato and sauteed onion on top of his burger.  Later he asked if he could have some of our salad and it pained me to say no.  #1 would have flipped because he didn't eat anything except what he bought, but I told him we would celebrate with a large salad when his challenge is over.  He loves my salad, especially my homemade dressing.  At times he has actually asked to have salad instead of dessert! 

The rest of the family had "Magic Chicken" with salad and baked potatoes (well, baked in the microwaved).  You take some chicken thighs, salt and pepper them, and put them skin side down under the broiler for 15 minutes.  Flip them over, add about half an inch of boiling water, salt and pepper them again, then bake at 450 for 45 minutes.  I got the recipe from my sister and I think she got it from her sister-in-law.  The skin gets nice and crispy!  All of my kids like it and there are few things all of them like.