Meat reheat part 4 – Donegal Beef and Cashel Blue Cheese Burger. My challenge to America.

Over a year ago, I posted about my home-made burger. On reflection, I have to admit that there was little to make it stand out from the crowd. Time for a big rethink. Time for a reheat and while I’m at it, time for a challenge. There are over 300 million of you out there who believe that you make the best burgers in the world. Yes, Americans, I’m talking about you. You certainly make and eat the most burgers, consuming over 40,000,000,000 of them each year. Yes, forty billion burgers. But the best? I doubt it. Not withstanding the growing horse meat scandal across Europe, that will run for donkey’s years, we have the better ingredients here in Ireland. 

Now, the challenge. Beat my Donegal Beef and Cashel Blue Cheese Burger if you can. The beef is grown in the lush pastures just outside the town of Lifford in County Donegal, the most northerly county in Ireland. Cashel Blue is one of the world’s finest blue cheeses, produced with great care in County Tipperary.

Small side note: Tipperary is the Wife’s home county. Everything out of Tipperary is magnificent. (Just thought I should let you know.)

So, what am I serving it with? I could just squeeze some tomato sauce over it, throw on some lettuce and onion and pop it in a corn syrup sweetened bun. Then all I would have to do is crack a Bud and serve it with some extruded Freedom Fries. Hmmm….

No, it will be served with paprika sweet potato chips, thyme leaves, roasted parsnip chips, English mustard, and an Irish chutney. The wine to accompany this world beater is French (To make up for the fries perhaps?).

Fine french wine. Chateau Fourcas Hosten 2004. A fine Medoc to go with a fine burger.

Enough sniping, here’s the ingredient’s shot:

My meat looks like a brain. That is because it is two kinds of beef mince, rib and round.

I use two mince types to get the right mix of meat to fat and also to have a blend of meat types.

My burger ingredient list is as follows:

• 1 kilo (2.2lb) of good quality mince (half rib, half round)
• 2 eggs
• 2 big handfuls of breadcrumbs
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of hot paprika
• Cashel Blue Cheese (or a substitute if necessary) for filling
• Balsamic vinegar to paint the burgers

The rest of the ingredients:

• A few parsnips
• A sweet potato
• Thyme
• English mustard powder
• Sheridan’s ‘Chutney for Cheese’ or similar.

First, put all the burger ingredients except the balsamic into a bowl.

I realise that this is not a very complicated recipe. Trust me, it is worthy if simple. A little like myself in some respects.

Next comes the hard work. Mix it up. I did it by hand. You might want to do it with a mixer. There’s a lot of mixing.

I was left panting after the manual labour. Still, it’s mixed and smelling good.

Next comes a small bit of inventiveness. Regular readers will know that I use pastry cutters for a huge range of functions from poaching eggs to shaping black and white pudding. I now turn them to burger making.

One pastry cutter packed full of meat. Just enough for the base of the burger.

A pastry cutter two-thirds full makes enough for the lid. Shape them out by hand till they look like this picture.

The recess in the burger is big enough for a couple of generous slices of Cashel Blue.

Add the cheese and then manipulate the lid onto the burger.

Don’t be fooled by the seemingly small piece of cheese. These burgers are huge. One per person, no matter how hungry you are.

The lid manipulated and integrated into the base.  Nobody knows there is a big lump of beautiful cheese in there, except you and me.

This is the biggest burger I have ever made. It’s not like me to go large. Is it?

You should get four burgers out of the kilo of beef, if you skimp a little. I did not skimp and got three with some mince over.

My secret to a tasty exterior. Paint them with balsamic.

Next step is to put them on the griddle and cook the outside.

Blue Cheese Burgers cooking on the griddle. Burgers don’t get much better than this.

While that is doing, peel and chop the vegetables.

Peeled vegetables ready for the slicing. I believe I should show the unseemly side of cooking too.

Next the sweet potatoes get  a coating of olive oil and paprika.

These take 25 minutes in a 200 degree Centigrade oven.

Then the parsnips get a coating of olive oil and black pepper.

These take 20 minutes in a 200 degree Centigrade oven.

Finish the burgers off in the oven for ten minutes. This will ensure they are cooked through. When they are done, take them out and let them rest for a couple of minutes.

The parsnip and sweet potato fries were excellent. A bit of sweetness from the chutney balanced by heat from the mustard.

If you made them right, they will not leak their cheese interior until you cut into them and  let a flood of incredibly flavourful, aromatic cheese pour out onto your plate.

I’m sorry America. I have stolen your culinary clothes. This blue cheese burger is the best there is. Period.

The flavours are big, bold and work incredibly well together. This truly is the prince of burgers in a world of pretending patty paupers. Try it and see for yourself. Once again, sorry America. If you think you can do better, let me know…