THE local burger…
Those of you who paid attention to my Adventure in Food Trading post know that a few of the items I purchased there were meant to be on a plate together. It’s actually astounding how affordable some of their local ingredients are.
Take, for example, the ground beef patties from Kilcoyne farms. I paid $14.55 for six half pound patties. That’s $4.85/lb, or approximately $2.62/patty. Even at the supermarket, I haven’t seen ground beef for under $3.99/lb, and as the multiple beef recalls over the last 20 years should indicate, the meat at a supermarket can be dangerous.
The Stillwater farms bacon that I got at Adventure in Food was another surprising find. For $2.92, I got 10 slices of the best thickly sliced bacon I’ve ever tasted. And 30 cents per slice doesn’t seem like a lot when you realize you shouldn’t be eating more than two slices of bacon at a time.
While I was in the shop, the guys made me try a special truffle cows milk cheese (rubbed with garam masala) produced at R & G Cheesemakers, just miles away in Cohoes, NY. This cheese was something special. It costs about $1/oz.
I put these all together on rolls purchased at Bella Napoli in Latham (which, granted, I can’t account for being totally local, but the bakery I wanted to showcase was closed), and dinner was a blast.
I made a few side dishes, because what’s a burger without onion rings and fries?
I quickly soaked some sliced sweet onions in buttermilk and dredged them in whole wheat flour.
I pan fried these in some vegetable oil until golden brown.
Meanwhile, I boiled some Yukon gold potatoes for about 15 minutes. I sliced these up, coated them in olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, and a generous amount of rosemary…
then laid them out on a sheet pan…
and baked at 400 F for 15 minutes per side.
The burger was cooked in a cast iron skillet, about 8 minutes per side (came out a little rare for my taste).
When the burgers were done, I transferred them to a plate to allow them to rest. I laid a nice slice of the truffle cheese on top to let the residual heat from the burger slightly melt the cheese.
Then I added the cooked bacon on top.
And then I ate an amazing hamburger meal.
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