I wanted to make Egyptian Hawawshi using pita bread instead of a more traditional home made bread. I realized that this makes the meal, or snack, much more of a hamburger in style than a pastie. Which of course led me down a food path looking at the burger, and variations, including vegan, vegetarian, and types that fit with various diet restrictions.
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Burger’s Beginnings
Definition
The dictionary writes: a dish consisting of a round patty of ground beef, or sometimes another savory ingredient, that is fried or grilled and typically served in a split bun or roll with various condiments and toppings.
But I see it much more basically, as an equation. It features a protein source that is flavorful and has good texture. If meat, it is ground meat that may contain any number of additives like veggies, or spices. That protein is then surrounded by quality bread or leafy greens, so the protein sandwich can be handled and eaten by hands. Inside the sandwich is very specific condiments, often related to the source of the protein.
History
The burger was developed either late 1800s or early 1900s, either in the USA or Hamburg, Germany. At that time, people were served grilled or raw ground-beef steaks (beef tartare) and some bread and veggies on the side. But what distinguished a burger from this beef dish or other sandwiches was that burgers have circular buns, and have some grilled ground-beef steak in the middle, with condiments of sauce and veggies such as lettuce, onions, and pickle.
- 4th Century Rome: Isicia omentata was a baked beef patty mixed with pine kernels, black and green peppercorns, and white wine.
- 1875 Europe: “Steak tartare” was written first by Jules Verne in 1875 in his novel Michael Strogoff.
- 1887 USA: Germans immigrated to the USA, settling first in New York, and it is here where we find restaurants start to serve lightly cooked steak tartare topped with a raw egg with toast, as a way to cater to the arriving Europeans.
- 1897 USA: Salisbury Steak covered with a brown gravy was being served as a variation.
- 1930 USA: Americans tend to shorten names, so hamburger steak became hamburger and eventually, just a burger.
As to who invented this is unkown. Wikipedia writes: Most historians believe that it was invented by a cook who placed a Hamburg steak between two slices of bread in a small town in Texas, and others credit the founder of White Castle for developing the “Hamburger Sandwich.” Records from that time are scarce, however.
Currently, the hamburger comes in a large variety of styles and with options:
- Bread: Any rolls, regular bread slices, french bread, lettuce wraps, etc.
- Protein: ground turkey, ground chicken, salmon, ground fish, ground pork, faux meats, vegetarian beans, tofu, etc.
- Sauces: Catsup, mustard, mayonnaise, Sriracha sauce, butter, etc.
- Toppings: Lettuce, cheese, onions, pickles, fermented veggies, slaw, cilantro, parsley, etc.
These days this dish is regularly understood as an American dish. But there are all sorts of variations of burgers so I am going to share the ones I have tested and tasted.
Burger Hints + Tricks
Meat Type: Chefs will always say get 80-20 (beef to fat ratio) chuck for the best ground beef, others recommend ground sirloin. This makes a fatty, high caloric, juicy burger. Also, many chefs will cook the patty in butter. But various protein sources can be used as the burger part of the sandwich.
- Fowl: Chicken or Turkey
- Fish: Salmon, ground fish (various)
- Meat: Beef, lamb, pork
- Faux Meat
- Veggie: Any veggie fritter, bean patties, tofu patties
Meat weight: I prefer to use 5oz – 6oz of “meat” per patty as a good serving size.
Skillet: I cook burgers on a cast iron skillet for the best searing.
Seasoning: Do not add salt until the patty is formed and ready to cook. Mixing salt in with the mixture, before forming, will make the meat dense and not as tasty. I prefer freshly ground pepper in burgers as the peppercorn oil is activated and the taste enhanced.
Overworked Meat: If the meat is overworked, e.g., over mixed, it condenses and becomes a hard chew once cooked. The mouthfeel is awful, and the meat can crumble. For a lighter meat burger, only mix as well as you need. Some people use a fork to mix to keep from mashing the meat with our hands. If using your hands, wet them first and the meat will not stick to your fingers as much.
Cool Fat: Prior to cooking, keep the meat cool, if warm the fat in the meat gets soft and all over the place. So keep cool until you are ready to cook.
Meatloaf? Purists believe that if you add anything to the meat, other than seasoning, you are no longer making a burger, instead they believe you are making a meat loaf. I personally do not mind additions to the ground meat as I want changes in flavor based on what my meal is going to be.
Panko + Eggs: I generally add bread crumbs or Panko, and an egg, to help keep the burger light and chewy. If I am adding lots of veggies to the meat, or doing a non-meat patty, the Panko can soak up any liquid and keeps the protein moist, and the egg helps with structure and keeps the protein together. But I do not use Panko or eggs for all burgers, just where it helps.
Burger Form: Form can matter with burgers. If you are making a large patty, put a dimple in the center and it will form out well once cooked. Otherwise it can become meatball-like, and hard to get your mouth around. Look at the black bean burger below for an example of a very thick burger.
But do not flatten the patty on the skillet. All that does is press juice out of the patty and into the pan; where you want that juice is in the burger. Two take-aways here, first form your patty before cooking, and second, let the patty stand after it is done to have the juices recombine into the patty.
Temperature: SeriousEats uses these temperatures for the various requests burger lovers ask for, I always want well-done because I am not sure the ground meat I get is truly ”fresh.” So it is a matter of food safety that I want it cooked.
- 120°F (49°C) and below for rare (red/raw in the center)
- 130°F (54°C) for medium-rare (pink and warm)
- 140°F (60°C) for medium (totally pink, starting to dry out)
- 150°F (66°C) for medium-well (grayish-pink, significantly drier)
- 160°F (71°C) and above for well-done (completely gray, very little moisture)
Buns Matter: I totally disliked burgers when the bun, usually the bottom slice, is totally disintegrating because it has soaked up too much fat and meat juice coming from the burger. I also do not like when my burger feels like it is all bread with a tiny meat patty the size of a half dollar. But I also do not believe it always has to be a round bun, just choose the one that works best with your dish. Do not choose one too chewy or too crunchy. Also butter the bun (especially a challah or brioche roll) and set on the skillet to toast it for added flavor.
Melted Cheese: To melt the cheese, use steam. Put the cheese slice on the patty, add a bit of water and cover with a lid to steam the food. The cheese will melt rather quickly.
Added Veggies: Use crispy veggies, not wilted ones. We want the veggies to snap when we eat the burger.
Interestingly, some recommend eating a juicy burger upside down, as the top is generally thicker and can absorb more juices than the smaller more compact bottom. What do you think?
Alternatives + Substitutes for Diets
Egg alternatives: Use Flax or Chia seeds. Consider using cooked, flat, old fashioned oatmeal, which is very sticky.
Gluten Free Buns: Feel free to use any gluten free bread, or use lettuce leaves or other non-gluten flat breads.
Alt Protein: I do not like faux-meats like the Impossible burger, so I will eat tofu burgers, black bean burgers, seiten or grilled tempeh burgers.
International Flavored Burgers
Asian Pork Burger
Burger buns, with a pork patty, and topped with an Asian-flavored red cabbage coleslaw is my version of an Asian-influenced burger.
Pork is mixed with lemongrass, lemon pepper, scallions, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. I did add some psyllium husks to increase the fiber.
Served with a Thai Sweet Chili Sauce.
Black Bean Burger
Burger buns, with a black bean patty, topped with mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes and cheddar cheese is my idea of a great veggie burger.
The beans are mixed with blended veggies (bell pepper, onion, garlic) and then add egg (or a flax-meal “egg”), chili powder, ground cumin, chili sauce, and bread crumbs. This is formed into patties and baked in the oven.
Can fall apart easily if made too thin, or the veggies are chopped too big. But even then, I think it tastes great.
Kofta Mediterranean Burger
Burger buns with hummus on each slice, featuring a beef + lamb patty, topped with sliced red onions, thickly sliced heirloom tomatoes, and feta cheese create a Mediterranean burger with lots of flavor.
The burger was 50-50% ground beef and lamb, mixed with egg and Panko. Flavored with fresh parsley, oregano, and mint, along with crushed cumin seeds, salt and pepper.
Thai Turkey Burger
Burger buns with Thai sweet chili sauce on each slice, with a turkey burger topped with cilantro leaves and a quick pickled cucumber-carrot mix makes a Thai-influenced burger.
The burger is made with turkey meat, mixed with Panko, cilantro, finely chopped mushrooms, lime juice and a bit of salt and pepper. I cooked the meat in peanut oil to up the flavor.
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Egyptian Hawawshi
Wikipedia writes that Hawawshi is a traditional Egyptian dish. It is a pita stuffed with minced meat and spiced with onions, pepper, parsley, and occasionally chilies. Frankly, this sounds like a burger to me.
Recipe
Mix all the spices in a small bowl: 2t each of coriander, allspice, sweet or natural paprika (not smoked), ground black pepper, and ground cardamon; and 1t each of ground cinnamon, dried red pepper flakes, and cumin; mix well and set aside.
Via knife or food processor, finely dice 1 yellow onion, 2 garlic, 1 green bell pepper (deseeded), 1 jalapeño (deseeded) and ~1/2C chopped parsley leaves and some stems.
- I had mint growing outside so julienned ~10 leaves and added to the mix. Not traditional but tasty.
If too wet, drain liquid as this will be added to the meat and needs to be fairly dry. Pour 3T tomato paste with the diced mixture into a large bowl, then add the spice and mix the veggies and spices well.
Then add 1/2# ground beef and 1/2# ground lamb with 1/2C Panko, 1.5t salt, and mix well without compacting the meat or it will be hard chewing.
- I added a fair amount of crumbled feta cheese to the mixture for added flavor and a creamier texture. This is not a traditional add though.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Cut ~6 pita breads in half, warm up on a hot cast iron skillet (or I use a toaster) to help open them.
- Instead of the dry pan fry method, I cut the bread in half, and put the halves in the toaster. Some halves popped open, others I had to carefully slice with a sharp knife.
Then stuff ~1/3C meat into the halved pita bread and flattened it so the meat spread through the pita bread evenly. I left ~1/2” from the pita top empty, so if people wanted to add some other things to the ”burger” there was space to do so (veggies, spices, sauces, salads, etc).
Place the bread on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once all the bread is filled, and flatten a bit, I brush olive oil (or avocado oil) on both sides and put the baking sheet into the hot oven for ~10 minutes. Removed the sheet, flipped the bread and put back in for another ~10 minutes. Important is that the bread is crusty and the meat is cooked (check with a thermometer for 160F*).
- I serve by brushing just a bit of additional oil, and sprinkling zatar spice on the top, place on a plate with a side dish and serve. This too is not traditional, but very tasty.
- * Cooked lamb is 145F and beef is 160F, since the meat is mixed I defaulted to the higher number for the cooking temp listed above.
Storage: You can freeze these sandwiches, just let them cool down to room temp, wrap in parchment paper, then place in a freezer bag and freeze. To warm back up, preheat oven to 350F and bake for ~15 minutes, flip and cook for another ~5 minutes.
Salutation
Making this dish was relatively easy but it is also too easy to make it bland by not adding enough salt or spice. That is why I decided that the dish should be topped with zatar after it was cooked, so that spice was adequately aromatic and tasty as you bite into the ”burger”.
—Patty
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