030 - EL GIGANTE BURGER

Okay people, especially those living in Jakarta, have you heard this entire buzz about the new burger joint called Three Buns? Words on the street says this is one of the best tasting burger right now, if not (some actually said), of all time. 

But there's a catch: despite the lovely semi outdoor setting and the great cocktail, the place had little to none parking space. And that means an instant turn-off for me. I'm not the kind of people who'd fight for a parking spot over a food that I can (possibly) whip up at home with less cost and comparable taste. Decision, decisions. Maybe I'll try that Burger joint sometime soon.

So anyway, while I wait for the hoo-hah to actually calm down, let me show you a killer Burger I whip up recently. It has 2 patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, cheese bacon, and peanut butter. HELL YES, PEANUT BUTTER. The cream of the crop of a PB&J. It actually tasted awesome in a burger. No kidding here.

Please welcome, EL GIGANTE BURGER

Gi·gan·tes

  [ji-gan-teez] 

plural noun

huge monsters, the children of Gaea,

You will need:

1 Burger bun.

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

For the patty:

200 grams of minced beef. Here's the deal: if your butcher can freshly mince a meat to your order, do so. Get a combination of sirloin and chuck. But if you're left without an option, a regular minced beef will do the job just fine. Just get the freshest beef of the day.

1 fresh garlic, grated finely. If you can't find a grater, you can simply chop it super fine. Be careful though, cut it a lil’ bigger, not exactly the kind of experience I wanna taste on my burger.

1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce (optional, but it makes the difference!)

Herbs of your choice. Parsley worked great in this recipe. Again, this is optional.

1 tsp of Onion powder. It helps brings out the meatiness. Fucking A, Son.

For the garnish :

2 slice of Cheddar cheese. Or any kind of melting cheese will work, Cheddar is the best for this though

1.5 tbsp of Creamy Peanut Butter

Cheese bacon (I've posted this recipe before)

Romaine Lettuce. It has more crunch and more nutrients than the typical lettuce. And it looked hella better.

Ripe tomato. Sliced thinly.

Dijon Mustard

Ketchup

Please people, no Mayo.

Ready? Here we go!

Step 1 - Always ensure your meat is at room temperature before mixing. Grate your garlic, and mix it with the beef. Add the Parsley, Onion Powder, and Worcestershire, mix lightly with your hands. Warning: DO NOT overmix. Over mixing will yield a chewy Burger, and I HATE THAT. Split the most mixture in half, 100 grams each and Shape the burger into a nice concentric circles, and make a small indentation with your thumb right in the middle of the patty. This will help during the grilling process to ensure a nice and even cooking. Set it aside

Garlic

Onion Powder

Parsley

The Cream of the crop

Right after the mix

Shape, gently.

Booya!

Step 2 - Heat your non stick pan, get a nice olive oil to coat the surface just enough so the patty won't stick. Use highest heat. Before the patty goes it, season the side that would hit the pan first with salt and pepper. Once you see a smoke, throw your patty in. Get a spatula and SMASH the burger for 10 seconds. This will create the Maillard Reaction, a.k.a that lovely brown crust. Season the other side with salt and pepper, and for the love of God, DON'T FREAKING MOVE IT. Let it sear for around 1,5 minute. Once you see the edges turn brown-ish/grey, give it a flip

Burgers don't like it sticky.

Press. 

SMASH.

Season

Flip

  

Step 3 - After the flip, top both patties with cheese. Now here's the neat trick to melt the cheese: pour around 3-4 tablespoons of water to the pan, and cover it. The steam will kickstart the melting process. I mean, isn't melted cheese is one of the most fun you had while eating a burger?

Cheese on top

Steam

COWABUNGA!

Step 4 - Toast your bun. Ensure it gets warm and crisp.

Step 5 - Assemble your Burger. Here's how I do it: bottom bun, ketchup+mustard, patty, PB, cheese bacon, patty, lettuce, tomato, top bun.

Dijon Mustard

Ketchup

Patty

PB

Cheese Bacon

Patty

Romaine Lettuce

Tomato

Top Bun

Step 6 - serve.

El Gigante needed a knife to stand. It's humongous. It's ferocious. It'll destroy your stomach.

Things might get as messy as your relationship with your ex, but El Gigante fucking killed it 

In every bite, appreciate the complexity of the flavor. The saltiness of the burger patty, the savoury taste from the Peanut Butter, and the crunch of the lettuce.

Not exactly what I refer to as 'healthy', but why not?

Serve with a side of French fries fries (again, I made the recipe previously), and a whole lot of regret afterwards. But fret not, it is a good kind of regret.

Peace

xx

005 - Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I honestly believe GCS had magical power. Make it right, and even you'll be able to mend a broken heart. So follow these steps and stole your lovers/crush's heart through their tummy. Guaranteed.

All you need are these 3 ingredient:

1. White Bread
2. Melting Cheese
3. Butter/Margarine.

If you're on a diet, fuck off, this recipe is not for you. There's no way a whole wheat bread would be able to substitute the fluffiness and crunchiness of white bread. FORGET ABOUT IT.

For the cheese. Pick whatever you want. The sky is your limit. But if you had to choose, I'd say go for a sharp cheddar. Cheap Kraft would do fine, but I love Bega slice cheese. It tasted subtle but with a hint of sharpness.

Butter. Go for French Butter. Elle Vierre or Anchor would do fine.But if you're part of that vegetarian crowd, margarine worked just fine.

Ready? Here we go!

1. Heat the pan, Non Stick or Not, any kind would do fine. Medium Heat.

2. Spread the room temperature butter onto the bread, ONLY on the outside. Leave the insides plain, because that is where you put your own preferred seasonings.

3. Now this is where you can go crazy. I like to put a bit of yellow mustard, ketchup, sometimes even sriracha to add a taste. But purist go plain! If you're done with the seasoning, put your cheese sandwiched between the 2 bread.

4. Toast the muthafuckin' bread over the pan. Watch in awe as the butter helps cook and crisp the outside of the bun. And at this stage, you can move it around for a bit, but not too much or you won't get that nice brown crusts.

5. Now here's a nice hack to ensure the cheese melt quickly. Put a lid on top. This will create steam that help to pulverize the cheese. But be aware, use this technique accordingly, use it too much and you'll end up with a soggy mess. And you're not gonna be happy.

6. After about 2-3 minutes, or until you reached the desired doneness, flip it to the otherside and cook it for another 2 minutes.

7. Once you see the cheese has melted, the crust are golden and crispy, pull it out. BECAUSE IT IS FUCKING FINISHED.

LOOK AT THAT

LOOK AT THAT CRUST

LOOK AT THAT CHEESE

You can thank me later. Now go grab your lazy ass to the kitchen!


Peace

xx

004 - Cheese Bacon!

Raised on a Moslem family, never have I eaten bacon in my life. Well, not until 2 or 3 years ago (curiosity got the best of me!), when bacon became the first pork I ever tried.

I remembered vividly how I imagine the bacon would taste like: savory, salty, with hints of smokiness and sweetness, But, noooooo. I didn't like the taste because it's way too salty for my liking (let’s just hope this happens only on the bacon that I tasted), but I absolutely loved the texture! The bacon was perfectly cooked, around 12-13 cm in length, beautifully browned, and incredibly crispy! That crispiness is beyond anything I ever ate in my whole life!

So I was stumbling upon YouTube one day, and one of my favorite cooking channel, BrothersGreenEats uploaded a tutorial on how to make a bacon, out of cheese. Check it out here:

I thought, "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!". As it turns out, it's not, and it's still one of the simplest and best tasting bacon alternative around. The basic recipe is very, very simple, even a 3 year old can do it. Here's my take on the recipe this duo came up. Here's everything you need:

1. Cheese (it has to be melting cheese. Think Cheddar, Mozzarella, Jack, Colby, Mexican, or Emmental)

2. Smoked Paprika Powder

3. Onion Powder

Ready? Here we Go!!

1. Heat your pan, Medium-High heat (Gas mark 6-7 on an electric cook top), be careful not to over heat it, we want it just heated enough to melt and crisp the cheese, not burn it

2. While the pan is heating, grate your cheese. Any kind of grater will do, but I find grater with large hole worked best for my liking.

3. Mixed the grated cheese with Paprika and Onion powder in a bowl.

4. Once the pan is hot, put your cheese in, and shape it into 'bacon' strips.

5. Watch in horror as the cheese melt. Be careful not to move them around! I know it's tempting to move them around, but trust me, it's better to leave it be for around 1-1,5 minutes!

6. Once you see there are no more cheese solid in sight, FLIP IT! And prepare to hear that majestic sizzling sound! And let it sizzle for another 30-45 seconds

7. Don't worry if the bacon looked limp, it'll harden once you let it rest!

8. After it's crisp to your liking, pull it out and let it rest over kitchen paper to drain any excess oil.

9. Go nuts.

These cheese bacon tasted absolutely divine! I like to make a BLT sandwich out of it, add a dash of Sriracha and watch as I helplessly indulged in pure bliss.

Don't blame me if you're addicted to this.


Peace

xx





P.S: BrothersGreenEats is a great source for cooking DIY. Subscribe to their channel now!