Da Gary Brown Burger. A new idea in hamburgers?

Forsyth, MO. - While cooling myself at a local watering hole, recently, I noticed a man sitting next to me adding a couple of unusual condiments to his hamburger!

That gentleman, by the name of Gary Brown, informed me that he likes to apply liberal amounts of Heinz 57 and prepared horseradish to his hamburger. WTF I thought? He suggested that I might even enjoy such a strange combination.

At first, I had a few doubts, but then remembered that I often love to eat roast beef slathered with generous amounts of the Brassicaceae. When added to a burger with a little Heinz 57 (which is actually a tangy steak sauce), you get a very interesting and 'synergistic' effect that left me with a slightly runny nose! In other words, damn good burger!

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OK! As the nutritional panel at right clearly illustrates, this is a rather hearty meal-a-deal  (especially if you add a side of chips or fries)!

Calories in cooked versus uncooked ground beef!

The infamous DanO burger!

Whenever I eat anything, these days, I try and get some idea of the number of calories I'm putting in my mouth! For many foods, that's easy to do as you can read the number right off the package. However, some other foods are not so easy to figure out! Hamburger patties and spaghetti come to mind. Well, here's a tip. When looking at the published calories, nutritionists are most often referring to either the uncooked or dry weight of the product. That said, there can be other mitigating factors to consider. In the case of hamburger patties, there is also the fat to lean ratio to consider. Read on...  
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So, which is healthier for us humans to consume? A hamburger made from 75% lean ground beef or one made from 95% extra-lean ground beef?

Here are the numbers. Let’s start with two uncooked hamburger patties, each weighing 4 ounces (a quarter pound or 113 grams). The uncooked 75% lean patty has about 330 calories, (28 grams of fat and 18 grams of protein). The uncooked 95% lean patty has only about 155 calories, (6 grams of fat and 24 grams of protein). As you can see, the leaner beef has more protein, and therefore far fewer calories than an equal weight of the less lean beef. (The leaner patty is also higher in water and a little lower in cholesterol).

Cooking results in a loss of weight (and nutrients) in both patties, as the drippings fall away. The 75 percent lean patty, which drops from 4 ounces to about 2.5 ounces after cooking, will now contain 195 calories, 13 grams of fat and 18 grams of protein. After cooking, the 95 percent lean patty, which drops to about 3 ounces in weight, has about 140 calories, 5 grams of fat and 22 grams of protein.

The above information was excerpted from an article by Edward R. Blonz, Ph.D. Written in August of 2013!

No buns for your burger? No problem!

On a few occasions in the past, I've wanted a good old juicy burger, but found myself lacking and any buns. Not to be denied, I through a quarter pound burger on a toasted slice of Italian bread and went from there!

From a nutritional standpoint, this creation was low sodium, low cholesterol and came in at about 500 calories! Sure the fat content was up there, but nobody's perfect!

The Infamous DanO Burger!

God knows, there's already a plethora of burgers out there for folks to eat! Fast food joints, standing cheek to jowl, took the original McDonald's 15¢ plain Jane burger and transformed it into a gazillion variations. So, why does someone, like myself, dare to present a 'new burger' here? I'll plead the fifth other than to state that this particular creation is not of the fast food gender – it's strictly homemade, simple and therefore by definition, delicious!

Ingredients and Notes:

A hamburger bun – go for the best you can afford!

¼ lb ground beef patty – just get the cheap beef! Those that have a lot of fat!

Onion slice – preferably white or red, but whatever!

Leaf lettuce – I prefer a leaf or two of romaine for added crunch!

A slice of tomato – make it thick and make it fresh - as in vine grown!

½ tsp ketchup

½ tsp mayo

½ tsp mustard

½ tsp horseradish – What! Yes, this little addition kicks everything up a tad!

That's all, and the the fat lady has sung! – This particular song, though, is a real winner! Grill the patty (yes grill it - pan fried don't work here) to medium rare, sear your buns for a moment or two and then add the condiments and devour like there is no tomorrow! Now sit back and smile! Serves 1.

A note about making and cooking the patty: When forming the patty, keep the meat as loosely held as possible and for goodness sake, don't mash the stuffing out of it while it's cooking on the grill! You want as much juiciness as possible to be retained in the burger! Oh, and a word of warning. If you substituted a hot house tomato for the real thing, I will find you!

This culinary creation was maybe endorsed by noted model
Cassandra Hierholzer! Which is no longer available. And who, upon seeing this post unfriended me on FB like her pants were on fire! :P

A rainy day foil meal!

What's better on a cool and rainy day in August than a nice cooked foil meal done out on the grill? I came up with the meal deal on the spur of the moment when I was going through my fridge and noticed I had a few carrots, onions and red potatoes that had been harvested from my garden earlier in the week. I also had a hamburger patty and so decided a simple foil meal would just fit the bill for an hearty afternoon repast.

Ingredients:

Ground beef formed into a medium patty (130 grams)
1 wedge of green cabbage (99 grams)

2 carrots, peeled and rough cut (27 grams)

1 onion, quartered (70 grams)

1 red potato, quartered (87 grams)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp water

1 pat real butter

Aluminum foil

Prepared all the ingredients and center in a large piece of foil. Carefully wrap the foil around the meal making sure to seal the edges for a steam-tight fit. Place in the center of a charcoal grill where the coals have been pushed to the side for indirect heat. Cook for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Optionally, you can also use an oven set to 305 degrees for about the same amount of time. After the meal is done, carefully remove and open, making sure the steam doesn't burn your fingers. Enjoy!

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Nutritional information: 

The total volume of food for this meal was 413 grams. Note: with the addition of a pat of unsalted butter, the overall calories came in at ~565. I also made a video on this type of meal a few years back for anyone who might be interested.