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Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.
“Anything with ground meat” was supposedly Craig Clairborne’s reply when asked about his favorite food, although my years of googling it have yet to provide a source for the legendary New York Times food editor’s quote. But I feel the same, and my favorite way to eat beef has always been a good burger. And while these days hamburger almost always means the meat is sandwiched in a bun, it started out as the Hamburg steak.
The culinary journey of the ground meat patty is long and complex, with stops in Central Asia, where the Tatars ate minced mutton; the Baltic region, with its love of the flattened, pan-fried meatball called a frikadelle; and New York City, the landing spot for thousands of German immigrants responsible for lending the name of one of their cities around the turn of the last century to a thick ground beef patty.
Over the past 100 years ground beef infiltrated nearly every cuisine in the world, or at least those that eat cows. It’s not surprising, since along with the utilitarian aspects of using as much of the animal as possible, ground beef offers a savory palate for a culture’s favorite flavors. While I want my burger simply seasoned as part of the bun and condiment experience, I love to add stuff to a hamburger steak. Inspired by Japanese and Korean flavors, these include soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, fresh ginger, miso, and gochujang. Serve them with rice and thinly sliced cabbage tossed with rice vinegar.
Recipe
½ pound ground beef, preferably 75%–80% lean chuck
1 shallot, chopped
2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons dark miso
1 teaspoon gochujang
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Combine all the ingredients until completely blended. Divide into four portions and form into patties about ¾ inch thick. Start in a cast iron skillet heated over medium high, and after a minute reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for another 2–3 minutes, then flip and cook another 2–3 minutes for medium rare.