General Chat Thread II

Black Sheep

If you're adding egg, breadcrumbs then you're basically making a meatloaf not a burger in my book!

I would be inclined to go beef only, high fat, and smash technique on a flat pan.

It's true that if you flip too early or botch it then the burger could break, just be careful.

I would massage the meat into a puck beforehand but don't overwork it. The puck when smashed down should then expand to a size that matches your burger bun. Season with salt after smashing.

Black Sheep

Detroit style pizza in London. Hefty. 8x10" of calorific crusty squareness.

the beer revolu

Anyone remember when Pizza was deep pan or thin and crispy??

So many style variations that I just can't keep up. New York, Neapolitan, Roman, Chicago, Sicilian, Detroit, Brazilian etc, etc.

Also, remember when you simply couldn't get decent pizza in Ireland, at all?

Dial Hard

I was only talking to someone the other day about what a HUGE deal it was when Goodfellas pizza launched here. Like, genuinely massive. For frozen pizza, like. It was bonkers.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119906785#Comment_119906785

I make my own pizzas now but I still keep a Goodfellas deep pan pepperoni pizza or two in the freezer. Just a taste of my childhood really, Saturday night...match of the day and pizzas.

They did have a massive impact when they first hit the freezers! Struggle to remember anything similar really that has stood the test of time. They still taste as I remember them from being a kid.

magicbastarder

has anyone ever seen elephant garlic for sale in dublin? it's weirdly hard to get for something which is easy to grow (which we do anyway, but have run out) and stores well.

Black Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119905452#Comment_119905452

There was a time when Pizza Hut was a destination restaurant.

We are in a golden age now for pizza.

I still miss The Steps of Rome though... Ahead of its time, it still would stand up today if you could go in and grab a couple slices. Ah, the boscaiola... the funghi... the patate... Good Times.

the beer revolu

Oh, I didn't realise Steps of Rome is gone.

My hesitation in saying there was no decent pizza in Ireland, was due to the Steps of Rome.

miamee

Reading this earlier made me think of the Chicago Pizza Pie Factory, the height of pizza elegance in Dublin in the 80s/90s and I found this post in a thread about it. Half of these are gone but a few have stood the test of time

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/82684628#Comment_82684628

igCorcaigh

I still remember liking the small pizza sold by Dunnes in the '80s when I was a kid, with the little sachet of mixed herbs. The pizza weren't great, but it was my first exposure to herbs, and probably mozzarella too, loved them I did! :/

I think it was 1992 when I had my first pizza, sold from a pizzeria. It was delicious!

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119908446#Comment_119908446

Never heard of them... were they in Cork at the time?

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119903984#Comment_119903984

agree with all of this, theres no place for egg that a lot of recipes call for. All that is needed is high fat mince, salt and pepper. The only exception I make to that is adding some crumbled black pudding at about 10% max 15% of the mix, it gives it a nice kick and works well for something a little bit different.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119909033#Comment_119909033

No. Single outlet in Dublin afaik

oscarBravo

A burger tip I was given years ago: break up the minced beef to separate the "strands" and add salt - more salt than you think you'll need. Mix it carefully so as to get the salt mixed through but without overworking the meat into sausage. Let it sit for a good half hour. Then when you form the pattys they'll tend to bind together really well.

I use a burger press to get nice evenly sized patties. I've also been guilty of weighing the meat out for the patties. I never add egg, bread, onion or anything other than salt and black pepper to beef burgers.

Hotblack Desiato

I'm reminded of that Eddie Murphy sketch when he wanted McDonald's when he was a kid but his mother made "houseburgers" instead.

https://youtu.be/AAx553k7W5s?t=57

The Nal

Supermarket mince is fairly nasty stuff. Its fine like but its made up of all the off-cuts and gives off a huge amount of water (which is why it goes grey and soggy because it boils the beef) and doesnt really taste of a whole lot. Especially for a quick cook like a burger. Youve no idea what cuts of beef you're working with.

Cant recommend a meat grinder enough. You can pick one up for 50 quid and its great for burgers, meat sauces, shepards pies, sausages, breakfast patties etc.

L1011

I now have an oven (a double oven with auto cooking and a meat probe none the less) for the first time in nearly 6 months, moved back to the house in late May/early June after rewiring and the rest of the renovation has gone very slowly, for a list of reasons.

We'd been surviving off a two ring induction hob, microwave with grill, toaster, rice cooker and a gas BBQ in the warmer weather. The new five ring hob is under the stairs, it just needs that bit of the kitchen built + a gas installer out; and as I'm still waiting for a floor tiler, that will be off for a while yet.

I'm convincing myself I'm going to do all sorts of interesting slow cooks and roasts braises and maybe even bake and so on and so forth to celebrate having it back; but in reality I'm probably going to do oven chips and home made pizza every day until I explode.

igCorcaigh

I just recently have an oven too @L1011 (moved house), and such a luxury! I've only made frozen chips so far, but even that was such a change. Yet to do any roasting (there's a Lidl frozen nut roast in the freezer)... I'm almost scared LOL!

igCorcaigh

I like this guy, he makes French cooking look very easy, but shows how the method is done with simple ingredients. I haven't tried to follow any of he's recipes yet, but it makes for good watching.

https://youtu.be/jrE7mmok_5M

Black Sheep

I don't disagree that ideally you'd mince your own meat, but in defence of pre-packed supermarket mince, if we say it contains "off cuts" then that conjures up the worst stuff people can think of, but it shouldn't be quite that bad.

Since 2013 minced meat in Ireland cannot contain scrap cuttings or scrap trimmings, it must be from whole muscle cuttings. Also no meat containing bone fragments, skin and there are a few other anatomic parts prohibited, things you'd expect like head scrapings and some internal stuff. I say 'in Ireland', but it's an EU regulation basically

I must admit the horsemeat scandal in Ireland somewhat knocked my confidence but in general our food security chains were thought to be very good before that. Our rates of E Coli in minced meat are about 2/3 lower than most places elsewhere, for example. Hopefully the big supermarkets' suppliers are adhering to the regulations.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119913004#Comment_119913004

Modern ovens with a meat probe are the business, got one myself about 3 years back and it is fantastic for cooking joints of meat. The software on my yolk allows you to select various types of meat and then if you want it done rare, medium rare, etc, it also has a manual option if you want to select a specific internal temperature for the joint. Then when it reaches the selected internal temperature it bleeps and the oven switches off which is really handy if you are off doing other things,it means I can go out for a short walk with the dog without having to worry about the joint in the oven overcooking or else be upstairs doing some laundry. First time I used it I was amazed, stuck in a housekeepers cut, put the temperature probe in it and selected rare and it delivered a perfectly cooked joint that was pink throughout the middle. The probe completely removes any guess work out of cooking joints and you get consistency every time.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119914804#Comment_119914804

I believe, from reading the specs before buying, that this one can do forward prediction of the remaining heat in the oven and actually cuts off the elements before the target temperature if you tell it to do so. Stops over-run if you get caught in a conversation when walking the dog or whatever.

Not sure what it'll get used for first. Intending on doing Christmas-in-November tomorrow, albeit massively cut down, cause we won't be cooking this year otherwise - but that'll only be a large turkey breast and not really need it!

Graces7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119914725#Comment_119914725

Thee are or were signs up in butchers shops re this

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119914725#Comment_119914725

Yeah not the worst but for something like a burger the best are made from very specific cuts. When we buy mince we dont know what cuts are in there.

Muahahaha

Anyone know where you can reliably find fresh tarragon. Planning on making a bearnaise sauce at the weekend, got the shallots but couldnt find tarragon in Super Value or Aldi. Do Tesco or Dunnes do it fresh?

Gloomtastic!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119917059#Comment_119917059

Might be in the frozen herb section

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119917059#Comment_119917059

I struggle to find fresh tarragon too. I do find that the dried version works quite well though.

It may not be everyone's favourite herb (along with dill...), but I love it. First tasted it in a chicken gravy in a Parisian bistro (so I did), and loved it. Essential for bearnaise.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119917537#Comment_119917537

Tesco's frozen herbs are great. I use the rosemary and thyme a lot. I haven't come across frozen tarragon in my store unfortunately.

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119917537#Comment_119917537

thanks, hadnt even thought of the frozen section. Which supermarket would you guess might be most likely to have it? Id say Aldi and Lidl are out as I think they only carry 2 or 3 frozen herbs and tarragon is unlikely to be one of them

the beer revolu

Tarragon used to be a staple in Tesco at one time.

Don't care for it much, myself but I don't dislike it as much as dill.