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The Perfect Hamburger - It's All In How You Stack It:
Labor Day is closing in, and you want to impress your friends with the absolute perfect burger at your backyard cookout. Grill skills, the right meat and seasonings are big parts of it, but once you've aced all that, there's one more thing that can put you over the top. Believe it or not, your burgers will get a big lift from how you stack your toppings. Pastis DC’s executive chef Cory Chunn has some tips:
Toast The Bun: Chunn recommends toasting your bread to create a crucial barrier against moisture. For an extra layer of flavor and protection, he suggests buttering the bun before toasting or, even better, "try spreading mayonnaise across the bun before toasting."
Create A Saucy Shield: Once you’ve toasted your buns, apply a layer of sauce to the bottom bun. According to Chunn, "Sauce on the bottom bun is the shield that keeps the burger together."
Bring On The Meat: Next is the burger itself. Place the cooked patty directly on the sauced bottom bun. If you didn’t already add cheese to your burger while it was cooking, this is the moment to add it, followed by any other hot-off-the-grill toppings, like crispy bacon, grilled onions or sauteed mushrooms. The added heat from these items will help the cheese melt while you assemble the rest of your burger.
Don't Forget The Crunch: At this point in your build, you add your crunchy veggies: pickles, jalapeños and fresh onions. Chunn suggests keeping these elements minimal, they're for flavor, not for bulk.
Last But Not Least: Remember McDLT's? Chunn says McDonalds had the right idea, keeping your cool veggies, like lettuce and tomatoes, away from the warmer parts of the burger until the very last moment.
At this point, Chunn says, you've built your best burger. Now add the top bun (with sauce, like you did with the bottom bun to even out the flavor). Putting sauce on both sides also helps keep all the elements of the burger together and ensures you never get a bite of dry bread. Bon Appetit!
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