Burgers on the Grill

Plus: Perfect Scrambled Eggs, Roasted Asparagus, and One Week 'Til Food Person!

Hey everyone,

We hosed off our grill this weekend and last night I lit the chimney for the first time since last year.

I toyed with the idea of getting a gas grill for the summer but there’s something nice about the 30 minutes you get while the charcoal ignites and you finalize your kitchen prep. (Also: gas grills are expensive.)

Before we get to the rest, guess what’s happening one week from tomorrow? My novel FOOD PERSON arrives in bookstores!

If you haven’t already, pre-order your copy now so it arrives on your doorstep the second it goes on sale! I put a lot of love into this book and if you’re a fan of this newsletter, I know you’re going to get a huge kick out of it.

If you’re in NY, be sure to get tickets for the two events I’m doing next week.

First, on Tuesday May 20th at 6 PM at the Brooklyn Heights Public Library, I’ll be in conversation with my friend Joanna Goddard of Cup of Jo:

Then, the next night, I’ll be at Archestratus with my old pal Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen:

Chances are you’ll get to meet Craig and my parents. Can’t bring Winston, otherwise you’d get to meet him too.

And if you’re in L.A., San Fran, Corte Madera, Portland, Seattle, Bellingham, or East Troy, WI, be sure to get your tickets for my events there by clicking this button.

Okay, back to burgers…

How do you grill a burger?

Turns out there’s more to it than meets the eye. If you can believe it, I’d never grilled a burger before last night. Isn’t that crazy?

From what I’d read online, the key is to get a good mix of hamburger meat. I went to Paisanos, my local butcher, and asked for one pound of their burger mix which has ground short ribs, brisket, and sirloin.

I shaped it into two patties, trying not to overwork the meat, and seasoned it aggressively on both sides.

While the charcoal was lighting, I made a quick burger sauce of mayo, Dijon, ketchup, and pickle juice; I sliced a red onion into rings and also sliced a tomato. And then I went outside, dumped out the charcoal on to one side, put on the grate, and plopped on the burgers.

Rookie mistake: I put the meat right on top of the hottest part of the grill and the outside got charred way before the inside was done.

When I flipped them over, I added American cheese and took the internal temperature which said 135 in spots (medium rare), so I thought I was good.

But once removed to the bun, we cut in, and it was totally raw in spots. So back on the grill it went, this time I put the lid on, and allowed the burgers to cook on the inside.

This did the trick and once placed back on the bun, very little damage done, we gobbled them up like wild beasts. They were a “Tavern-style burger,” similar to the one you get at the Red Hook Tavern. And way cheaper: the burger there is $30 each. The one pound of meat at Paisanos was $12. We saved $48 dollars making these burgers at home.

In case you couldn’t tell, we’re spending more time outside these days with the weather being as lovely as it is.

Yesterday morning, I made scrambled eggs the way Craig likes them — and the way most quality chefs prepare them — which is to say: low-and-slow.

I add a dab of butter on medium low heat, whisk six eggs with salt and pepper, then when the butter’s melted, I add the eggs, lower the heat to really low, and then casually swirl them around, breaking up the curds, with a heat-proof rubber spatula. It takes like twenty minutes for them to come together; they turn out super custardy.

To pair with that, I roasted some asparagus from the farmer’s market.

Craig says my new personality is buying asparagus. That might be true!

To roast, I just toss on a cookie sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper, and pop into a 425 oven for fifteen minute or so until they take on a little color. They’re nature’s bacon:

Let’s look at some links:

• Jeremy Fox has a love-hate relationship with his burger (NYT Gift Link);

• Grub Street Diet for Chef Moosah Reaume, who fed all the Met Gala peeps staying at the Carlyle Hotel (Grub Street);

• The Massive List of Every Cookbook Recommended on The Dinner Plan (The Dinner Plan).

That’s all for today, folks!

See you back here on Thursday….

Your pal,

Adam