IN 2001, THE French chef Daniel Boulud introduced a $27 hamburger, stuffed with short ribs, foie gras and truffles at his eponymous DB Bistro Moderne, in New York. I remember standing outside the restaurant, ogling at the menu, desperate to try one (I never did). Boulud had cleverly thrown down the burger gauntlet and from that day on, designer burgers and their crazy creators went a little OTT, egged on by a lascivious bunch of carnivores. Boulud’s original is still on the menu, costing $32, $75 or $150, depending on the amount of truffle.
If you were to be a bit David McWilliams about it all, you could say that the rise of the “bling burger” could be seen as an indictment of the excess in our society over the past decade. (He’d better not steal my catch-phrase). Nowadays, it would be considered incredibly vulgar and downright disgusting if we heard about a celebrity spending $5,000 on a burger, which believe it or not, once upon a time you could do. The mega-priced burger in question was from the Fleur de Lys restaurant in Las Vegas, made with Kobe beef, foie gras and black truffles on a brioche truffle bun. Your alcoholic accompaniment was bottle of 1990 Château Petrus. Oh, and they threw in a second burger, on the house, for your guest to enjoy.
Even Burger King decided to get in on the act, by launching a £95 burger, for charity, of course (isn’t that the same as publicity these days?). It was simply named The Burger and sounded like something Arnold The Terminator (rather than Arnold the Governor) would have gobbled in between saving the world. It was also made with Kobe beef, but this one was topped with white truffles, Pata Negra ham and crispy onions. Note that the onions had been fried in a tempura batter made with Cristal champagne, (rather than beer). Now, while all those ingredients sound pretty fantastic if left in the hands of someone like Daniel Boulud, I can’t imagine your average Burger King chef giving the appropriate love and affection to such pricey ingredients.
So it was with some trepidation that I typed out my new favourite burger recipe, which can only be served to your BBFs as they are made with minced up sirloin steaks and a bit of pork belly. They work out at roughly €7 per burger, which explains why you need to be choosy about your guests. To justify this excess, I took a leaf out of the McCartneys’ book – not by eating tofu burgers from here on in – but by actively encouraging anyone I know to take part in a “Meat-free Monday” initiative, which seems to appeal to climate-fascists, veggie-do-gooders and carnivorous misanthropes. No mean feat, I am sure.
I personally am a big fan of eating meat or fish once or twice a week, but making sure it’s good stuff. People moan about the price of good beef, but they are usually people who eat full-on protein at every mealtime. If we can all eat a bit less of the rubbish stuff, but better quality food when we do buy something luxurious (which beef or fish are), then that seems to be a good way to live. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, meat is responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, which is why Paul, Stella and the gang (along with Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), has suggested adopting one vegetarian day a week. I’d happily go for doubling or trebling that. So with this in mind, make your meat meal a good one, but feel free to skip the truffles and gold-dusted buns.
Fancy pants burgers (makes 4-5 burgers)
650g sirloin steak, minced
150g pork belly, minced
Good few splashes of Lea Perrins
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp ketchup
Salt and pepper
Mix the meats with the rest of the ingredients. Shape into four or five burgers (you could probably make a sixth if you had to be stingy) and chill them for an hour. Cook on a barbecue or char-grill. Do cook them through fully, as they contain raw pork. So no medium rare, I’m sorry to say. And two tablespoons of thyme leaves seems like a lot, but trust me, they taste great.
Granny Smith and mint sorbet (serves 2-4)
This is zingy and refreshing, and would do four people as a little taster, but only two if you’re serving as a dessert. You can replace the mint with some rosemary.
5 Granny Smith apples
100ml maple syrup
Bunch mint, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Chop up the apples, removing the core but leaving the skin on. Whizz in a food processor with the maple syrup, mint and lemon juice until pulped. Strain the liquid off using a sieve and spatula. This takes a while, to extract all the juice. Dump the flesh and freeze the juice in a plastic container in the freezer. It is quite icey and freezes hard, but no need to break up the crystals or whizz again in the food processor (although do and re-freeze if you like). It tastes great on a hot summer’s night. dkemp@irishtimes.com
See also www.itsa.ie
