burgers

Charlie Palmer Becomes The Latest Celebrity Chef With A Burger Joint

Filed under: Dining

Chef Charlie Palmer, like many other celebrity chefs, is turning his attention to the burger. Palmer is opening DG Burger, a space within his existing restaurant, Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's in the South Coast Plaza shopping center in Costa Mesa, California. The initials stand for "Damn Good Burger."

Palmer will have plenty of competition in the burger world: Bobby Flay runs Bobby's Burger Palace; Emeril Lagasse has Burgers and More by Emeril and in the same South Coast Plaza mall, chef Marcus Samuelsson's Marc Burger has a spot at Macy's. Laurent Tourondel opened LT Burger over the summer and Richard Blais, who was on "Top Chef," is the chef behind Flip Burger Boutique. The Wall Street Journal traces the start of the trend to chef Hubert Keller who opened Burger Bar in 2004.

DG Burger opens this week with only one burger: Palmer's signature DG Burger, a version of the seasonally changing burger that has been on the menu at the full-service restaurant since it opened in 2008. It is made of Black Angus beef topped with cabbage, tomato, red onion and a secret sauce on a semolina-potato bun. It sells for $7.95. Executive Chef Amar Santana will serve up casual fare including garlic sausage sandwich with roasted peppers, salads, citrus glazed beef or chicken skewers and crispy fries with accompaniments of curry ketchup, bacon mayo, roasted garlic sour cream or chipotle aioli. According to National Restaurant News there are no plans to expand the DG Burger concept to other locations.

Tags: burger, burgers, celebrity chefs, charlier palmer

How to Grill the Perfect Burger

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Nothing says summer like a perfectly grilled burger. Wow your friends and family alike with these tips for cooking up the perfect patty.

Don't go lean No one ever said perfect flavor was perfectly healthy. For the juiciest, most decadent cooked patty choose ground chuck with 15-20% fat. If you like your burgers very well done consider going even higher (more fat will let you cook longer without the meat going dry).

Size matters Use cold meat and clean, wet, cold hands to form patties that are 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Any thicker and you risk the outside getting overdone while you wait for the heat to reach the inside. Make the patties about 1/2" wider than the buns to allow for shrinkage, and avoid a 'poofed' finished patty by using your thumb to press an indentation in the center of each one before cooking.

Save seasonings for last Salt draws out moisture so season generously but season last minute, right before you throw the patty on the grill.

Don't overwork the meat Don't overwork the raw meat as you make patties and resist pressing on the burgers as they cook -- it only squeezes out the juices and dries out the burger (not to mention causes flame-ups). Try to flip each patty only once -- if they stick to the grill wait a minute and try again.

Don't rely on color for doneness Temperature is the only reliable way of telling if a burger is done or not -- it should be 160°F in the center.

Let the patties rest Let the cooked patties rest for 1-2 minutes before cutting or eating to let the juices stabilize. Biting in too soon can lead to a drippy burger with dry flavor.

For more great grilling options check out our Guide to Meat Cuts.

Tags: burgers, entertainment-pedia, food-pedia, grill, grilling, hamburger, hamburgers, main-pedia, meat, outdoor-entertainment-pedia

Luxist Giveaway: Win An Allen Brothers Steak Prize Pack

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

I recently wrote about Allen Brothers for their new Emeril Lagasse branded steaks but the Allen Brothers main brand is also worth mentioning especially since grilling season is officially underway. Allen Brothers sells USDA Prime beef, the prized meat used by the nation's premium chop houses. Less than two percent of all beef in the country is graded Prime, and only the best of that top two percent is deemed good enough by the master butchers at Allen Brothers.

With Father's Day coming it's the perfect time to treat your favorite dad to some prime beef.For Father's Day, Allen Brothers has a large number of selections that are fit for the king in your life – everything from burgers to gourmet steak dogs to lobsters, filet mignons and ribeyes. One great option for Father's Day is Breakfast on the Grill with Allen Brother's Petite Breakfast Steak Sampler, which includes two 4-ounce filets mignon, two 6-ounce sirloin strips and two 8-ounce ribeyes.

Another option, and one of the newest items for Spring 2010 just in time for Father's Day, is "Todd's Prime Assortment" – named after Allen Brothers' President Todd Hatoff. The selection includes two 6-ounce filets mignon, two 6-ounce center-cut eye rib steaks™ and two 6-ounce baseball-cut strip steaks.

We are giving one lucky Luxist reader a shortcut, one winner will receive an Allen Brothers prize pack. The package features two Wagyu long Bone Ribeye steaks 30-34 ounces each and 12 Great Steakhouse USDA Prime Steak Burgers, 10ounces each. The Allen Brothers' Wagyu Long-Bone Ribeye Steak has rich marbling and is thick-cut from their rib roasts. These individually packaged patties are made from hand-selected USDA Prime ground beef for exceptional quality and flavor.

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before June 5, 2010 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive two Wagyu long Bone Ribeye steaks 30-34 ounces each and 12 Great Steakhouse USDA Prime Steak Burgers, 10ounces each, a total value of $259.90.
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia.

See complete giveaway rules here.

This contest is now closed. Thank you for your participation.

Tags: allen brothers steaks, burgers, luxist giveaway, steaks, wagyu beef

Tasting the La Cense Beef

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

I'll confess, I'm not much of a meat-eater, in fact, I was vegetarian for years. So when the folks from La Cense Beef offered to have me try out there product I wasn't as overjoyed as some might be. Nevertheless when I do eat meat, I do want it to be worth the experience so I decided to check it out. La Cense went one step further, offering me the help of a cook, the charming Sylvia Reiman of Lets Get Cookin. Sylvia and I took over a friend's kitchen for an afternoon of delicious meat eating.

Sylvia came prepared with a ribeye steak, a filet and four thick burgers. Everything was vaccum-packed and Sylvia reported that it the products had come packed in a heavy cooler with dry ice and were frozen solid when she got them.

Why does grass-fed beef matter? For cows, grass is natural food. Cows that are raised for beef are often fed corn and soy with added hormones to help them grow faster. Grass is low in starch and high in protein whereas corn and soy have high carbohydrates and low fiber. Meat from grass-fed cows has more vitamin A and E making it a better choice for those who want to be healthy but still eat meat because it offers more nutritional benefits.

Gallery: La Cense Beef