Food historians believe that the hamburger made its official U.S debut in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair.
In the late 1800's in Athens, Texas, Mr. Fletcher Davis served a ground beef patty sandwich between two slices of freshly baked bread at his lunch counter, he traveled to the 1904 fair to sell his sandwich. Prior to this, in the early 1800's chopped beef patties cooked in the style of Hamburg, Germany, were called "hamburger steak" – this new sandwich became known simply as the hamburger.
Today, summertime and burgers are a perfect match. While the beef burger will always be the most popular choice, why not get creative and try a few different ideas. At a recent tasting, we experienced the excitement that a perfectly designed burger can create. Ours was a lamb burger – perfectly seasoned, topped with thinly sliced feta and mint pesto on a brioche bun –WOW!
A burger can be made from almost any – meats, veggies, fish, beans, even grains and tofu.
In the meat category – pork, lamb, chicken & turkey, bison are all excellent choices. If using very lean meats (white chicken or turkey) add a moistening ingredient mixed with the lean meat such as roasted ground eggplant or mushrooms or a condiment. Although with lean poultry it is best to mix white and dark meats for flavor and moisture
With fish – salmon, tuna, halibut, stripe bass or almost any fish that can be ground in the food processor.
Vegetables, beans, grains, tofu : Black beans, chickpeas, lentils, brown rice, bulgur, barley, mushrooms. We could go on forever. These all make excellent burgers – mix a few of these ingredients and add flavor with onions and garlic and spices, grated cheeses – you may need a bit of breadcrumbs to bind the mixture to form a solid burger.
After your burgers are cooked – the fun starts with the toppings. A nice slice of avocado, the right cheese or the perfect pesto can take your burger over the top.
Enjoy the summertime!
The Food Network has numerous "beefless" burger recipes – you can see them here.
