dominican chimichurri burgers
I was asked yesterday what the last meal I made was (not counting my Saturday morning hangover ramen and the jumbled leftovers I had for lunch). Incredibly, I blanked out and completely forgot about these deliciously messy Dominican chimichurri burgers (which have nothing to do with “real” chimichurri, a South American condiment made of herbs, garlic, onions, and oil). I just happened to have the appropriate vegetable odds and ends for them: part of a bell pepper, some assorted leftover onions, cilantro on the brink of spoilage, half a head of cabbage, and a bunch of baby carrots (the kind that are pulled out of the ground early, not the kind that are whittled down from ugly carrots into perfect little dipping nubs). I also added a slice of cheddar because cheese is mandatory on my burgers.
As for the beef, it was of the organic, grass-fed, dry-aged variety, from Lewis Waite Farm. Dry aging is the process of drying cuts of beef in cold temperatures to let moisture evaporate as the connective tissue in the muscle breaks down with the help of proteolytic enzymes (proteins that break down other proteins, such as those found in muscle fibers). A layer of not-scary mold forms on the outer layer of the meat, which is later trimmed off. The alternative to dry-aging is (surprise!) wet-aging, which is the process of breaking down the meat’s connective tissue in a sealed bag, keeping moisture locked in. While dry-aging can take several weeks, wet-aging takes only a few days, and is the more common method found in the U.S. Some say that the more expensive dry-aging process creates beef with a more concentrated beef flavor. Some specialty butcher shops and grocers (Fairway and Whole Foods come to mind) dry age their beef on-premises, in glass cases for you to see.
Organic and grass-fed have become pretentious buzzwords, but that doesn’t deter me from spending an extra few dollars every few months to purchase beef that has been raised without hormones or antibiotics, and fed what their bodies were designed to digest. I think it’s worth it.
I only have a few tips for making burgers:
- Season the meat adequately.
- Don’t over-handle the meat patties. It’s just not necessary. I like to use a fork to mix, and my (immaculately scrubbed) hands to lightly form the patties.
- Make a little dent in the middle of the patty (always reminds me of red blood cells), so that you end up with flat burgers, not bulging centers as the edges shrink.
- Make sure the grill or pan is nice and hot, so you get a good, flavorful sear.
(Please share your tips if you have some!)
And finally, if you want to read about “real” Dominican food in New York, this Junot Diaz piece is one of my favorite pieces of food writing ever.
