I love vegetables but could never be a vegetarian. I love my meat though neither could I be exclusively a carnivore. I 
can easily finish a cowboy or prime rib steak all by myself (or a 1 kilo bistecca a la Fiorentina for that matter), eat the better part of a goose or duck liver, and definitely sink my teeth into one or two hamburgers with great gusto. At its finest, a home made hamburger a la Marketman might feature a whole sirloin steak ground up and formed into a hefty patty with some salt and pepper and grilled to perfection on a charcoal fire. Add some slowly caramelized onions on top, perhaps a slice of cheese, a grilled bun, mustard and ketchup and this is one of the easiest and most satisfying lunches (somehow I never thought of this as dinner food) that I can think of to eat.
Alternatively, buy the best lean ground sirloin you can find (in the Philippines, 
I find the “leanest†sirloin isn’t so lean at all…it has enough fat for good flavor – whereas elsewhere in the world, you might want the fattier cuts), season it with salt and pepper or even Worcestershire sauce if you like, maybe throw in some chopped onions or tomatoes if you are so inclined, and grill it on a charcoal fire… There is just something about the combination of burned beef, juicy meat inside, the bread, the fixings that bring this all together. I served it with a side salad of romaine or cos lettuce so that there was a semblance of dietary balance. Absolutely delicious!
24 Responses
This is totally yummy! Caramelized onions are just wonderful add-ons.
Lashings over roquefort underneath the caramelized onions…merry christmas!
i always end up putting horseradish or wasabi in my burgers. heheh, i love the kick!
on burger grill outs I am in charge of the trimmings and condiments. Aside from the usual mayo, mustard, oil & vinegar, etc., for the greens, I’ll have lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, baby spinach, and cucumbers. i’ll have tomatoes, grilled & red onions, mushrooms, grilled leeks, cilantro, sliced avocados, and some jalapenos. Ill get out the cheddar, swiss, roquefort or stilton. they all go great with burgers. It still amazes me how the same friend or family member gets the same combination over and over. i prefer the avocado, swiss, grilled onions, alfalfa sprouts and cilantro combination myself.
shane, OMG, that spread of toppings sounds totally impressive. You have given me a Sunday lunch idea… a burger buffet with all of those kinds of toppings and more… chilli, bacon, mushrooms, etc.! Wow! Nikka, wasabi sounds cool…or hot…or spicy! Roquefort, yes!
Cafe Ysabel in San Juan has this giant hand-chopped sirloin double patty burger with seared foie gras, caramelized onions, some sauce that i forgot on a large bun called “burger for the big boys” at i believe around P800. alas, the order doesn’t include fries.
I find that caramelized onions added to almost anything makes it delicious! My ideal burger would have, any type of cheese, mushrooms, your onions, dijon mustard or prepared horseradish , a little mayo, lettuce and a few tomato slices on a toasted bun… now how am I suppose to loose weight reading your blog? My mission today is to have the burger described above for dinner!
Three cheers for those who enjoy making a good burger! But let me pose this statement… the best burger experience will only hold up to the bread that it’s sandwiched in. I’m sure everyone has experienced the horrors of a BigMac or Whopper on a lame bun that starts to fall apart on your fingers after a few bites. Personally speaking, when fixing up homemade burgers, a New York style kaiser roll complete w/ a generous sprinking of poppy seeds would serve as the perfect “bun”, but you can’t easily find these at the local supermarket bread section. The stuff on offer in most grocery stores are just as feeble as what you’d find in most fastfood joints. MM, where oh where can one find a decent hamburger bun, praytell?
i don’t normally have sodas but its unimaginable for me to not have one lest i break the holy trinity of Burger-Fries-Coke. maybe a whole, spicy, dill pickle on the side too. my god. my mouth is foaming. but NEVER burgers without fries. and heinz (and only heinz) ketchup to complete the whole package. maybe you should do a french fry test (maybe a horse-fat-fried version?hehehe) your burger looks awesome. am not a fan of too much stuff on my meat as i want to taste…the meat.
aaaarghhh! looks so yummy!!!
how does one caramelize onions? Stove or oven? With olive oil or without? help!
I’ve never tried making caramelized onion. How do you do it?
Me too, I haven’t tried making caramelized onions. Waiting foir your help Mr. MM.
you just fry/sautee sliced onions on a low flame till it caramelizes/browns (NOT burned). turns sweet and brown thanks to natural sugars. takes a while though. some people add a pinch of sugar for added help. some add balsamic so when it reduces it produces this dark thick syrup. most resturants (and burger joints) locally just sprinkle sugar to fried onions and to me that’s called candied onions. ack
yeah, how to caramelized onions properly, i love them as well, but i can’t seem to get it right…….and i’ve been thinking of steak since last night :)
caramelized onions: just thinly slice about 3 large onions into rings or whatever shape you fancy, and cook in a saucepan with some olive oil over very low heat for about 30min til they go brown, being careful not to burn them. some people add a touch of brown sugar and/or a splash of balsamic. you have to be patient with this one, so cook them ahead of when you will need them.
Thanks gonzo, yup that’s about it. The one chef trick or shortcut that seems to work is to add a sprinkle of white sugar to the sliced onions to get the caramelization going faster. I made the ones in the photo in 12-15 minutes though they aren’t as brown as they should be. Adding a touch of balsamic makes another version that is great with fish…I have it on a swordfish steak in the archives, I think.
Anonymous Paul, my apologies, your comments seem to keep getting caught in my spam filter, that’s why there is a delay in their coming out. On the fries, I did a post here… Fries, definitely a must, but at home, unless I pull out my commercial style deep fryer, they aren’t up to snuff generally…
hamburgers and caramelized onions are 2 of my favorite things to eat. if you were someone who lived in bf paranaque, you shouldn’t have missed eating burgers at boston burgers. they were the best this side of town. unfortunately they closed down. i miss them.
anonymous paul: my holy trinity would be burger-onion rings-coke. :) yipes i don’t want those horsefat fried french fries–like mr steingarten’s eh?
Mmmmmmm~~~~~ burger…. *smack* *smack*
Ahem. Sorry about that. My mouth waters just reading the posts. Any suggestions on which place serves the best burger?
ichabod’s hubby: personally i like how Wham burger patties have that fantastic charred beef taste + its very moist. fries….hmmm. lets just say you go there for the burger. i’m almost ashamed to say i still like McD’s fries the best (ok, ok… and the occassional qtr pounder). so consistently good they have it down to a science. next would be tropical hut’s. no kidding. rancho ranchero’s not bad either! basically a cheese burger with a sunny side up on top.
If you have very good beef, try not using the mustard and ketchup — they cover the flavor. Instead, spread a thin layer of very good mayo on the bottom bun, hit it with some freshly ground black pepper then assemble your burger… the juice mixes with the pepper and mayo to make the best sauce.
marketman any recipes for rib eye steak?
Kinda glad to know MM that you also do a little coaxing (adding a bit of sugar) in caramelizing onions… hihi!
anonymous paul, i agree with you– Wham! burgers are the best! It’s juicy, has excellent chargrilled flavor, right thickness and cheap (sells for less then P100). Way better than hotshots and brother burgers (sorry).. and Mcdo fries beat all the rest.
Anonymous Paul and Joycelyn, I love Wham! burgers too. I’d also recommend this place called Bite Club along Katipunan (I think it’s still open.) The Brothers Angus Beef Burger is pretty good too.