Cheeseburger in Paradise

[darylat8750]

I agree that a ripe picked tomato can save some pretty sorry meat or even "veggie burger". And how good many things are can be pretty directly related to how long it has been since you have had it. Looking down on a cloud. (Pilots will understand.) Eating a particular food. The touch of someone you care about. Lots of things....

I grew up raising beef. We butchered our own and made our own burger. Grandpa had us put more of the fat in than Dad thought we should so we made some to Dad's idea and some to Grandpa's as a test. Dad's wouldn't stay in a patty, just fell apart in a frying pan, much less a grill. The commercial operations add more fat and gristle than is required but they get paid by the pound. The only way to know for sure what is in something is to source it yourself. "Kill it and Grill it."

The cabin boys in the old sailing navies got pretty good at rat hunting. Anything can be a delicacy if you are hungry enough......

[Tantalus]

According to my cousin from Wales the US IS burger paradise. When he visits us here in the US thats practically all he orders in restaurants. Says you just can,t get a decent burger in the UK. The beef is fed different food and the meat is ground different...spices are different.

[Cheechako]

I'm not a big fan of ground beef in general. We have been buying ground sirloin for quite some time... but I've come to realize I dont like it... too lean and lacks flavor. Then I tried a hamburger at the county fair last year and it was juicy heaven! I looked at the boxes their patties came from and they were 80/20 (20% fat) I've been trying that occasionally and it's much better. My favorite has some ground pork in it though maybe 15%. Some of the best beef in the world is Japanese Kobe style. Looking at those heavily marbled steaks in the Tokyo market... you can see thay have a lot of fat marbling in the meat. My buddy and I have bought a side of beef from his friend before that has no hormones etc. Good stuff.

[Greg4cocokai]

When you're out in the middle of the Indian Ocean, BBQ your own. Those are our large dinner plates!




If out of hamburger, catch tuna, mince and serve with wasabi/ mayo.

[MarkJ]

This is a very interesting topic because it relaits to Americans having a different culture than the rest of the world. I always get abuse when I say Americans have a difeerent culture. What do you expect? They have the same culture as an eskimo in Siberia? Or a Buddist in Mongolia?

American do treat the (humble) hamburger as most un-humble. Not only is it a national dish its a national dish one cant **!!ck with!
In Australia the hamburger meat pattie will not be just beef but will have additives like onion, tobasco, herbs and spics, carrot and more. More and more, till we call it a "Rissole". But a USA hamburger pattie will only have, and I mean ONLY have beef. No flavorings, no binders,like egg yolk etc, just 100% beef and nothing else at all.

McDolnalds have a major problem in Australia where they have to keep,advertising their beef patties as being beef and nothing else. Because eveyone expects the beef to have onion, carrot etc as well. Even mcdonalds cant understand the cultural difference. ONLY America has beef patties made of beef. ALL beef, nothing else.

So heres the bind, and i think someone else mentioned this, that if your meat patty is JUST beef is needs to be F'ing great beef or it tastes like sh!t!

In my 9 month ramble through the USA last year i found there is a Hamburger on EVERY restaurant menu, even if you are paying $1,000 per head in New York they will still have a hamburger. I never found a restaurant with a burger over $13 or $14 even when every other main dish was much more. Maybe its like the French subsiding the price of bread?

So the USA cooks must know what is acceptable and only sell that. The rest of the world does not know, and can not understand.... Its a cultural diffference.

So when in the USA go buy a Burger, and get to know and enjoy its unique 'burgerness' but never, ever, expect one like that out side the USA. Their aint one in paradise.



Mark

[Jim Cate]

Dunno if they are still in business, but around 1990 there was a "gourmet" burger palace in downtown Auckland... I think it was called "Rocketburger" or something like that. Never actually ate one of their cheeseburgers, but they had an all-time great sign out front:

"For the price of one of our hamburgers you could buy two Big Macs -- but, then you would have to eat them".

Classic!

Jim

[capttman]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

Vegetarians hate you guys and consider you murderers.

Plants have feelings too!!!!

[Jim Cate]

And re Markj's comment on Australian hamburgers:

They not only flavour the patties, they put WEIRD stuff on them! Things like pineapple slices, fried eggs, and pickled beets (that they simply call "beetroot"). Kinda a shock the first time you encounter such combinations. So far I've not run into one with Vegemite on it, but it is likely out there lurking.

Cheers,

Jim

[Tantalus]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

And re Markj's comment on Australian hamburgers:

They not only flavour the patties, they put WEIRD stuff on them! Things like pineapple slices, fried eggs, and pickled beets (that they simply call "beetroot"). Kinda a shock the first time you encounter such combinations. So far I've not run into one with Vegemite on it, but it is likely out there lurking.

Cheers,

Jim

Every country has its quirks. My relatives from the UK can't believe we eat pickled eggs here in Pa.

[TeddyDiver]

Of all the oxymorons in the world this is propably the worst. Burgers are junk you eat when there's no time to dine. Like 10min break during congrete cast. Never in Paradise.

[Jimbo485]

Originally Posted by chuckr

well we have been all around the caribbean -- we do not have the funds to eat out a lot BUT the best cheeseburger we ever had was on the west side at Capt Jacks in portobelo panama -- we got good beef all over the caribbean - even in the san blas - had to hunt a bit at times - what you have to realize that the cattle are raised without cattle feed - it is natural and not a fat in the meat that gives it taste -- in tunisia we wanted some ground beef - called minced here - so he wacked off a great piece of meat that looked like a wonderful roast and ground it up - we made our own cheeseburgers but had to put grease in the pan to fry it as none came from the meat itself -

We can add a big thumbs up to Captain Jacks as well. Great place to even order boat parts while you have a burger and rum! You can't do that at West Marine....

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Tantalus

Every country has its quirks. My relatives from the UK can't believe we eat pickled eggs here in Pa.

You have to be joking... back in the 60's and 70's before the advent of the 'Big Brewery's' pickled eggs and pickled onions (shallots) were to be seen behind the bar in most pubs in the UK..
Now its crisps, salted nuts, frickin burgers, fries and club sandwiches that add to the fat content of the average customer.. hard to even find Pork Scratchings these days..

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

BO's is the nastiest food in key west.
Known very well by the locals as a tourist trap.

I think maybe the food was okay years ago.
That place is undeniably the worst place in town for a fish sandwich. All Cuban bread and the thinnest mashed down piece of fish in between.

Well, it has been about 10 years since I was last there...maybe things changed.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by boatman61

You have to be joking... back in the 60's and 70's before the advent of the 'Big Brewery's' pickled eggs and pickled onions (shallots) were to be seen behind the bar in most pubs in the UK..
Now its crisps, salted nuts, frickin burgers, fries and club sandwiches that add to the fat content of the average customer.. hard to even find Pork Scratchings these days..

Geeze, how in the hell can they serve a Ploughman's lunch without a pickled onion or two? Heresy...

Jim

[belizesailor]

Well...Guatemala City is probably stretching the definition of "paradise" a bit, but it is in tropical latitudes and cruisers do frequent it (although not in boats of course)...and good burgers can be found there.

Just got back from Frisco Grill there. Great burgers. For example their "Castro Balck & Blue" burger made with Black Angus beef and Blue Cheese...yum.