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Top Tier Ground Beef Can Put Steaks To Shame

Photo by JADEN HAIR

If you need a quick dinner idea, Kobe-style burgers can go straight from freezer to frying pan.

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: January 19, 2009

First, an apology to my vegetarian friends for this article.

To be fair, though, I did provide two back-to-back vegan recipes this month. So I don't feel too bad about making my family and friends sample five different brands of burgers — from supermarket to Kobe-style — to get this story right.

Yes, you heard me right. Kobe. Burgers. Wipe off that drool, buddy.

Technically, it's not "Kobe," but rather "wagyu" that refers to the breed of cattle from Japan. Only Wagyu cattle raised in the Kobe prefecture of Japan can be called "Kobe." (Just as real "champagne" is made in France's Champagne region.)

I think that for the beef suppliers it was a marketing decision to call their stuff "Kobe-style" because most people recognize that word and not "wag-who?" And, yeah, in Kobe, Japan, the cattle are lovingly hand-massaged and beer-fed to produce steaks intensely marbled and full of beefiness. Here, in the United States, I doubt ranchers go to that extreme, and the wagyu cattle are cross-bred with angus to better suit the American climate and lifestyle.

While Kobe-style steaks fetch a premium price, the non-steakable (um, yeah, I made that word up) cuts aren't as expensive as you might think. Palm Beach Prime (www.palmbeachprime.com) sells four 8-ounce Kobe-style burgers for less than $30. Because they are here in Florida, the overnight shipping is totally affordable.

The best part about these Kobe-style burgers, though, is that you can throw 'em in a super-hot frying pan while the patties are still frozen. Five minutes later? Kobelicious heaven. I don't recommend defrosting and grilling these babies on your outdoor BBQ grill because all that fatty goodness melts away between the grates.

The unanimous winner for hearty, beefy flavor goes to Oliver Ranch Company's Elliott/Ferris Charolais dry-aged patties (www.oliverranch.com). As I mentioned in a previous column, I love supporting artisan farmers who take on delicious beef as their craft. (I hear groaning! Vegans, you guys were supposed to stop reading after the first line!) Eight 6-ounce burgers for $19.95.

Not into mail-order meat? Publix carries a brand called Coleman that is produced by Meyer Natural Angus. Their cattle are given no hormones and no antibiotics. Most importantly, the company has the distinction of being labeled "Certified Humane" by the Humane Farm Animal Care organization. You also can cook the Coleman patties straight from the freezer, and they run about $9.99 for a 2-pound box of patties.

I find that having frozen burgers in my home freezer takes care of those last minute "Uh-oh, I need to get dinner on the table" moments. Burger buns also can be frozen; just plop them in a preheated oven for eight minutes and they are good to go.

Of course, though, you can make your own burgers from fresh ground beef.

Because I find regular supermarket ground beef quite tasteless, I add a little something to them, a trick I learned from Steven Raichlen, host of the popular "Primal Grill" show on PBS.

HAMBURGERS WITH HERB BUTTER

Recipe adapted from "How To Grill" by Steven Raichlen

For the herb butter

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley, basil or chives)

1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature

Place all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or whisk until light and fluffy. Lay a 12-inch square piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap on your work surface and mound the flavored butter in the center. Roll it up into a cylinder, twisting the ends to compact the butter. Chill in refrigerator or freezer until firm. The flavored butter will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. To use, unwrap the roll and cut crosswise into half-inch slices.

For the hamburgers

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin, round or chuck

4 slices of the firmed garlic-herb butter (about 4 tablespoons)

Coarse salt and pepper

4 slices of cheese of your choice

4 hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls

Other burger toppings of your choice

Wet your hands with cold water and divide the ground beef into four portions. Pat each portion into a thick round. With your fingers, form an indentation in the middle of the patty. Lay a slice of the garlic-herb butter in the indentation and form the ground beef over to encase the butter. Repeat for rest of patties. Cover with plastic wrap while you preheat the grill.

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. Or, if you are frying on a pan, heat a large frying pan (cast-iron preferred) until a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates upon contact.

Season both sides of patty with salt and pepper and grill until the burgers are cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Lay a slice of cheese on the burger while the burger is on the grill to slightly melt the cheese. Serve with buns.

Visit Jaden Hair's blog at www.steamykitchen.com.

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