1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (144 page)

Either boiled or baked with frequent bastings, the ham is most delectably finished with the “red-eye pan gravy” that mitigates its saltiness with bitter black coffee and sometimes sugar. After boiling or baking, slices are simmered in an iron skillet with the coffee and plenty of the meat’s own rich fat, the meat becoming succulently, meltingly tender. Buttered biscuits make the perfect mellowing accompaniment. As for the name: If the pan gravy is poured off into a bowl, the water-based coffee (reddened by the ham) sinks to the bottom, and the fat rises to the top, to form what looks like a giant red eye.

A delectable riff on the gravy is a specialty of the Colonnade Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, in which the sugar and coffee are replaced by Coca-Cola, that city’s proudest contribution to mankind. The result is an enticingly warm and malty, caramelized savor that adds extra dimensions of richness to be sopped up with biscuits and grits. Sides of hotcakes or scrambled eggs are optional but advised.

Where:
In Atlanta, GA
, The Colonnade Restaurant, tel 404-874-5642,
colonnadeatl.com
; The Silver Skillet, tel 404-874-1388,
thesilverskillet.com
;
in Nashville
, Loveless Cafe, tel 615-646-9700,
lovelesscafe.com
.
Mail order:
Smithfield Hams, tel 800-926-8448,
smithfieldhams.com
.
Further information and recipes:
Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking
by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart (2012);
cookstr.com
(search fried country ham steaks with red-eye gravy);
food52.com
(search goat cheese grits with red eye gravy country ham and a fried egg).
See also:
York Ham
;
Jabugo Ham
.

The quintessential American meal.

Impatient, on-the-run Americans love the convenience of hand-held food. Fittingly, two quintessential American foods are German émigrés becoming U.S. citizens only after being stuffed into rolls. Named for the city of Frankfurt, the frankfurter turned into the hot dog (see
listing
), while the classic Deutsches beefsteak evolved into the hamburger, so named because so many German immigrants hailed from the rainy North Sea port of Hamburg. (Truth be told, sausages with buns have long been popular in Frankfurt, but it took an overseas trip for them to be commoditized as the classic food of streets and sports venues.)

The original Deutsches beefsteak is exactly what old-time menus in the U.S. listed as chopped or Salisbury steak: a knife-and-fork main course of pan-grilled ground sirloin topped with sautéed onions and pan drippings that created a mild, soft sauce. Just who first sandwiched the meat cake into a bun is open to question. Food historian Giovanni Ballarini offers the prevailing version of the story: Toward the end of the nineteenth century, soon-to-be American immigrants aboard ships were handed grilled meat patties between two slices of bread. (No plates, no water wasted in washing.) But in her famous 1747 English recipe book
The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy
, Hannah Glasse refers to Hamburg “sausage,” a chopped combination of beef, suet, and spices that she suggested be served with toast.

Or was the first really Charlie Nagreen, a fifteen-year-old who sold meatballs at a country fair in Seymour, Wisconsin, in 1885? Legend has it that he decided he could sell more meatballs if he put them between bread so customers could eat them out of hand while taking in the fair’s attractions. And how about Louis Lassen, who in 1900 had a lunch wagon in New Haven, Connecticut, where he sandwiched cooked scraps of beef between slices of bread? The wagon eventually became a shop, and Louis’ Lunch sells hamburgers to this day.

In truth, history is beside the point when one bites into a richly beefy, succulently juicy burger, dripping from chin to napkin if not to shirtfront. Perfectly seared to a thin, savory crust (never charred to bitterness), and ideally cooked medium-rare—blood-crimson and a bit warm in the center—the burger is best encased in a fresh, lightly toasted and yeasty bun, sturdy enough to stay intact after absorbing drippings yet soft enough to be bitten into easily. The current fashion for hard-crusted rolls such as ciabatta and sourdough is a thoroughly nonfunctional design.

What goes between beef and bread? For purists that would be a paper-thin slice of sweet, raw onion (see
Vidalia and Maui Onions
) and a light smear of Heinz ketchup. Dijon mustard is a permissible alternative, but mayonnaise, Russian dressing, ranch-style dressing, sweet pickle relish, and so on, need not apply—nor should a frilly garden of salad greens and tomatoes that turn the meat cold. Cheese and bacon? Maybe, but not for those who value beef for its own sake. If there is to be cheese, it should be the subtly melting, mildly pungent type—real Cheddar, mozzarella, or Gruyère, not waxy, processed American cheese. Moldy or musty cheeses—the blues and those made with goat’s or sheep’s milk—lend a spoiled, fetid flavor.

The best hamburgers come from cuts of beef with some fat and texture, with chuck
being an all-around good choice. For more flavor and body and slightly less fat, a half-and-half combination of chuck and sirloin, ground together so they are thoroughly blended, is the best choice. A small amount of brisket or some ground beef kidneys can be added to chuck, but round steak is to be avoided, as it tends to cook dry and tough. The late James Beard, the grand pooh-bah of American cuisine, liked to mix a touch of heavy sweet cream or diced bone marrow into the meat for extra richness, while the master of hamburger magic, Daniel Boulud, fills the center of his burger with scrumptious scraps of gently braised short rib, and, for good measure, a nice fat hunk of foie gras—a sublime (if pricey) treat (see
listing
).

In truth, good beef needs very little seasoning. Just a dash of salt and pepper does the trick, although some add a bit of grated onion or crushed garlic and a sprinkling of a favorite herb, such as thyme, oregano, or chopped chives. The mixing should be done lightly, with a fork. Charcoal broiling will always be a favorite cooking method in the U.S., but for a more subtle result, sprinkle a heavy, black, cast-iron skillet with coarse salt, heat it up, and place the hamburgers in it, allowing at least an inch and a half of space between them so they do not steam. When the first side is seared and is easily loosened from the pan (after seven to eight minutes), add a touch of coarse salt to the raw side, flip it over, and fry for another six or seven minutes, or until blood rises to the surface when you press gently on the top of the burger with your finger. The salt will caramelize and burnish the beef’s flavor.

Do not pat burgers down while they are frying, and try not to turn them more than once. For extra deliciousness, smear a dot of sweet butter on top just as you remove the burgers from the pan. Because it creates enormous clouds of smoke, this kind of pan-grilling should be done only in a well-ventilated cooking area.

Where:
In New York
, Corner Bistro, tel 212-242-9502,
cornerbistrony.com
; The Little Owl, tel 212-741-4695,
thelittleowlnyc.com
;
in New Haven
, Louis’ Lunch, tel 203-562-5507,
louislunch.com
;
in Philadelphia
, Rouge, tel 215-732-6622,
rouge98.com
;
in Boston
, Mr. Bartley’s Gourmet Burgers, tel 617-354-6559,
mrbartley.com
;
in Charleston and Nashville
, Husk,
huskrestaurant.com
;
in Atlanta
, Farm Burger at four locations,
farmburger.com
; Yeah! Burger at two locations,
yeahburger.com
;
in New Orleans
, Port of Call, tel 504-523-0120,
portofcallnola.com
;
in Chicago
, David Burke’s Primehouse, tel 312-660-6000,
davidburkesprimehouse.com
; Ralph Lauren Restaurant, tel 312-475-1100,
rlrestaurant.com
; Owen & Engine, tel 773-235-2930,
owenandengine.com
; Kuma’s Corner, tel 773-604-8769,
kumascorner.com
;
in Los Angeles
, Original Tommy’s Hamburger, tel 213-389-9060,
originaltommys.com
; The Bowery Bar & Bistro, tel 323-465-3400,
theboweryhollywood.com
;
in San Francisco
, Zuni Café, tel 415-552-2522,
zunicafe.com
;
in Toronto
, Bymark restaurant, tel 416-777-1144,
bymark.mcewangroup.ca
; The Harbord Room, tel 416-962-8989,
theharbordroom.com
;
in Montreal
, Mister Steer, tel 514-866-3233,
mistersteer.com
; m:brgr, tel 514-906-0408,
mbrgr.com
;
in London
, Meat Mission, tel 44/20-7739-8212,
meatmission.com
;
in Paris
, Ralph’s Restaurant, tel 33/1-44-77-76-00,
ralphlaurenstgermain.com
;
in Prague
, Peter’s Burger Pub, tel 420/222-312-091,
burgerpub.cz
.
Further information and recipes:
The James Beard Cookbook
by James Beard (2002);
The ‘21’ Cookbook
by Michael Lomonaco (1995);
saveur.com
(search classic hamburger; cuban hamburger; japanese hamburger; favorite hamburger recipes; guide to hamburger meat);
hamburgeramerica.com
.
Special events:
Taste of Hamburg-er Festival, Hamburg, PA, tel 610-562-3106,
tasteofhamburger.com
; National Hamburger Festival, Akron, OH, August,
hamburgerfestival.com
.
Tip:
For a burger with a more sophisticated appeal, try the lamb burger: finely ground shoulder and leg meat, half and half, lightly mixed with a bit of grated onion or crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and some fresh thyme, and pan-or charcoal-grilled.

Given the appearance of the rose-tan Hand melon, with those fingerlike ridges around its rind, one might conclude that its name derives from its shape—it looks much like a hand holding a cantaloupe. In fact, the coral-fleshed, succulent muskmelon is grown on the farm of one John Hand, in upstate New York’s Washington County.

The melons, actually a sort of cantaloupe, are available only in August, when they reach their juiciest, sweetest best. For years they have been the standard summertime dessert in the clubhouse restaurant of the neighboring Saratoga Race Track, where they are served au naturel. Only those grown on the Hand farm have a right to that name, but other similarly ridged and lavishly moist muskmelons from New York and New Jersey are available from late July through August, best when purchased at farmers’ markets in the city and at stands along country roads. Hand melons are rarely found at conventional greengrocers, because their seductively moist, glowing coral flesh contains a great deal of water, making them highly perishable.

To avoid a disappointing melon selection, learn how to read the rind. As with most muskmelons (those with netted patterns on their rinds, including cantaloupe, crenshaw, and casaba), one can judge ripeness and quality by heft and texture. The ideal is a well-formed oval with no bruises or damp, moldy spots. The more textured the netting, the better the flavor of the fruit within. The melon should feel heavy in the hand for its volume, indicating juiciness. Sniffing can help but is less definitive, as is pressing the end of the melon to see if it gives. Melons ripen only when whole and uncut, so buying a cut, unripe portion is pointless. For like a cut cheese, a cut melon rots but never ripens.

Chill a melon in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving, and allow it to stand at room temperature for about fifteen minutes after cutting so the flavor will rise to its fullest. As for serving, muskmelons in general make a wonderful accompaniment to sliced prosciutto. When eaten plain, a dash of lime or lemon juice adds a hint of sophistication.

Retail and mail order:
In Greenwich, NY
, Hand Melon Farm, tel 518-692-2376,
handmelonfarm.com
.
Further information and recipes:
saveur.com
(search melon au porto);
epicurious.com
(search cantaloupe granita).