BURGERS ARE HAVING THEIR MOMENT

 

Beefed-up chicken burgers on sesame mollete buns.

In our weekly newspaper I noticed that a local burger joint had competed in the second annual Spanish hamburger championships. A burger competition? Since when are burgers a thing? 

Maybe since Chef Dani García got into the burger act. I first tried his Burger Bull, a burger of rabo de toro (bull's tail) meat on a bun way back in 2010, when Chef Dani had a trendy tapas joint in Málaga. He has since risen to three-star fame at Calima in Marbella, after which he walked away from the high-end restaurant business. He first collaborated with McDonald’s España back in 2015 to create a “gourmet burger”. He’s got a new “signature” burger for McDonald’s, the Bearnesa, with a chimichurri twist on classic Bearnaise sauce, topping a patty of Spanish beef. (One critic commented that it tasted just like a McDonald’s hamburger.) Chef García’s new restaurant in New York, Casa Dani, doesn’t list burgers on the menu. But, leading the tapas is “oxtail brioche,” essentially the same Burger Bull from his original Málaga establishments.

But, back to the championships. The winner was Junk Burger from Madrid, with a patty of vaca rubia gallega, aged cow meat of the Galician Rubia breed, with Cheddar and locally-smoked bacon. Scrolling through the other entries, I surmised that the quality of the meat plus a knock-out sauce were the main criteria. Rubia Gallega and Black Angus seemed the preferred beef. Bacon and Cheddar were frequent accompaniments, although one entry had strips of grilled steak wrapped around the ground beef patty and payoyo goat cheese instead of Cheddar. Some had house-made brioche buns, including one entry colored carmine with beets. 

“Ageing” is relatively new for beef in Spain. Beef used to be yearling beef, ternera or añojo, butchered and sold fresh. That is changing, with superb vacuno and buey available. “Old cow” meat, butchered at five to 10 years, is especially esteemed. Aged up to 40 days, it packs huge beef flavor. Well-marbled flesh makes for juicy meat. That’s what makes prize-winning hamburgers. 

I’m making chicken burgers with an Asian inflection and trying my hand with Dani García’s Burger Bull. A couple of knock-out sauces are based on prepared mayonnaise.

Miso paste punches up the umami when mixed with ground chicken thighs for this burger.

Melted cheese tops a burger of chopped, braised oxtail.

Beefed-Up Chicken Burgers

Burguer de Pollo

I actually prefer chicken burgers to beef. I’m beefing up the flavor with the addition of umami-packing miso paste (made from fermented soybeans) and adding juiciness with ibérico pork tocino (fat). The mayonnaise with soy sauce is a good accompaniment. If I were making fries, they would be sweet potato fries. 

Makes 2 burgers.

 

9 ounces boneless chicken thigh meat, ground

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup finely chopped tocino or bacon (1 ounce)

3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

1 teaspoon miso paste

¼ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)

Freshly ground black pepper

2 sesame buns, split and toasted

Teriyaki Mayonnaise (recipe follows)

Sliced tomatoes

Thinly sliced red onion

Heat the oil in a small skillet with the chopped tocino until tocino releases its fat. Sauté the chopped onion on medium heat until softened, but not browned, 4 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the miso and pimentón. Allow to cool.

Soy-flavored mayonnaise on the burger.

Combine the mixture from the skillet with the ground chicken. Season with pepper. Mix well. Allow to stand 15 minutes, then shape into two burger patties.

Heat skillet on moderately high heat and brush with oil. Sear the burgers, about 2 minutes per side. Lower heat and cover the skillet and cook 2 minutes more.

Spread the buns with mayonnaise. Top with burgers, tomatoes and onion. 

Teriyaki Mayonnaise

Mayonesa de Teriyaki

For 2-3 sandwiches.

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon PX vinegar (or balsamic)

¼ teaspoon sesame oil

Stir the mayonnaise until smooth. Whisk in the soy, honey, vinegar and oil. 

Sesame Buns

Bollos con Ajonjolí para Burguer

Make these buns with molletes from the panadería.

Molletes are a type of round or oblong soft bun popular in Andalusian bakeries. They’re perfect for grilled sandwiches (see campero grilled sandwich). Typically, molletes are big, about 6 inches in diameter, but many panaderías make smaller ones, a perfect size for burgers. 

6 (3 ½-inch) molletes 

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon water

Sesame seed

Heat broiler to 475ºF.

Place molletes on a sheet pan. Stir the yolk with water. Brush the tops and sides of the molletes with the egg. Sprinkle with sesame.

Grill the buns under the broiler just until the tops are browned, 2-3 minutes. 

Oxtail Burgers

Burguer Bull

Braised rabo de toro, or bull’s tail, is a specialty in Sevilla and Córdoba, where some butchers sell carne de lidia, meat from a toro bravo, after a bullfight. Of course, it doesn’t have to be the tail of a fighting bull. Butcher’s oxtail is just fine. 

In this recipe, the braised meat is removed from the bones, then finely chopped and mixed with some of the gelatin-rich cooking liquid so that, with chilling, it solidifies. I didn’t add enough of the liquid, so the result was more like “sloppy José’s” than burgers! I’ve got more of the chopped oxtail. I’ll serve it with the rich gravy on some mashed potatoes instead of buns.

Make the braised oxtail a day before preparing the burgers, so the chopped meat has time to chill.

1 oxtail (approx. 2 ¾ pounds), cut crosswise

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika)

1 teaspoon oregano

Sunflower oil for searing the meat

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup diced carrot

3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

1 cup grated tomato pulp

¼ cup brandy

2 cups red wine

4 cups water or beef stock

Strip of orange zest

1 bay leaf

Sprig of thyme

1 clove garlic, peeled

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped shallots (about 6 shallots)

1 cup chopped mushrooms (2 ½ ounces)

Sliced cheese (such as Manchego or Havarti)

Mini burger buns

Burger Bull Sauce (recipe follows)

Rucula

Season the pieces of oxtail with salt, pepper, pimentón and oregano. Allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Heat a heavy skillet and brush it with sunflower oil. Sear the pieces of oxtail. Remove them when browned on all sides. Reduce heat to moderate and add the olive oil. Sauté the onion, carrot and garlic until onions begin to brown, 5 minutes. Add the tomato pulp and cook 5 minutes more. Return the pieces of oxtail to the pan. 

Braised oxtail.

Pour the brandy over the meat. Either flambé the brandy or cook on high heat until the alcohol is cooked off. Add the wine and reduce it slightly. Add the water or stock, zest, bay and thyme. Cover and cook the oxtail, turning the pieces occasionally, until the meat is fork tender, about 2 ½ hours. (The braised oxtails are ready to eat at this point, should you not wish to use the meat for burgers.)

Chop oxtail for burgers.

Lift the pieces of oxtail out of the pan. When they are cool enough to handle, strip the meat off the bones. Discard excess fat, gristle and the bones. Put the pieces of meat on a cutting board and chop them as finely as possible (or chop in a food processor).

Pour all the remaining liquid in the pan through a sieve. Save some of the diced carrots to add to the burger mix. Discard the remaining solids. Place the strained liquid (about 4 cups) in a saucepan with the clove of peeled garlic and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let it bubble, uncovered, until reduced by half. Skim out the cooked garlic and save it for the mayonnaise. Reserve the oxtail reduction. 

Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in a small skillet and sauté the shallots on low heat until they are browned and caramelized, 5 minutes. Remove them and drain excess oil.

Add oil back to the skillet and sauté the mushrooms until lightly browned. 

Combine the mushrooms and shallots in a mixing bowl with the chopped oxtail meat and a few pieces of diced cooked carrot. Add ¼ cup of the reserved oxtail reduction liquid. Combine very well. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper. 

Press chopped meat into a roll and chill.

Shape the meat mixture into a roll 3 inches in diameter. Wrap it tightly in plastic film. Refrigerate at least 8 hours.

When ready to cook the burgers, use a serrated knife to cut 1 ½-inch-thick slices from the meat roll. Sear them on one side in a skillet or plancha. Turn the burgers, top with a slice of cheese, lower heat and cover the pan until cheese melts. 

Place the burgers on toasted buns that have been spread with Burger Bull Sauce. Top with arugula.

Burger Bull Sauce

Salsa Burguer Bull

The trademarked sauce by Dani García is made with sunflower oil, pasteurized eggs and beef extract. My version starts with mayonnaise from a jar. The addition of the reduced oxtail cooking liquid adds gelatin that thickens the mayonnaise further. Use the clove of garlic that cooked in the reduction of the oxtail cooking liquid. 

1 cup prepared mayonnaise

1 clove cooked garlic

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons oxtail reduction

1 teaspoon Sherry vinegar

Few drops of Tabasco or other pepper sauce

In a blender combine the mayonnaise, garlic, mustard, oxtail reduction, vinegar and Tabasco. Blend to make a smooth sauce. Add additional vinegar or Tabasco to taste.

More variations on the burger theme:

Lamb Kefta Burgers with Harissa.

Best Ever Veggie Burgers with Piquillo Pepper Ketchup.

Tofu-Black Bean Burgers.

Nothing to do with burgers, except to explain why my photos have an unnatural yellow cast. This is the view from my kitchen on a day when we had heavy calima, a fog of fine particles of Sahara desert dust in suspension. During the night it rained, lluvia de barro, coating everything--cars, terrace, laundry in red mud.

 

THIS SANDWICH IS A MEAL ON A BUN

 

Campero sandwich--the homemade version of a fast-food favorite, with chicken, ham, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.

I've hardly noticed the proliferation of fast-food restaurants in Spain. Then, in a single week, I had several encounters with the Campero malagueño, Málaga’s version of a hero or sub sandwich. The placard outside one establishment listed 50 different versions of the Campero!

Before McDonald´s arrived in Spain (March, 1981, Madrid), hamburgueserías and sandwicherías—fast-food sandwich joints—began popping up in urban areas. They became a popular hangout for teens and a quick lunch option for unfortunate folks working the new intensivo hours, instead of the two-hour midday closure of businesses and schools that allowed for a proper comida (main meal).  The Campero is, in effect, a whole meal on a bun.

The classic Campero is assembled on a round roll, usually a mollete. It is spread with mayonnaise and includes lettuce, tomato, chicken, cooked ham and cheese. The sandwich is always grilled. While it’s meant to be eaten with the hands, it’s fairly messy and needs napkins. 

Here's what you need to know to make the Campero at home.

Mollete has a firm crumb and crust.

The bread. A round bread roll with a firm, but not hard crust. A crusty roll doesn’t work on a grill. Hamburger buns are too sweet and too soft; they aren't sturdy enough to hold up with the contents of the Campero. If you substitute a long roll, such as a bollo or baguette, it’s not a Campero. It has to be round. I used 5 ½ -inch molletes for the Campero. Round ciabatta rolls might make an acceptable substitute. 

The sandwich spread. Mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup. You can take it from there: tahini, tartare sauce, curry, picante (hot) sauce. I saw a version called “campero gringo” with barbecue sauce. The sandwich spread was my only “innovative” touch to the classic Campero—I made a mayonnaise-mango chutney sauce.

Summer's best tomatoes for this sandwich.

The tomatoes. Use the best beefsteak tomatoes. The slices should completely cover the round of bread, so use two or three big slices.

The lettuce. Crisp iceberg lettuce holds up best to grilling. But any salad green works just fine. Try rucula for extra flavor. 

Onions. Optional, but usual, either fried crisp or griddled. I made some lightly pickled red onions.

The chicken, etc. Grilled chicken cutlets are classic for the Campero. But, breaded and fried cutlets or sliced roast chicken will work too. The etc. includes pork, beef, tuna, duck breast. A vegetarian version might include grilled slices of eggplant and portobello mushrooms.

Additions. To the classic Campero, add an over-easy egg. Beyond that, your imagination can take over: bacon, roasted red peppers, fried green peppers, caramelized apples, olives, fresh herbs.

Add a layer of cooked ham or lacón.

Ham. This is cooked ham, in Spain known as jamón york. I used hand-sliced smoked lacón, a cooked shoulder ham.  Variations: serrano or ibérico ham, smoked salmon.

The cheese. Any melting cheese. Semi-cured Manchego or smoky Idiazábel are terrific, but good old “American” will work too. Blue cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella. I used a soft, mixed-milk (cow, goat, sheep) cheese, pre-sliced for convenience. 

Give the buns a quarter turn to get cross-hatch grill marks. Or use a sandwich press.

The grill. A sandwich press is perfect. Otherwise use a ridged grill pan to make the toasty grill marks on the bread. If you haven’t got a grill pan, use any flat griddle or heavy skillet.

Grilled Chicken and Cheese Sandwich

Campero Malagueño

Here’s what you need to make four big sandwiches. The recipes for grilling the chicken, making the sandwich spread and pickling the onions are below.

 Tomatoes, molletes, mayo, cheese, ham, onions, lettuce, chicken.

For the Campero sandwiches

Molletes (round buns)

4 grilled chicken breast cutlets 

4 (5 ½-inch) molletes (buns) or ciabatta rolls

Mayonnaise-chutney sandwich spread

Sliced tomatoes

Lettuce leaves

Pickled red onions

Sliced cooked ham

Sliced cheese

Olive oil

For the grilled chicken

4 chicken breast cutlets, about 4 ounces each, ¼ inch thick (from 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon smoked pimentón (paprika)

Olive oil

Spice blend for chicken.

Spread the cutlets out on a plate. Combine the salt, pepper, cumin and pimentón in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over both sides of the chicken. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature.

Brush a grill pan or heavy skillet with oil and place on moderately high heat. Grill the chicken cutlets until they are just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove.

Chutney, mustard, mayonnaise.

For the mayonnaise-mango sandwich spread:

¼ cup mango chutney

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

If the chutney is chunky, mash it with a fork. Combine chutney, mayonnaise and mustard in a small bowl. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to spread.

For the Vinegared Red Onions:

1 red onion

1 cup water

½ cup white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

Cut the onion in half from stem to root, then slice crosswise. Combine the water, vinegar and salt in a bowl. Add the onions. Allow them to macerate 2 hours. 

Drain the onions to serve. To store them, place in a non-reactive container and add enough of the vinegar water to cover them. Store refrigerated up to 5 days.

To assemble the Campero Sandwiches:

Split the molletes. Spread both halves with the mango-mayonnaise sandwich spread. On the bottom half, arrange a layer of sliced tomatoes. Top with lettuce. Place the whole chicken cutlet on top. Add a layer of sliced ham. Top with sliced cheese. Place the top half of the mollete on the stack. Press the sandwich gently.

Sandwich assembled, ready to grill.

Brush a ridged grill pan or sandwich press with oil and heat it. Brush the tops of the molletes with oil. Place a sandwich on the grill for 1 minute. Give it a quarter turn and grill 30 seconds more. If using a grill pan, carefully turn the sandwich over. Repeat, grilling the sandwich 1 minute, then turning it 90º. When the bread is marked by the grill and the cheese is beginning to melt, remove the sandwich to a cutting board. 

Cut the sandwich in half and serve immediately.  

Cut sandwich in half to serve.

Fast food joints serve fries alongside the Campero. I've got spicy radishes.

Grilling melts the cheese and makes appetizing grill marks on the bun.

More sandwich recipes:

Serrano Ham and Pork Loin Sandwiche (Serranito)

Tuna and Roasted Pepper Sandwich.

Steak Sandwich with Mushroom Ketchup (Pepito).

Mini-Roll with Spicy Sardines.

Fried Squid Sandwich with Alioli.

WHEN THE BREAD IS GONE—MAKE MOLLETES

Baking bread in an emergency. These are molletes, soft sandwich buns, typical of Andalusia.

It’s finally happened—we’ve run out of bread. I bought two big country loaves when I shopped last week and stashed them in the freezer. But two guys (Ben and grandson Leo) making sandwiches quickly finished the supply. It will be several days before one of us goes out to shop. Looks like it’s time to make bread.

When my kids were growing up (in the 1970s), I baked bread once a week. We had a buying cooperative to purchase wheat in quantity, taking turns to take it to a small mill in a nearby town. The fresh, whole-grain flour was divided between several families. I got masa madre (sourdough starter) or fresh yeast from a local panadería (bread bakery). I rarely make bread anymore. But here we go!

Luckily, I have both yeast and bread flour in the pantry. There’s no shortage of yeast in my locality, so I´m not joining the sourdough brigade just yet.

Since the kids are into sandwiches, I decided to make molletes, sandwich buns. Yes, Spain has marvelous crusty rolls, but these are not them. Molletes have a soft crust and spongy crumb. And pale. They are not golden-toasty. They’re floury-white. Molletes just beg to be toasted or grilled, whole or split.

Traditional breakfast: mollete with olive oil.

A bread made traditionally in the inland Málaga town of Antequera, the mollete has become popular throughout Andalusia. Stop at a roadside venta for breakfast (oh, wait, I’m forgetting that you’re not allowed to be out on the carretera, nor are restaurants open yet), and an option is toasted mollete served with olive oil, tomato and thinly sliced serrano (or ibérico) ham.

Top the mollete with tomato or ham or both.

But molletes lend themselves to any sort of filling. They are perfect hamburger buns. They are a traditional bun for spreading pringá, the fatty meats and sausage left from puchero.

Store molletes in a cloth bag. They don’t keep more than a couple of days but can be resuscitated by toasting. Toast them, split, in a toaster or on a ridged grill pan.

Variations on the theme: Substitute whole wheat flour for some of the white bread flour. Add sesame seed or cumin to the dough. Make black buns by mixing squid ink into the dough. (Yes, I have sampled such a thing.)  I'm supposing that all-purpose flour would work for these buns, if you don't have bread flour.

A perfect breakfast, lunch or snack--split and toasted mollete with olive oil, tomatoes and ibérico ham.

Or, serve the mollete with semi-cured goat cheese. Raw onions, if you like.

Molletes are the perfect burger buns. Toast them in the toaster or on a ridged grill pan.

Sandwich Buns
Molletes

About yeast: Fresh yeast comes in a cake and is easy to crumble. Keep it refrigerated up to 2 weeks or in the freezer. To activate the yeast, use water hot from the tap or heated so that you can comfortably stick your fingers into it—about 110ºF. To substitute active dry yeast, use 1/3 of the amount of fresh yeast or, in this recipe, about 1 teaspoon dry (about half of an envelope of dry yeast) for 1 tablespoon of fresh.  

Flatten balls of dough to oval or circle.

To bake: Roll dough into balls and flatten them into ovals or rounds. Place them on baking sheets lined with parchment and sprinkled with a little flour or fine semolina. Dust the tops of the buns with additional flour. Spray them lightly with water. Bake the buns on a single rack in the lower part of a preheated oven. (Use a pizza stone if you have one.) 

Makes 8 buns. 

½ ounce fresh yeast (approx. 1 tablespoon, packed)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 1/3 cups hand-hot water (about 110ºF)
4 ¼ cups bread flour + additional for board and pans
2 teaspoons salt
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Flour or fine semolina for baking sheets
Water to spray buns

Crumble yeast into a small bowl. Add the sugar and 1/3 cup of warm water. Stir to dissolve the yeast. Allow to set 5 minutes.

Mix yeast and flour.

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the salt. Make a well in the center and add the remaining 1 cup of warm water and the yeast-water. Use a wooden spoon or paddle to combine the flour and liquid. Mix until it comes together in a ball and all of the flour is combined. Allow the dough to rest 15 minutes.

No flour to knead. Dip hands in oil to prevent sticking.

Place the oil in a shallow bowl alongside the work surface. Scrape the dough onto the board. Dip palms in oil and knead the dough for 3 minutes. As dough becomes sticky, use more oil on the hands. Don’t add additional flour on the board. Gather the dough again into a ball and allow it to rest 15 minutes.

Again, dip hands in oil and knead the dough until smooth and glossy, using more oil as needed. Rest the dough 15 minutes. Repeat the kneading one more time.

Use the oil to grease the mixing bowl. Gather the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl, turning it once to coat the dough with oil. Cover with a clean cloth and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Dough rises 2 hours.

Dough before rising.

Line two baking sheets with parchment. Sprinkle them lightly with flour or semolina.

Buns are ready for the oven. Traditional molletes are oval; round ones are fine too.

Punch the dough down. Lightly flour the board. Turn the dough out. Knead once more until smooth. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and roll them into balls. Press the balls to flatten them into ovals approximately 4 ½ X 3 inches. Place them 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Dust the tops lightly with flour and cover with cloth. Let them rise 15 minutes while oven heats.

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Remove cloth from one baking sheet. Spray or sprinkle the tops of the buns very lightly with water. Place the sheet in the lower part of the oven. Bake 5 minutes.

Repeat with the second tray, raising the oven temperature again to 425ºF before baking the buns.

Baked buns are pale, not browned, and crust stays soft.

Freshly baked molletes.

More ways to use mollete buns:

Kale and Walnut Sandwiches.

Serrano Ham, Pork Loin, Green Pepper Sandwich (Serranito)

     _______________________________________________________________________

Lockdown update: Starting today, I get to go outside of the house! Mayores (persons over 70) can now go for a walk—from 10 am-12, or from 7 pm-8. Ben can, supposedly, go surfing (from 6 am-10 or from 8 pm- 11), but he’s not allowed to get in a car to get to the coast. (Travel to purchase food or medicine has been permitted all along. In fact, I'm not cooped up in an apartment, but can range around my olive grove and garden.) Lockdown—with gradual easing of restrictions—is to be extended for another two-week period.

The incidence of new cases of coronavirus in Spain peaked on March 26. Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha have had the highest rate of mortality up until now (125 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants). The region where I live, Andalucía, has one of the lowest mortality rates due to the virus, 15 per 100,000 persons.