Curated Cuisine is a monthly series examining all things edible, from the chefs cooking the food to the writers reviewing the recipes. Meet the people shaping the food industry, both local and national and enjoy a post-show bite inspired by the conversation.
It’s that time of year when the days get longer and temperatures rise that we all crave a juicy hamburger cooked on the patio grill. Andy Husbands, chef and owner of The Smoke Shop BBQ, has co-authored the “Quick and Easy Burger Cookbook,” which features recipes that are not your average patty-on-a-bun fare, including a meatloaf burger on pretzel bread with cabernet mustard and the Island Creek Burger with oysters and homemade cocktail sauce.
Learn how to take your burgers to the next level just in time for peak grilling season. Solon Kelleher, WBUR arts writer and chief operating officer of George’s Coney Island, moderated the discussion.
About “Quick and Easy Burger Cookbook”
Bump your burger game up a notch or two or three with these creative, flavor-packed, juicy-good recipes.
Burgers are the ultimate one-plate meal, especially when they are topped with delectable things like guacamole, Szechuan chili crisp, homemade ketchup, onion rings, caramelized onions, a punchy Southern-style or Asian slaw or fried heirloom tomatoes. Those are just a few of the ideas in this colorful volume that is guaranteed to get you and your family out of the old patty-on-a-bun burger rut and into a delicious new world of gourmet — but easy-to-fix — burgers.
“Quick and Easy Burger Cookbook” fearlessly incorporates new techniques, inspirations and ingredients to take the burger to the next level, whether it’s the Meatloaf Burger on Pretzel Bread with Cabernet Mustard or the Island Creek Burger with Oysters and homemade cocktail sauce. The recipes include:
- Adventurous burgers featuring global flavors, from Mexican to Korean
- Innovative new spins on the classic down-home beef burger
- Health-conscious burgers made with lower-fat proteins such as turkey and salmon
You’ll learn the art of freshly grinding meats — from beef to lamb to goat — for the ultimate juicy burger as well as various cooking methods such as smoking, grilling, griddling and sous vide that impart distinctive flavor. Most recipes can be made on an outdoor griddle or gas or charcoal grill, or indoors on a cast-iron or nonstick skillet.
Altogether, it’s a lifetime’s worth of exciting new ways to make the best burgers imaginable.