08 August 2014

Home Alone 4

My wife was in New York so what better than spoiling myself with the most obvious of New York dish …a burger.
My goal was to make the perfect burger (if there is a such thing?).
I hand cut wagyu beef for the patty which I just seasoned with salt and pepper.
The bun was made with a buttery and rich, brioche-like dough, that I topped with Japanese sesame seeds.

I like tomato on my burger but to intensify it I made a home made, chunky ketchup. I used the inside jelly and seeds from more than 2 kg's of ripe tomatoes that I simmered until one and a half tablespoons of thick tomato concentrate was left. This paste was later mixed with sweet cocktail tomatoes that I dried in low temperature in the owen with garlic and thyme for a good 8-10 hours. The end result was super intense tomato flavor with a razor sharp acidity.





 
Apart from the 'tomato ketchup', all I added to the burger was a slice of cheddar cheese and crispy smoked bacon.

On the side; triple cooked fries with truffle mayonnaise that I made from Australian winter truffle. Probably the best truffle you can get this time of the year.





In the glass:
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Coup de Foudre. From Napa Valley, California, comes this massive cabernet sauvignon based red that is mixed with a dash of cabernet franc and petit verdot.
Rich, almost zinfandel-esque nose in the beginning, packed with sweet, jammy fruit; black berry coulis, black currants, vanilla and milk chocolate. With a bit of air, a more elegant tone started to show but it still was a very big wine and you could feel the 14.8% alcohol.
The tannins was pretty pronounced without being bitter and the length was very long. It would benefit from, at least, five more years in the cellar to soften the rough edges.







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