Potatoes Romanoff - This Didn't Stay in Vegas

Chopping up perfectly good steaks to make burgers with is going to raise a few eyebrows, and that’s just one of the reasons to do it. The great taste and texture are a couple other ones, not to mention it’s always nice to know exactly what you’re eating. Besides, imagine the mileage your dad’s going to get out of the story about the time you hand-chopped a rib eye just to make him a burger for Father’s Day. That’s pure chatting with your buddies at the hardware store gold.

This will also work with cheaper cuts like chuck, or round, but there’s a certain luxuriousness starting out with meat that’s already tender before it’s even chopped. By the way, using premium cuts for burgers is nothing new, and steakhouses have been doing just that with their trimmings for decades, which reminds me, if you can find some extra flavorful dry-aged beef, this will be even more memorable.

Above and beyond the taste, as long as you’re using cuts with enough fat, hand chopping the meat to a course grind will produce a very tender burger. Most hamburger meat from the store is too finely ground, and horribly overworked, and by the time you form it into patties, it can’t help but be a little tough. That’s not a problem here. By using a sharp knife, and partially frozen meat, there will be little to no fat smearing, which is one of the things that makes for a chewy burger.

Feel free to use no cheese, or a different variety, but the sharp, slightly salty funkiness of the blue cheese really works perfectly here. And the glorious crust we get as our meat sears in that melted fat is a wonder to behold. Homemade buns will also add to the experience, and here’s the link for making your own, but even if you’re going to serve this on a store-bought bun, and really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients to make 4 normal, or 3 giant Black & Blue Steak Burgers:

3/4 pound fatty rib eye steak

3/4 pound top sirloin steak

2 ounces (about 1/2 cup not packed) crumbled blue cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

-Sear about 3 minutes per side in a dry, very hot cast iron pan set over medium-high heat.

For the red onions:

1 red onion, sliced

big pinch of salt

enough red wine vinegar to cover

- Combine ingredients and let sit in fridge overnight, or until the onions turn color and soften slightly.

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