The Big Mac - reverse engineering a classic

Reverse engineering is taking apart an object to see how it works in order to duplicate or enhance the object

That is exactly what I intend to do with the much maligned yet loved Big Mac. I stated in my last entry that the McDonald's Big Mac is a classic example of cutting corners for fatter profit margins. Today the Big Mac recipe is a mess of powders, processed cheese and frozen patties full of additives, fillers, binders, preservatives, extenders, and/or flavor enhancers.
Check this link ttp://stuffucanuse.com/Macdonald%20recipies.htm

I also believe that for McDonald's to have become the empire that it is today it was not all because of slick marketing. I believe that the Big Mac was once a good quality burger at least I like to think so. So let's go back in time and see. The Big Mac was invented in Uniontown, Pennsylvania by Jim Delligatti in 1967. Customer response around there was so good that it rolled-out nationally in 1968.
How does the old slogan go?
"Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”





Yea that’s it and that is what I’m going to focus on.
So I headed down to the Healthy Butcher on Queen St West and they had everything I needed. What a great place.

Hear’s my recipe:
Slow Burger (the Big Mac)
Jason Barato
Serves 4

4 Fred’s bread sesame seed buns
4 x 7oz lean ground beef (28oz)
6+4 tbsp organic spring onion, fine dice (4 tbsp onion set aside for garnish)
4 leafs organic Boston lettuce
Bottle of organic ketchup
Ground salt 20 grinds
Ground pepper 20 grinds
-preheat oven to 400F
-mix ground beef with salt, pepper and 6 tbsp of onion and set aside

Secret Sauce
1 cup organic mayo
2 tbsp organic prepared mustard
8 tbsp sweet pickles, diced
2 tbsp sweet pickle brine
-mix all ingredients and set aside

-portion out patties on parchment using a 4 inch pastry mold
-half buns crosswise
-4 small dill pickles slice length wise
-8 thin slices of very aged raw milk cheddar

- sear patties in a skillet with 4 tbsp olive oil over med high heat
-cook 4 min per side and season each side with a little salt and pepper cook to 126F using an instant read thermometer
- Heat buns for 3 mins in oven
-layer the burger from the bottom up

1- Drizzle bottom bun with 1 tbsp pan juices
2- 1 leaf organic Boston lettuce
3- 2 slices aged raw milk cheddar
4- 2 slices dill pickle
5- 1 tbsp secret sauce
6- Beef patty
7- 1 tbsp diced raw onion
8- 1 time around with organic ketchup
9- 1 tbsp pan juices on top bun and crown burger, enjoy

  
             'The Slow Burger'

Of course if you like you can 'doubledeck' the Slow Burger', but for myself I fell in love with the in your face quality of the single 8oz patty plus I have a mouth big enough to bite into a burger of that size.
Until next time.
Ciao!

Local Only!

Today I took my first step in a series of many small steps to fully convert our restaurant into one that uses foods that are locally supplied by artisanal food producers. Today I met with a very nice and knowledgeable man named Angelo Bean. He is a native from Napoli, Italy and his passion for good food is inspiring and infectious. He is the creator of the Ontalia philosphy which is "Italian roots in local soil to create a union between Ontario and Italy". I love it.

In his own words,
"This is the philosophy behind the recipes and events I create, which blend the traditional authentic Italian image with local traditionally-raised Ontario agricultural products. Throughout my life I have always sought to create pure and original regional Italian cooking using many ingredients imported seasonally from Italy. However, the true local artisanal products are rarely exported. Also, the long distance that these products travel is not environmentally sustainable, and compromises freshness.
As a member of the Slow Food Convivia here in Toronto, I came to fully understand the organization’s motto "Good, Clean and Fair": buy foods produced locally in a sustainable way, and pay a fair price to the growers."

That motto is very important to me because I do not believe in buying anything at the lowest price possible. If you pay full pop for a good quality product, that act in itself motivates the producer to want to build an even better product or at least provide a healthy supply of their product. But if you over bargain and under pay for a good quality product, then the producer questions the reasoning behind offering the product at all or worse they start to cut corners. An overblown example of this is the Big Mac. There was a time, actually back in 1948, (http://stuffucanuse.com/Macdonald%20recipies.htm), before food industrialization, when it was actually a good quality, local product. But in the efforts of trying to keep the product inexpensive they have turned around and made it cheap. Cheap in cost and in quality. Too bad for everybody, because if you actually make your own Big Mac using top quality ingredients the burger will cost just a little more than what you pay for a Big Mac at McDonalds, but the flavour of the fresh made one will blow the pre-made one away.

Anyway, I'll be trying the sausage samples that Angelo gave me with my parents and maybe a few house clients just to decide on which one we will put on our Fall menu. Here are descriptions of the sausages we will be trying.
Salsiccia Ubriaca (Italian for "Drunken Sausage")
1- the Baco Noir Sausage is Berkshire pork meat drunken with Baco Noir wine to repesent the 'terroir' of the Niagara wine region.
2- the Reisling sausage is drunken with Ontario Henry of Pelham Reisling
3- the Multipucciano is drunken with Multipucciano D' Abruzzo

Angelo confesses to using wines that are in the $50 range and his favourite is the Reisling. I can't wait to try them. I'll post my notes and any new recipes soon. Until then I suggest visiting Angelo at angelobean.com
Ciao!

Hello?

Hello,

I've been trying to figure out how to write, store, organize and share my recipes in a way that would be much easier than my current system of small pieces of paper where I scribble recipe ideas or onto my pda while I'm at work. The system has worked for years. But it does have its faults, like losing the pieces of paper in the laundry or having a pda that on any given day smells like fish, garlic, truffle or gorgonzola.

I do love to write and being in the restaurant business I obviously love to talk. This blog will serve me as a recipe data base. But blogging can be lonely so I am open to talking to anyone about anything food or restaurant related because I've learnt that the best ideas come through interaction.

Being in the restaurant business and 'cheffing' a kitchen is an amazing career and I absolutely love it. But what amazes me are the 'bloggers' that do not cook for a living but are running these wonderful and informative food blogs that have provided me with endless inspiration and ideas. Keep up the good work. As soon as I learn more about organizing my blog I'll post all of my cookbooks, favourite blogs and pics.

Ciao!