Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Burgers with Beer-battered Onion rings

Sometimes, I get a craving for something specific and most of the time, I can't get the authentic thing here in Marbella. Today it's a hamburger with lots of toppings (cheese, bacon, pickles) and crispy sides (onion rings and thin fries). It must be because I've been reading about the burger invasion going on not only in the U.S. (Laurent Tourondel's successful blt burger and those infamous sliders) but in Paris as well. It seems that the humble burger has suddenly become fashionable and with top ingredients like Kobe beef and grass-fed USDA prime beef ground up for these jaw breaking sandwiches, the gourmet burger has been born.

At home, we use Argentine or Irish Black Angus sirloin from the English Butcher, assorted mustard (Colman's English and Maille grainy Dijon), Heinz Organic ketchup, Hellman's mayonnaise, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and onions (either sauteed or crispy).
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Beer-battered onion rings
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. coarse salt
  • Cayenne pepper
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup beer
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. finely-grated lemon zest
  • Vegetable oil for frying (about 4 cups) (* I use mild-flavoured olive oil)
  • 2 large white onions, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices, separated into rings
  • sea salt, preferably Maldon
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
  • Combine the flour, salt and a pinch of cayenne in a medium bowl. Whisk in buttermilk, beer, egg and lemon zest. Let stand for 20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 200F. Place a baking sheet on middle rack of oven. Heat oil to 380F in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Dip a few slices of onion in batter, turning to coat. Gently drop slices in oil. Cook, turning until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
  • Transfer rings to paper towels, season with salt immediately, then transfer onions to the baking sheet to keep warm. Repeat, with remaining onions. (Adjust heat as necessary to keep oil at a steady temperature).
  • Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was IN AWE of the American/English food and condiment selection in that big supermarket in the mall outside of Marbella. I was hyperventilating around the Hellman's, which we cannot get here. They even had bright yellow French's mustard! LOVE. I'm so jealous you get Hellman's.

Gourmet Traveller said...

Hi Miss Expatria,

You're right! They have so many British ex-pats living here that we can get most British and American ingredients. What we lack are oriental ingredients and because of that, authentic oriental restaurants. Bet you get really great Vietnamese over there.

Miguel said...

I've been able to find Hellmans in Manila...in certain delis.

Those burgers look really good.

Gourmet Traveller said...

Thanks Miguel. I'm sure Hellman's is easier to find in Manila than here. We usually get Spanish-style mahonesa or aioli.