Medium Rare

I'm talking medium rare. And when I say "medium rare" I mean: if its cooked fast, on a super hot grill, then it should be 50% red and 50% gray; If its properly rested, then it should be a nice bloody red-magenta, like a pantone 1805, most of the way through. Anything in between the two is acceptable, as long as it amounts to the patty retaining a good deal of its original fat and juices, and being like halfway from completely raw to pink (pink = medium well).

I won't get into the technicalities of burger cookery, it actually does take some practice to master. But really, its not that hard. Any place worth its muster will find itself loving and caring for a decent grill man who can deliver the goods with relative precision. (Owners and chefs blame high turnover. I'd blame high turnover on the exceedingly poor treatment and abysmal pay scale to which kitchen staff are usually subjected.)

But I digress. I want a medium rare burger. What I usually get about town, and this is when I spend upwards of $12-15 in search of the perfect patty, is medium well - dry, languidly pink, under-seasoned and more akin to something i'd find inside a sesame seed bun with special sauce and reconstituted onions.

LTHForum, you've led me to some spectacular chinese joints (Ed's Potstickers, Thee LTH). So were do you go to get a quality and precision cooked Hamburger that does not disgrace the memory of the steer from whose body it was wrought.

That one's easy. GNR Winner Patty's Diner consistently turns out the burger you crave, plus it doesn't cost anywhere near $12-$15.

Patty’s Diner
3358 Main St.
Skokie, IL 60076
847-675-4274

The couple times I've been there, Poag Mahone's has strived to serve a perfectly cooked burger. They're proud of their burgers and it shows. You can see the "Burger Eater's Bill of Rights" on their menu.

Poag Mahone's
333 South Wells
(in the 175 West Jackson Building)
Chicago, Illinois 60604
312-566-9100

Welcome to LTH, EggMan. Currently, my favorite burger in Chicago is at the West Town Tavern. I love the texture; it appears to be chopped instead of ground. And yeah, sixteen bucks is expensive, but worth it for a glorious hunk of Waygu beef, cooked to perfection.

West Town Tavern
1329 W Chicago Ave.
(312) 666-6175

Paramount Room (also a GNR winner) seems to know how to cook meat correctly. I ordered my burger medium rare, and received a perfectly cooked, well-rested (so it was juicy, but not dripping) slab of wagyu perfection that was nicely browned on the outside with a deep-red center, and walked away very, very happy.

Hi,

I feel your pain. There is an entire thread on hamburgers delivered to the table not made to order.

I now ask servers if my "medium rare burger cooked toward rare, not medium" will be made to my specification or to theirs. I have learned there are restaurants who give lip service to rare or medium rare requests to present a medium or fully cooked burger to the customer. If I can get an admission the burger will not be cooked to my specifications, then I order something else. If they fib, then at least they had fair warning I am likely to send it back.

Regards,

If you're around the South Loop, Hackney's has always provided a good burger to our rare/medium-rare specs (medium-rare a little on the rare side, which is ok with us). On the other hand, altho it's a tasty burger, Epic Burger is decidedly unresponsive to rare-medium-rare requests

Cross-Rhodes in Evanston has always been spot on with burger requests. Even rare burgers were nicely charred outside but red and bloody inside, yet warm all the way through. The owner takes great pride in being exact with cooking times. Once, I was a few minutes late picking up a rare burger to-go, and he informed me that he would not guarantee that it would still be rare, because it continues to cook inside the foil container. As it turned out, the burger perfectly suited my taste, and the extra "resting" time may have actually helped make it a better burger.

Cross Rhodes
913 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 475 4475

Khaopaat wrote:Paramount Room (also a GNR winner) seems to know how to cook meat correctly. I ordered my burger medium rare, and received a perfectly cooked, well-rested (so it was juicy, but not dripping) slab of wagyu perfection that was nicely browned on the outside with a deep-red center, and walked away very, very happy.

Seconded, heartily.

Santander wrote:

Khaopaat wrote:Paramount Room (also a GNR winner) seems to know how to cook meat correctly. I ordered my burger medium rare, and received a perfectly cooked, well-rested (so it was juicy, but not dripping) slab of wagyu perfection that was nicely browned on the outside with a deep-red center, and walked away very, very happy.

Seconded, heartily.

I'm jealous. My last Paramount Room burger was closer to hockey puck than medium rare. The meat was overworked and cooked all the way through.

Something about Paramount Room keeps calling me back, though. I'm sure I will give them another try.

Ronna

See, the problem is that the technology just hasn't been available to make this happen. Until recently, that is.

Finally, cooks have the tools they need to cook a burger correctly. Check out this piece about a guy in Boston who's using his C-Vap oven (think sous vide without the bag) and a 900 degree plancha (along with three different cuts of beef, two kinds of cow fat, and dehydrated miso for added umami) to create a really beefy-tasting burger that is cooked med-rare from end to end, but still well-browned on the outside.

At last! Technology has caught up with demand!

Holy crap, E - that's a burger I want to try! Flap, brisket, and short rib held together with marrow, suet and miso? At least I can try the miso part...

REB wrote:

Santander wrote:

Khaopaat wrote:Paramount Room (also a GNR winner) seems to know how to cook meat correctly. I ordered my burger medium rare, and received a perfectly cooked, well-rested (so it was juicy, but not dripping) slab of wagyu perfection that was nicely browned on the outside with a deep-red center, and walked away very, very happy.

Seconded, heartily.

I'm jealous. My last Paramount Room burger was closer to hockey puck than medium rare. The meat was overworked and cooked all the way through.

Something about Paramount Room keeps calling me back, though. I'm sure I will give them another try.

Ronna

I've had about 12 Paramount Room burgers, and I'd estimate that about 2/3 were cooked properly. A record-setting baseball batting average, but doesn't cut it in the burger biz. Full disclosure: I may be a burger snob, as I have the same opinion of the consistently-overtopped, but inconsistently-cooked burgers at another board favorite, Kuma's Corner.

I've had no such consistency problems among the dozen or so wonderful burgers I've had a Bistro Campagne.

Kennyz wrote:
I've had no such consistency problems among the dozen or so wonderful burgers I've had a Bistro Campagne.

I agree with Kennyz on the Bistro Campagne burger. They have been doing a masterful job lately with their burgers. A well-salted, densely crusted exterior whilst maintaining a perfectly rare interior. Most places couldn't get that type of a crust on a burger if cooked well-done. For my money ($13 currently), it's as good as it gets. I do recommend substituting their pommes frites for the onions, though that's just personal preference.

gus wrote:

Kennyz wrote:
I've had no such consistency problems among the dozen or so wonderful burgers I've had a Bistro Campagne.

I agree with Kennyz on the Bistro Campagne burger. They have been doing a masterful job lately with their burgers. A well-salted, densely crusted exterior whilst maintaining a perfectly rare interior. Most places couldn't get that type of a crust on a burger if cooked well-done. For my money ($13 currently), it's as good as it gets. I do recommend substituting their pommes frites for the onions, though that's just personal preference.

That's a pretty expensive burger, but it's big, filling, and - imo - worth it. Unfortunately, the prices at Bistro Campagne are, in general, about 20% higher than what I think they ought to be, which makes me only an occasional diner. It's a good neighborhood bistro, but when the prices of the entrees I want average in the low twenties, I look elsewhere. $22 for a roast chicken - good as it is at Bistro Campagne - is simply too high.

Sola's burger (only available Thursdays and at lunchtime in the week) is excellent - "Waygu" beef, medium rare, local bacon, pretzel roll.

Only complaint I had was it was a bit salty, but otherwise very tasty.

YUM.

Just finished eating a very good Medium rare burger at Patty's. The place was pretty empty for lunch time. That's too bad.

Sweets and Savories cooked my burger (with foie gras) to medium rare perfection last week. The beef itself was juicy and the foie gras just melted into the perfectly cooked meat. I haven't been that pleased with my meal in ages. In fact, I see myself becoming a regular at S&S.

Cobra Lounge makes a great 1/2 lb. burger that tastes like it was cooked over real fire, and though they tend to be a bit salty, I've always found them to be crusty on the outside, juicy on the inside, and sufficiently red in the middle for my taste. Their tater tots are good, the sweet potato fries are great, and at $4.50 on Mondays, it's the best burger for the buck, IMO.

Cobra Lounge
235 N. Ashland Av.
Chicago, IL 60607
(312)226-6300

EDIT: after trying the Paramount Room burger/pint, (which I did enjoy), I deem the Cobra Lounge Monday burger special "Best Burger Deal in Chicago".

I was debating whether to post it here or in the Hot Chocolate thread, but I had a great medium rare burger tonight. The cheddar and the beef really make that burger IMHO. Granted, at $15 there are better values to be had elsewhere, but I can't fault the quality of the burger itself.

Puppy wrote:I was debating whether to post it here or in the Hot Chocolate thread, but I had a great medium rare burger tonight. The cheddar and the beef really make that burger IMHO. Granted, at $15 there are better values to be had elsewhere, but I can't fault the quality of the burger itself.

I talked to Mindy Segal last summer, whom I normally associate with desserts, as being especially proud of her hamburger. Ever since then, it has been a goal to get there for one. Your comments remind me once again of my desire to get there soon.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

Puppy wrote:I was debating whether to post it here or in the Hot Chocolate thread, but I had a great medium rare burger tonight. The cheddar and the beef really make that burger IMHO. Granted, at $15 there are better values to be had elsewhere, but I can't fault the quality of the burger itself.

I talked to Mindy Segal last summer, whom I normally associate with desserts, as being especially proud of her hamburger. Ever since then, it has been a goal to get there for one. Your comments remind me once again of my desire to get there soon.

Regards,

She served mini burgers at the Green City BBQ Festival last July that were excellent, although I can't remember having one at Hot Chocolate.

=R=

The burger I had at ...

Firkin
515 N. Milwaukee Ave, Libertyville
(847) 367-6168

... was as good as any steakhouse burger I have had. Cooked to the rare side of medium rare and topped with good cheese and a nice bun that was up to the task of the juices.

Nice atmosphere too.

I've had the burger at Hot Chocolate for lunch a few times. It's really a fantastic burger, and they nail medium rare every time. I think it's $13 at lunch, which is the reason I've only had it a few times.

Panther in the Den wrote:The burger I had at ...

Firkin
515 N. Milwaukee Ave, Libertyville
(847) 367-6168

... was as good as any steakhouse burger I have had. Cooked to the rare side of medium rare and topped with good cheese and a nice bun that was up to the task of the juices.

Nice atmosphere too.

Stopped by last week and was sorely disappointed!

Old meat. Even though I thought it was cooked medium rare it was hard to tell as the meat was a shade of gray. Even tasted stale.

(Reiterating Llama's comment above): I've observed others eating truly medium rare burgers at Poag Mahone's in the loop. I have a tough time going back to work after a massive meat sandwich, so I have not tried them.

I like steaks cooked med rare, but I actually prefer medium for burgers. I had a burger at Kuma's today for the first time, ordered medium, which arrived just about exactly perfect, imo. But, yeah, overtopped, and I didn't really care for the bun, although I do see why they'd use a bun like that so as to help maintain structural integrity.




I forget what this burger was called. Apparently, all the burgers at this place are named after rock bands. Interesting concept.

EggMan wrote:If its properly rested, then it should be a nice bloody red-magenta, like a pantone 1805, most of the way through.

Picture/1000 words



Patty's Diner
3558 Main Street
Skokie, IL
847-675-4274

I guess doneness definitions really are more subjective than I thought. (I have assumed that my idea of medium rare is everyone's idea of it, and that when a restaurant departs from this, it is the restaurant's fault, but the last two photos change my mind about that.) Elakin's photo of the "perfect medium burger" looks like medium rare to me, while Gary's photo of the "perfect medium rare burger" looks like rare to me. It's also possible definitions are evolving. When I grew up (half a century ago) there seemed to be universal agreement about what constituted rare and medium rare, and my personal definition was based on this. I may need to reboot that.

It underlines that when the doneness really matters, it's incumbent on the customer these days to ask the waiter, "What does medium rare mean here?"

Whatever you call the burger in Gary's picture, I want it!