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Delicious burgers…made with liquid nitrogen?

Jul 23, 2011

Many times you’ve devoured your favorite house specialty burger at the local hot spot wondering to yourself, “How do they make this so good? And how can I make this at home?” You curiously ask the server what’s in the tasty patty and they kindly reply, “Sorry, it’s a secret ingredient!”

Darn.

Typically these favorite menu items are a highly regarded secret. Perhaps there’s a special blend of herbs and seasonings, selected high grade beef, or a just some good-ol’ fashioned home-cooking love. But how exactly does liquid nitrogen sound as a prime ingredient for mouth-watering burgers?

Dr. Myhrvold, chief technology officer for Microsoft and the author, with a team of collaborators, of “Modernist Cuisine,” is the foremost expert on using science and technology to enhance cooking.

Let’s look at a couple of common problems with cooking burgers and how modern science can create a solution.

When you cook a burger and press it down with a spatula, lifting the burger off the grill becomes quite difficult as this action makes steam escape. Further, when a patty is cooked directly on a griddle, it’s nearly impossible with just a spatula to create contact on the entire surface due to the nooks and crannies of the burger.

Dr. Myhrvold’s solution? It’s twofold (source: NYTimes)

“‘First, put the beef patty in a plastic bag and cook it sous vide — immersed in warm water for about half an hour until the core temperature reaches about 130 degrees. Next, dip the patty in liquid nitrogen for 30 seconds to freeze the outer millimeter of the meat, and then deep-fry in 450-degree oil for one minute.’

‘The freezing followed by the burst of high heat lets you brown the outside without overcooking the inside,” Dr. Myhrvold said. And the deep-frying is supposed to be a technological improvement over the classic White Castle spatula-on-a-griddle technique.’ “

Although the combination of science and food is a beautiful marriage for better tasting food, it certainly is not the only way. Call Synergy and we we’ll show you how to achieve amazing results without all the hassle (and a laboratory). Contact us for a complimentary initial consultation regarding your restaurant menu.