Burgers and Fries

Does anyone else make home made burgers and fries? I love shoe string fries. The burgers are simple, cheese with Kuhne pickles, slivered onions, 90% ketchup, 10% mustard and a soft ballpark bun. Cold water or sprite. Makes for a filling comfort meal.

I rarely make hamburgers at home, and only when I cook out on the charcoal grill. I don't eat HB's very often due to health issues.
If I make French fries at home, it's in the oven. The last time I deep fried them was in July 1973. I remember that because they caught fire, and did over $5000. in mainly smoke damage. My parents were very displeased with me. So was my sister, as she had left her bedroom and closet doors open, and all her clothes had to be cleaned. If I have fried food, it comes from a restaurant.

Heat must have been to high or the oil had a low smoke point. I use Canola Oil or Soybean Oil making sure it does not get past 375*F. Never leave unattended. Even on a setting like 4 oil left on the burner for say half an hour can reach its smoke point. Monitor your temps and make sure heat input equals heat output. Once you try fried food you never go back taste wise.

"never leave unattended" That's unfortunately what I did. Took out the fries that were done, left the rest to cook. Saw my neighbor girl Carol on her porch, and went over to talk to her about the pool. She saw smoke coming out the kitchen window, and by the time we got back, the pan of grease was aflame. Put a larger fry pan over it to extinguish, and set it on a cold burner. Kitchen ceiling and wall above range was black by then.

I make Cheeseburgers for us once a month for our dinner on Saturday. I buy 2 lbs. of 93/7 lean ground beef and divide it into six 5 oz burgers and freeze them on a baking sheet, then place them between wax paper and place them in ziplock bags, 2 to a bag and store them in the freezer. I hate the smell of frying meat in the house so I broil the thawed burgers in the oven.

I’m with Tom about deep frying. Instead I make homemade oven fries. I wash and dry three 5 oz. potatoes and cut them into french fries, usually leaving the skin on. Meanwhile I preheat the oven to 425F and place the bottom of a large broiler pan in the oven with 2 tbs of butter for a few mins while the oven preheats. Then I toss the cut potatoes into the melted butter, sprinkle them with a bit of salt and pepper and toss them with my hands to coat them evenly with the butter. Then I arrange the fries in evenly spaced rows and bake for 20 mins, then I carefully turn over the fries to the other side and bake an additional 10-15 mins. They come out golden brown and crispy and not greasy, only absorbing about tbs of of the butter. Much better than deep fried french fries.

And lastly, I make my own hamburger and hot dog buns, which I also keep in the freezer.

Eddie

Live and learn I guess. I am sorry that happened to you. Accidents happen, don't let it stop you from moving on. Forgive yourself and enjoy the taste of fried foods again.

Fried again- onion rings and a chicken sandwich. Not a burger, but I love the taste in between. The chicken is perfect and crispy in only 7 minutes.

@Chetlaham Wow man I'm impressed, real deep fat fries at home, I imagine everything was perfectly crisp and not soggy, what is your coating on the onion rings and chicken? Looks delicious, as do Eddie's hot dog and hamburger buns.

I have one of those Fry-Daddies that does make great fried food, problem is oil goes rancid between uses.

@Chetlaham when i make french frys i use the ninja air fryer to make french frys

wayupnorth said:

I have one of those Fry-Daddies that does make great fried food, problem is oil goes rancid between uses.

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What type of oil are you using, what are you frying and how high is the temp getting? Are you letting the fryer run a bit longer after frying to boil out any residual moisture out? Any oil that is heated just once to its smoke point is technically finished and will be unusable the next time around.

With good oil that is not being over-heated it can be re-used at least several times with chicken and a dozen times with things like fries. Filtering it is also key in extending its life and quality.

fisherpaykel said:

@Chetlaham Wow man I'm impressed, real deep fat fries at home, I imagine everything was perfectly crisp and not soggy, what is your coating on the onion rings and chicken? Looks delicious, as do Eddie's hot dog and hamburger buns.

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The onion rings are beer batter coating, the chicken are gluten free breading. It is all very crispy, flavorful and never soggy.

Chet,
I think it’s great when anyone makes home cooked meals and your french fries look crispy and well fried. Same goes for your onion rings and fried chicken. I didn’t mean to denigrate your efforts at all.

The main reasons I seldom deep fry anything is 1. it takes a lot of expensive oil and I don’t like the extra effort required to strain and filter the oil so it can be reused, plus I don’t like having a large container of used oil in the fridge taking up space so I discard it. 2. I don’t like the lingering odor of deep fried food in the house and it’s very difficult to get rid of the odor of deep fat frying.

Once in a Blue Moon I will still make some homemade fried french fries, but when I do I don’t deep fry because I don’t want to save the used oil and I hate waste. So I’ll use my 10” Farberware skillet with approx 1/2” to 3/4” of vegetable oil and I get excellent french fries this way frying them in a single layer and turning them over for an even fry and then I just discard the used oil.

I love the taste of fried food, but try to avoid it most of the time for health reasons. But that being said nothing tastes better than a good Cheeseburger and Fries. So in order to indulge this craving thats why I broil the burgers and oven fry the potatoes as a health conscious compromise. Thanks for sharing your photos.

Eddie

wayupnorth said:

I have one of those Fry-Daddies that does make great fried food, problem is oil goes rancid between uses.

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I threw mine out about 20 years ago. Not only does the oil go bad, but I had to use it out on the deck, or the house would stink for days. Then there is the health issues.
I can get just as good from the oven. Especially when I buy the frozen "Checkers" fries.

My first meal in the USA was a burger and fries at Wendy’s. That was in 2001.

I have chips (thick "fries", not crisps) once or twice a week and have an electric deep fat fryer so I don't burn the house down. Best electric fryer I had was a Kenwood total clean (I think de'longi eventually acquired the rights to the design), you just had to pull the thermostat unit out of the front, which had the cable attached and the rest would disassemble and go in the dishwasher. Unfortunately after a few years the dishwasher tablets got to the rubber seals around the element pins and wrecked it.

I prefer haddock or cod to beef burgers though and wouldn't want a bun, prefer more chips! Shop bought beef burgers have far too much fat for me and give me chronic indigestion, so I prefer to make my own from mince beef with <=5% fat.

My dad had a small boat and used to longline as well as rod fish, so we used to get cod, whiting, bass and skate, a lot fresher than you'd get off the trawlers, and I'd make beer batter using his home brew real ale, which was actually decent stuff.

ea56 said:

Chet,
I think it’s great when anyone makes home cooked meals and your french fries look crispy and well fried. Same goes for your onion rings and fried chicken. I didn’t mean to denigrate your efforts at all.

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No offense taken! You know what works for you and what does not from personal experience. Nothing wrong with that.

The main reasons I seldom deep fry anything is 1. it takes a lot of expensive oil and I don’t like the extra effort required to strain and filter the oil so it can be reused, plus I don’t like having a large container of used oil in the fridge taking up space so I discard it. 2. I don’t like the lingering odor of deep fried food in the house and it’s very difficult to get rid of the odor of deep fat frying.

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Not to change your mind but oil can be re-used many times as long as its heated correctly. Ie. You don't exceed a temp of 375*F. As the oil gets older its smoke point will go down, but by then you should have discard all of it. Never use oil that has reached a low smoke point, it is just toxic at that point.

I don't put my oil in the fridge. I let it stay on the stove and I cover it. Remove it from the heat when its done. In so far the oil has not gone rancid. But then again I use it nearly every day now so that might help. However, even though I've had oil stay out longer than a week without going bad I tend to change it after 7 days regardless of use.

As ick that may sound for some you might never eat fast food again. Some places change their oil only once month, others never filter it correctly or at all, while many will buy oil with questionable chemicals in it so it can be used longer. Never trust fried food from a restaurant. They are the worst.

With at home cooking you have full control over the oil and its history.

Once in a Blue Moon I will still make some homemade fried french fries, but when I do I don’t deep fry because I don’t want to save the used oil and I hate waste. So I’ll use my 10” Farberware skillet with approx 1/2” to 3/4” of vegetable oil and I get excellent french fries this way frying them in a single layer and turning them over for an even fry and then I just discard the used oil.

I love the taste of fried food, but try to avoid it most of the time for health reasons. But that being said nothing tastes better than a good Cheeseburger and Fries. So in order to indulge this craving thats why I broil the burgers and oven fry the potatoes as a health conscious compromise. Thanks for sharing your photos.

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Welcome

You could even deep dry the burger patty itself and then fry the French fries. It is possible and it tastes good. But you didn't heat it from me.

Here is today's meal:





Stouffers frozen pepper, dumplings, mozzarella sticks and two toaster strudels. The toaster struddles are technically not meant to be fried, they have a tendency to absorb some oil. But the flavor is amazing. The dumplings get very crispy in the fryer but are fresh and flavorful inside.

Deep frying foods at home, etc.

Like Eddie I think we deep fry something maybe once a year maybe twice very rarely for a lot of the same reasons, others have stated.

If I do it, I do it out in the outdoor kitchen. I can’t stand the smell in the house. I also use an electric deep fryer with a thermostat. It’s way too dangerous to be heating oil on a stove top.

I filter and keep the oil in a large container in the refrigerator, you should try to recycle any used oil. I save all cooking oil, grease, etc. enlarged jars and every year or two. I take it up to the local Chinese restaurant where they let me dump it in the Greece Collector outback so it can be turned into bio diesel fuel.

It’s certainly not healthy to eat much fried food. I don’t think I’ve had a hamburger in a decade. I very rarely eat red meat and hamburgers particularly bad for you. It’s not healthy to eat much cheese either, I try to live by the rule of having at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

Hi Chet when did you have your last colonoscopy? If you’re eating a lot of food like this you really need to stay on top of that we would hate to lose you to colon cancer.

John L

I don't see red meat as an issue, rather processed red meat. Humans evolved around eating meat and that is what the body really needs and is really designed for. Along with certain fats. Red meat is demonized out of ignorance and a misconception that all fats are bad.

Things like high fructose corn syrup, dimethylpolysiloxane, beta hydroxy acid, azodicarbonamide, ect are on orders of magnitude more toxic and carcinogenic even though destination science is trying to say otherwise. Certain pesticide and insecticide are much the same: not very healthy as some always lingers behind.

Hybridization and genetic engineering has taken nutrients out of fruits and vegetables for equalized ripening, uniform yields, plant tolerance, ect. Great for the farmer, not great for the human. If you ever grow heirloom fruits or vegetables they are nothing like the picture perfect all identical looking produce you buy at the store.


Good frying is healthy when done in the right oil at the right temperature. As the food is heated in oil, it boils water out pushing oil away preventing ingress into the food. What residual coating is left behind on the outside is very small, much smaller than what you find in salad dressing, breads, baked goods, cookies, ect which are literally made with cups of vegetable oil.

Only when things are over cooked in oil leaving no internal water within it or the oil is broken down does the food start absorbing said oil. Speaking of broken down oil- broken down oil causes food to be soggy and greasy feeling. Restaurants pushing oil well beyond its useful life began seeing this. So in addition to adding chemicals to stabilize the oil they began using hydrogenated oil. Hydrogenated oils solidify at a lower temperature. So if the food was absorbing oil making it feel greasy before hand, hydrogenated oils solidified after-hand creating the perception the food was not oil logged even though it was.

It was this in part which gave fried foods a bad name- Restaurants cooking in rancid oil and sadly to this day even with all the additives and grotesque chemical engineering way to many restaurants are still pushing oil well past its usual cooking life.

Actually the healthiest substance to fry in IMO is beef tallow. But again because of ignorance of what causes healthy problems beef tallow was switched over to vegetable oils and worse. Much like questionable butter being replaced with what I feel are much worse margarine.