musings - cheeseburgers

here's something you need to understand right off the bat: i fucking love cheeseburgers.  i've eaten a lot of food in my life, much of it very expensive; and even the tastiest dish from the finest of fine dining establishments doesn't top the best cheeseburger i've had.  i don't know what it is, i just love cheeseburgers.

to me, when i say cheeseburger i mean something very specific. between ¼ and a ½ pound of beef (at least 20% fat content please), american cheese, spongey white-bread bun, raw onion, mayonnaise and more ketchup than you're comfortable with. lettuce and tomato are acceptable additions but only if the tomato is really ripe and flavorful (nothing like a pale mealy tomato to ruin my burger).  now I’m not saying i’m not open to other interpretations of the cheeseburger, but the above description is what i dream about.  yes i dream about cheeseburgers.

to me, the closest i've ever come to perfection in a cheeseburger, the holy grail of cheeseburgers if you will needs only one word to describe:

LUGER'S

if you don't know about Peter Luger cheeseburgers, all i can say is go eat one now.  unless it's after 3pm then go eat one tomorrow.  now if you don't know about Peter Luger's altogether, i have nothing to say to you.

i can only guess that right about now you're asking yourself "what does waxing poetic about  cheeseburgers have to do with losing weight?"  the answer?  not a god damned thing.  but i'm hung up on cheeseburgers right now so i'm going with it.

so here's my new mission: figure out how to make a cheeseburger that won't break the fat-bank.  

in order to do this i must first determine what it is that i love about the cheeseburger so much.  it has to be juicy, it has to be flavorful, the bun can't be too dense and neither can the patty for that matter.  the turkey burger's never done it for me, the patty's too dense and get dried out when you cook them all the way.  veggie burger's have their place but they certainly won't satisfy the cheeseburger itch.  

i'm thinking the answer lies somewhere in a mixture of ground chicken thigh, and lean ground beef.  i'll tell you one thing for certain, i will not rest until i've figured this mystery out.  and when i do, y'all will be the first to know!

-V