An American hamburger in Mexico

Ever since our new grill finally started working — did I tell you? Our grill WORKS! — we’ve been testing it out, with dumb grins on our faces. Last week we grilled pork ribs and mango slices. Yesterday we invited friends over and decided to make hamburgers. Thick ones. With (hold your breath)… homemade hamburger buns.

In my cooking control-freak mind, we could not attempt the perfect burger (that’s what our new grill was meant for, right?) without having the perfect bun. And so my body woke itself up on Sunday at 7 a.m., because even though I’d gone to bed at midnight the night before, and drank several glasses of wine that day, and therefore needed more sleep dammit — well, my internal clock was set to buns. Sprinkled on top with sesame seeds.

Yesterday morning, with light barely coming through the window, I whisked and kneaded and slapped the dough. I used a dough scraper to create eight little mounds, and then arranged them on a baking sheet. By 9:45 a.m., just in time for me to take a cab to Condesa to eat carnitas breakfast tacos (yes, this is the life I lead), the rolls had just come out of the oven. I cut one in half and tasted it just before walking out the door. Fabulous.

Crayton was in charge of the meat. He bought some ground beef at the tianguis, and used The New York Times’ recent burger recipe. It’s pretty simple: form the burgers into four-by-one inch rounds, refrigerate them, season them, then plop them on the grill. We’d bought a block of extra sharp cheddar at City Market, so when the burgers were just about ready, we covered ’em in cheese. And toasted those buns.

A few slathers of lime-flavored mayonnaise later, and some sliced beefsteak tomato and a few sheathes of iceberg lettuce, and we had a big ol’, very American burger. (Slightly lopsided, but that’s okay. We’re novices.)

We served the burgers with cold chayote salad in a roasted garlic vinaigrette, and spicy sweet potato fries. Dessert was leftover peach ice cream and tuna roja ice, which was just about the prettiest color nieve I’ve ever seen:

Recipes below, if you want to attempt at home. I’m calling it “An American Cookout in Mexico.” And I’m already thinking of how to make the burgers better. Next time we’re doing homemade mayo, y’all. Oooh, or maybe a choice of homemade mayos. Chipotle mayo. Chile morita mayo. Cilantro mayo…

Basic, Big Ol’ American Hamburgers
We loosely followed The New York Times Comme Ça Burger Recipe

2 pounds ground beef chuck, 80 percent lean (If anyone knows how to figure this out in Mexico, please let me know)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Shape meat into 4 4-by-1-inch patties, and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees, and turn on your grill. Sprinkle each burger all over with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and season generously with black pepper. Sear burgers for 2 minutes on each side. Transfer burgers to a broiler pan and bake for 4 minutes for medium-rare. Top burgers with Cheddar and broil until cheese melts, about 30 seconds.

Cold Chayote Salad
Adapted from Rick Bayless’ Mexican Everyday Cookbook
Serves 6 to 8 as a small side

2 oversize garlic cloves, unpeeled, or four small ones
2 serrano chilies
3 chayotes (or four if they’re small), small core removed, and diced
salt
3/4 c. canola or olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 package cherry tomatoes, chopped in half or quarters
2 green onions, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces

Place your chayote in a microwave-proof bowl with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in it. Microwave until crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

Place your unpeeled cloves and the chilies in a dry skillet over medium heat, and turn frequently, until soft and browned in spots. (For a sweeter garlic flavor, you could also roast your cloves in the oven for an hour, if you’ve got the time.) When cool, peel the garlic cloves and place in a blender jar. Chop the stems off the chilies and put those in the blender, too. Add your oil, vinegar and 1 scant teaspoon salt. Blend until smooth and pour into a glass jar with a lid.

Drain any liquid that’s collected under the cooled chayote. Add your tomatoes and green onions, and stir to blend. Add about 1/3 c. of the dressing — I admit, I added ALL of the dressed yesterday because we had some huge chayotes — and toss to coat. Taste and season with salt, if needed.

Tuna Roja Ice
Adapted from Rick Bayless’s Authentic Mexican Cookbook
Makes about a half-quart

1 kilo of red tuna cactus fruits (about 7 medium)
4 to 5 tablespoons of agave nectar
juice of two to three limes
Scant 1/2 c. water

To prepare the tunas, make an incision about a half-inch deep from top to bottom. Reach inside and start to peel; if the tunas are ripe enough, the thick outer skin should come off in one piece. (The skin is quite thick, just so you know.) Place the peeled tunas in a food processor with the water, several squirts of agave nectar, and the lime juice. Pulse and taste for sweetness/tanginess. Add more agave nectar or lime juice, to your liking.

Strain mixture with a fine- or medium-mesh sieve, and pour into a bowl. You can chill this if you’ve got time. (I didn’t.) Otherwise, pour directly into your ice cream maker and freeze according to your manufacturer’s instructions. It’s pretty fabulous when it’s done.