Topic: The Hamburger

[livo]

This is as good a description, with wonderful photographs, of the Australian Burger as you'd hope to find.  The Blogger, Sara, calls the full kit a burger with the lot instead of a works burger and lists the fried egg as the final extra. I would argue that it is the pineapple which is the last addition.  She also provides the option of Tomato Sauce (Aussie Ketchup) in the ingredient list, but like me she prefers Barbecue.  It simply has to be Barbecue Sauce.  My go-to preference is always the Burger w/ Bacon and Egg and BBQ Sauce.

https://bellyrumbles.com/almighty-aussie-burger-recipe/

Dinner tonight, I think.  I just need to decide on home-made or Gab's.

[Robbo141]

Although it looks mighty delicious I’m afraid the beetroot is a no-go for me, as is the pineapple. My missis would probably go for it though.  My burger experience completely changed when she showed me the mirepoix technique. But no burger should be well done for me. Medium all day long.
An excellent post by that lady, and yes, great pics too.

Robbo

[livo]

Robbo, the beauty of the hamburger is that you can have it however you like it.  Each one is for a person to eat alone so you can always ask for it to be made with or without any individual ingredient.  I'm not a fan of pineapple, as it can be too wet and firm making the whole thing soggy, difficult to eat and prone to falling apart.  I suggest cutting the rings in half thickness and drying with paper towel to alleviate this problem.  Often for me the beetroot is also left off as it too can make the thing difficult to eat and prone to disassembling itself in your hands.  If I'm making them at home, I will re-cut the beetroot to extra thin.  My wife on the other hand, loves the stuff and insists on it being there in full.  While the traditional Aussie Plain Hamburger does have beetroot, there are many who simply order it without.

When you buy a hamburger in the shop, it always comes wrapped tightly in a square of greaseproof paper and then popped inside a white paper bag.  This helps it stay together while you eat from the exposed side, and you simply pull the bag and paper back as you go. Sometimes the wrapping isn't up to the job.

[Secret Santa]

While the traditional Aussie Plain Hamburger does have beetroot, there are many who simply order it without.

Why, just why, would you pollute a decent hamburger with beetroot of all things? And pineapple? Seriously? It's almost like you're having a joke or something.

[bhamcurry]

While the traditional Aussie Plain Hamburger does have beetroot, there are many who simply order it without.

Why, just why, would you pollute a decent hamburger with beetroot of all things? And pineapple? Seriously? It's almost like you're having a joke or something.

I'd smash that burger. Although I might put the pineapple on the side.

[livo]

I'm not sure if it's available in the UK or USA, but over here beetroot is sold in tin cans (and now glass jars) in a preserved state.  It is not like raw beetroot but more or less cooked and pickled in a very basic way with minimal spices.  It is very popular and was always part of an Aussie summer table salad. It is not surprising then that it was used on salad sandwiches and burgers.  We have been eating these burgers for at least 50 years of my memory and it goes back further than that.  Apparently it goes back to at least the 1950s.

Beetroot is available in slices and as whole baby beets.  You can also buy or grow fresh ones that are great to bake in the oven with roast meals.  I have grown and preserved my own in the past but they are cheap enough to make it unnecessary.

I once dined upon a roast meal with a bloke from the UK who had married an Aussie.  He refused to eat roast pumpkin, stating that it was stock feed where he came from.  I always say don't knock it till you've tried it but if you can't get the beetroot or you really hate it then you can always leave it off.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I'd smash that burger. Although I might put the pineapple on the side.

Does "smashing" imply "flattening with a hammer as an indication of disgust" or "enjoying with great relish" ?  And similar is putting the pineapple on the side positive or negative ?  I don't think that either of these idioms exist in British English ...

[livo]

Pretty obvious to me the smashing means he would devour it, as opposed to smash burgers, (American) which are also good but refer to the mode of cooking the burger patty.  Putting the pineapple on the side possibly means he would eat it separately, I'd imagine.  Sort of like Hamburger dessert, or maybe just give it a miss.

Speaking of which, I'll now mention a few other very popular Aussie Fish and Chip shop goodies you may not have heard of over there. Banana and Pineapple Fritters. Yep, a half banana (cut lengthways) or a ring of pineapple, which is battered and deep fried and usually served with a sprinkling of Icing Sugar.  Dessert following a meal of Fish 'n' Chips which may or may not have included the Battered Sav (Savaloy) and always a few Potato Scallops.  All gloriously deep fried.  Fish cakes, Tassie scallops, Chiko Rolls and Spring Rolls, Dim Sims and the mysterious Vienna Steak.  (Who knows what that was, but nobody cared.)  Ahh!! To remember the good old days working as the potato boy in Uncle Manny's Fish Shop.  No salad here folks.  You could get a slice of lemon, which apart from cooked potato was the only vegetable / fruit type of thing.  There may have been vegetables in the Chiko or Spring Rolls, but this was unintentional.

You must realise that all of these gastronomic treats came from our UK roots. 

[Secret Santa]

It is not like raw beetroot but more or less cooked and pickled in a very basic way with minimal spices ... I always say don't knock it till you've tried it but if you can't get the beetroot or you really hate it then you can always leave it off.

Yes we have that over here and I love it. Now I come to think about it I also love gherkins or what the Yanks call dill pickles on my burger so it wouldn't be such a far stretch to imagine pickled beetroot slices on a burger. I still draw the line at pineapple though ... blech!

[Peripatetic Phil]

blech!

Onomatopœia at its best