Hamburg steak

A patty bound with milk-soaked panko, thrown between the hands and dimpled before it cooks.

Pork, Beef, Fish, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains beef, fish, pork.

Ingredients

the patties

• 400 g minced beef
• 200 g minced pork
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 60 g panko
• 100 ml milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg
• 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil

the sauce

• 4 tablespoons red wine
• 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 20 g butter

Method

1. PANKO SOAKED IN MILK, NOT DRY BREADCRUMBS. The soaked crumb holds moisture through the cooking and is why this is softer and juicier than a hamburger patty. Dry crumbs draw water OUT of the meat and give something firm and dense.
2. COOK THE ONION AND COOL IT COMPLETELY. Raw onion releases water in the pan and splits the patty; onion added warm starts cooking the meat in the bowl.
3. THROWN BETWEEN THE HANDS, ten or twelve times, slapping it from palm to palm. That drives the air out, and trapped air expands and cracks the patty open as it cooks.
4. A DIMPLE PRESSED INTO THE CENTRE with the thumb, deeper than feels right. The middle swells as it cooks and the dimple is what keeps the finished patty flat rather than domed.
5. Soak the panko in the milk 5 minutes until it is a paste.
6. Mix everything and knead with the hands 3 minutes until pale and sticky, then chill 30 minutes.
7. Shape into ovals 2 cm thick, throw, dimple.
8. Hot pan, oil, patties in dimple side UP. 3 minutes until well browned.
9. Turn, then LID ON AND HEAT DOWN LOW for 8 to 10 minutes. The steam cooks the middle without drying the outside, and it is the step that separates this from a fried burger.
10. Patties out. Wine into the pan and reduced by half, scraping; then ketchup, Worcestershire and soy; then the butter off the heat. Pour over.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Japan · All recipes