OliverNuther
Well-Known Member
This post is inspired by the earlier post on creating the perfect burger, half a bottle of rum and a bit of sleep deprivation.
I'm always amazed/impressed/embarrassed by the lengths to which Americans go to creating their burger patties compared to our efforts in Australia. It's an art form, verging on a religion with you guys but in Australia little to no attention is paid to perfecting burgers.
A typical BBQ in Australia (and by BBQ I mean high heat cooking over a hot plate or grill not low'n'slow, grillin' to you guys) would see us cooking steaks, sausages, lamb chops, maybe some marinated chicken wings and what we would call meat patties or rissoles, the smaller poor relation of your burgers. If we made them ourselves it would be mince (ground meat) bought from the butcher, onion, garlic, various herbs and spices bound together with an egg and some breadcrumbs then formed into patties. Or, if you really didn't care you'd buy them ready made from the butcher and take your chances. In terms of protein hierarchy the steak is king and the burgers/meat patties are definitely way down the pecking order.
For what it's worth here's my take on a typical Aussie barbie. Bear in mind that most barbies here are evening affairs not lunch time. Bear in mind also that most of my friends are drunkards and I'm not speaking for all Australians here. (But yeah, I probably am)
Your mates turn up late afternoon and you start drinking. You've actually been drinking for a few hours before they turned up but so have they so it all evens out. You keep drinking collectively. Eventually the combined chorus of the womens' "what time are we eating?' reaches critical mass and you fire up the barbie. For strategic reasons sausages and meat patties go on first. When they're cooked you announce " Orright you Sheilas and kids, there's bangers and rissoles here for you lot." That buys you and your mates a bit more drinking time then you cook the rest of the proteins. Generally all the salads and proteins will be laid out on a table, smorgasbord style, and you will fill a plate and eat it as a meal with knife and fork not as a burger.
This is a convoluted way of saying I'm interested in how other countries/cultures approach BBQ/outdoor cookery. And I'm only talking about throw together, spur of the moment affairs not 2 day marinade, 3day slow cook type cooking. Simple stuff.
So how do we all cook?
I'm always amazed/impressed/embarrassed by the lengths to which Americans go to creating their burger patties compared to our efforts in Australia. It's an art form, verging on a religion with you guys but in Australia little to no attention is paid to perfecting burgers.
A typical BBQ in Australia (and by BBQ I mean high heat cooking over a hot plate or grill not low'n'slow, grillin' to you guys) would see us cooking steaks, sausages, lamb chops, maybe some marinated chicken wings and what we would call meat patties or rissoles, the smaller poor relation of your burgers. If we made them ourselves it would be mince (ground meat) bought from the butcher, onion, garlic, various herbs and spices bound together with an egg and some breadcrumbs then formed into patties. Or, if you really didn't care you'd buy them ready made from the butcher and take your chances. In terms of protein hierarchy the steak is king and the burgers/meat patties are definitely way down the pecking order.
For what it's worth here's my take on a typical Aussie barbie. Bear in mind that most barbies here are evening affairs not lunch time. Bear in mind also that most of my friends are drunkards and I'm not speaking for all Australians here. (But yeah, I probably am)
Your mates turn up late afternoon and you start drinking. You've actually been drinking for a few hours before they turned up but so have they so it all evens out. You keep drinking collectively. Eventually the combined chorus of the womens' "what time are we eating?' reaches critical mass and you fire up the barbie. For strategic reasons sausages and meat patties go on first. When they're cooked you announce " Orright you Sheilas and kids, there's bangers and rissoles here for you lot." That buys you and your mates a bit more drinking time then you cook the rest of the proteins. Generally all the salads and proteins will be laid out on a table, smorgasbord style, and you will fill a plate and eat it as a meal with knife and fork not as a burger.
This is a convoluted way of saying I'm interested in how other countries/cultures approach BBQ/outdoor cookery. And I'm only talking about throw together, spur of the moment affairs not 2 day marinade, 3day slow cook type cooking. Simple stuff.
So how do we all cook?