It’s beautiful. It’s ambitious. It’s the end-product of 30 hours of painstaking preparation and a by-product of the molecular-gastronomy phenomenon that’s written and talked about a lot more than it’s practiced.
But for all its learned pedigree, the most important part of this burger dreamed up by Nathan Myhrvold and co-authors, chefs Chris Young and Maxime Bilet, left me cold — namely, the burger patty itself.
It’s a matter of taste, of course. But I prefer my burgers oozy-juicy. That requires a high percentage of ground chuck, the beef best suited to a burger. But serious chefs are always trying to “elevate” the damn things with fancy “proprietary” grinds that read better than they taste.
That’s why I usually head to a quality chain like Burger Heaven rather than to restaurants with $30-and-up jobs. Too much sirloin turns burgers into bricks.
So, while the 30-hour wonder’s grind of hanger steak, short ribs and rib-eye tasted good — although no better than many around town requiring three minutes to prepare — it didn’t feel good. Mouth-feel is integral to my burger-eating fun. Not quite dry, it wasn’t particularly moist, either.
Based on its near-granular consistency and strangely unassertive flavor profile, I’m not persuaded that sous vide is the ideal process for turning out a great hamburger. Thirty hours could better be spent on learning to grill properly.
The burger’s ancillary elements were splendid, yes — laboratory-concocted “cheese” of Emmental, Comte and wheat ale, even lettuce given a sous vide-squirt of liquid hickory smoke.
But we don’t go to the circus for the clowns and the sideshow. We go to see the elephants raise trunks, flap ears, and dance. This burger slumbers into the ring and lies down while the stagehands do all the work.