So Long and Thanks for All the Burgers

We went to places all over the Triangle and the US to carefully evaluate burgers. As we sampled more and more sites, we realized there was too much Bad Daddy and not enough Al. We are currently awash in burgiatric mediocrity. New burger joints are rehashing what had been done but with a fresh coat of paint or condiment, as the case may be.

Not to get too cynical, but there are only so many ways to make a burger. I rarely order a burger when eating out and prefer making my burgers at home with simple ingredients. After over ten years, we felt the burger blog had run its course. The COVID shutdown didn’t help for sure. The writing was on the wall. As proud as I am of what we accomplished with TSB, that era is done.

I appreciate everyone I have met over the years through this site, and I also thank you for reading us. I’m leaving the site parked here but will not be updating it anymore. I’m very proud of what we did, and I don’t want to completely disappear.

If you are curious about how I make my burgers, I use the Smashburger technique, which involves using a cast-iron bacon press on a hot cast-iron skillet.
Ingredients: Baldwin Farms ground beef, Martin’s Potato Sandwich Rolls, Boars Head Yellow American Cheese, freedom

• Take 5 oz of 80/20 ground beef and make a ball.
• Place on the hot iron surface and smash with the bacon press. Leave it that way for about a minute.
  • If you take the press away too soon, you risk the patty sticking to it, ruining your patty.
• Flip and sprinkle the seasoning on the patty.
  • I make a small bowl of kosher salt and pepper with some cumin and rosemary.
• Flip after one minute and put yellow American cheese on the patty.
• Cook until the cheese just starts to melt.
  Enjoy with the condiments of your choice. For Pete’s sake, don’t put any condiments under the patty. The only thing under there should be the bun. The seasoning is there. Don’t mask it.

On to The Straight Beef.