Steamed cheeseburgers!

[Jenise]

What in the world is going on up there in Connecticutt? I saw these "steamed Cheeseburgers" being made at a place called Ted's on TV last night. Egads, this is all wrong. Diners looked happy enough, but watching the meat being flipped out of those little trays--oh, and the cheese is melted in them, too--did not exactly make me think "gotta have that!"

Especially while I was simulataneously eating mine--which had been properly grilled, of course.

What in the world is going on up there in Connecticutt?

I asked myself that very same question when I heard about that lady drinking wine with a monkey. Imagine the stuff going on up there that we don't even know about!

[Jenise]

What in the world is going on up there in Connecticutt?

I asked myself that very same question when I heard about that lady drinking wine with a monkey. Imagine the stuff going on up there that we don't even know about!

Could it become the new Wisconsin? You know, that wacky place that fills the internet with jokes and You Tube vids? Used to be Florida but then that state decided to 'get serious' and specialize in missing children and Anna Nicole Smith.

The heat must have gotten to some people.

[Robin Garr]

White Castles? Mmmmmmm.

[Jenise]

White Castles are steamed too? Never had one, so I wouldn't know.

We call them "steamed hams."

(It's a regional dialect).

But you have to watch out that your kitchen doesn't catch fire.

F

We call them "steamed hams."

But you have to watch out that your kitchen doesn't catch fire.

I thought it was Aurora Borealis.

What in the world is going on up there in Connecticutt?

East Coast liberals.

Like Robin, I also thought of White Castle sliders. But I considered Burger King, too. They microwave their burgers (which is about the same as steaming). No doubt McD's does the same thing.

Like Robin, I also thought of White Castle sliders. But I considered Burger King, too. They microwave their burgers (which is about the same as steaming). No doubt McD's does the same thing.

Back in the day, you could see the BK and McD burgers being made. BK put a raw patty into the conveyorized broiler when you ordered and you moved to the next window to pay....where you could watch your patty come out of the oven and become a full-fledged Whopper. I suspect that these days, BK burgers are broiled beforehand, maybe off-site, and nuked to thaw/reheat. I believe at least one chain buys pre-grilled burgers.

McD had a griddle that would be loaded with raw patties for cooking. You could watch the burgers being assembled.

I guess menu expansion made it difficult or impossible to continue these methods. Maybe health concerns played a part too.

[David M. Bueker]

I have lived in Connecticut for 97.6% of my life & never had a steamed cheeseburger.

I had never even heard of one until I saw this thread.

Like Robin, I immediately thought of White Castle sliders. Then I thought of Burger King and their nuked burgers (tantamount to steaming). No doubt, McD's is the same way. And they taste steamed. In fact, there's no demarcation between the bun and the meat.

I immediately thought of White Castle sliders, too.

It's been some years since I set foot in a fast food burger chain restaurant. I was disappointed when Burger King went from fresh-grilled burgers to microwaving them (I *HATE* scaldingly hot pickles on a burger!), but I finally left for good when they started coating their french fries in sugary glop to make them crispier. It reminded me too much of Frisboes (search for "frisbo" and you'll probably be able to dig up my recounting of that horror story). Has Mickey D's also stopped frying up hamburgers fresh?

-Paul W.

Congrats on spelling crispier correctly. I'm not sure about McD's. I rarely set foot inside one. But I can say the last time I had a double green chile cheeseburger, it tasted steamed and the texture of the meat blurred together with the bun. It was all kind of mushy.

[Jenise]

Congrats on spelling crispier correctly. I'm not sure about McD's. I rarely set foot inside one. But I can say the last time I had a double green chile cheeseburger, it tasted steamed and the texture of the meat blurred together with the bun. It was all kind of mushy.

You know what, mebbe a month ago I was dying of thirst while in town on errands, and I stopped at McD's for a coke. Then I noticed that Big Macs were $1 that day and I was a little hungry so I ordered one. Well, me being me, I ordered it dry, and when I got it I removed the inner layer of bun, so I looked and handled the meat one normally doesn't see. It didn't look grilled.

Congrats on spelling crispier correctly. I'm not sure about McD's. I rarely set foot inside one. But I can say the last time I had a double green chile cheeseburger, it tasted steamed and the texture of the meat blurred together with the bun. It was all kind of mushy.

You know what, mebbe a month ago I was dying of thirst while in town on errands, and I stopped at McD's for a coke. Then I noticed that Big Macs were $1 that day and I was a little hungry so I ordered one. Well, me being me, I ordered it dry, and when I got it I removed the inner layer of bun, so I looked and handled the meat one normally doesn't see. It didn't look grilled.

IIRC, McD never "grilled" their burgers. My childhood memories, back when an individual location was much smaller and most of the kitchen was viewable from the outside, are of burgers on a large griddle, similar to what one might use to cook pancakes. An employee would have a case of raw, frozen patties nearby and would load up the griddle, one patty next to several others. From what I have subsequently learned about cooking, this crowding would result in some amount of steam cooking to occur. In any event, back in the day, McD burgers were fried, not broiled, and not on any kind of surface that would impart grill marks.

It would not surprise me to find that most of these fast food places are receiving pre-cooked burgers these days. I know my wife's former employer was a big supplier of such burgers to at least one major chain.....and I know that the burgers taste very good when re-heated over an open flame. Obviously, utilizing pre-cooked product at the store level simplifies the job there. It also significantly reduces the risk of negative impacts on your customers' health.

You're right--McD's always cooked their hamburgers on a griddle, not a gill.

-Paul W.

White Castles? Mmmmmmm.

And Krystals here in the South!

[Robin Garr]

White Castles? Mmmmmmm.

And Krystals here in the South!

As we have discussed before, I live very close to the White Castle-Krystal line. WCs come down from the Rustbelt as far as Louisville and Lexington. It's Krystal all the way down from there.

I've done taste-tests and they are similar, but Krystals are more dry. Only WC has that luscious slippery character that gives rise to the moniker "sliders."

Would you like goat cheese on yours, sweets?

I've tried both "sliders" - Krystal and White Castle. White Castle is the clear winner here. And here are the partial results of a fast food survey re "calorie cost".

14. Cheeseburger Slyder

White Castle
Cost per 100 calories: 41 cents
Calories: 170
Calories from fat: 47%

At 41 cents per 100 calories, White Castle's snack-sized cheeseburger bested every other sandwich in our survey when it came to cost per calorie. In 1930, White Castle conducted a study (it later dubbed it the "Craveology" study) that monitored the health of a student who lived on nothing but the Slyders and water for 13 weeks. According to the company, the student maintained good health. Barbara Baron, a New York registered dietician, says you probably don't want to follow suit. "I wouldn't advise anyone to eat only one food item for 13 weeks," she says.

[Robin Garr]

I've tried both "sliders" - Krystal and White Castle. White Castle is the clear winner here.

You are correct in your conclusion but miss the mark in your terminology. Krystals don't slide. That's the feature that gives WCs their special character.

However, White Castle's corporate effort to capture the word and render it trademarkable with the "y" ("Slyder") is just silly.

Would you like goat cheese on yours, sweets?

About as much as you'd like uh, nose hair on yours!!!!

I've tried both "sliders" - Krystal and White Castle. White Castle is the clear winner here. And here are the partial results of a fast food survey re "calorie cost".

14. Cheeseburger Slyder

White Castle
Cost per 100 calories: 41 cents
Calories: 170
Calories from fat: 47%

At 41 cents per 100 calories, White Castle's snack-sized cheeseburger bested every other sandwich in our survey when it came to cost per calorie. In 1930, White Castle conducted a study (it later dubbed it the "Craveology" study) that monitored the health of a student who lived on nothing but the Slyders and water for 13 weeks. According to the company, the student maintained good health. Barbara Baron, a New York registered dietician, says you probably don't want to follow suit. "I wouldn't advise anyone to eat only one food item for 13 weeks," she says.

You moved and went over to The Dark Side.