Occasionally, my husband and I really want a really good burger. Something gourmet and satisfying and perfect and delicious in every way.
Then we remember the budget. Eating out at a family style restaurant for a family of four is at least $40 bucks, if not more. And then there is the possible long wait for a seat. With 2 hungry, bored kids. And it will take a lot longer to drive there, wait, order, eat, and drive back home then it would to just stay home and cook dinner. And we will save money if we just stay home. But the craving is still there.
Luckily. my husband has me to figure out this dilemma quickly and to find a solution NOW!
Let me introduce you to my little trick called "Craving Solved!"
With a few quick steps, I can serve a restaurant quality meal at a fraction of the cost in a fraction of the time.
Today, I will discuss burgers and fries. I love Red Robin. And this little tavern by my house makes a great burger too. We rarely get to go to the tavern, and probably 4 times a year we go to Red Robin. Every time we go, its delicious. And everytime, I say "I can do this at home way cheaper and just as good."
What I fail to remember as I am saying that, is that doing the restaurant dinner with out the restaurant, actually means I am the restaurant. Needless to say, its some work. BUT its really not that hard to turn your ordinary burger into something super awesome in about 20 to 30 minutes. So this may not work on a night that I dont want to cook, but it will work on a night that I am willing to do a little work to keep us from eating out.
Mom's Bags of Trick's "Craving Solved!" Burgers and Fries
A majority of the time I will start with fresh Angus beef, but with me not working in the summer, the budget called for a less expensive, longer lasting option for burgers over the last few months. We decided to go with this big pack from Costco. They taste good, are convenient, and cook up quickly, even from frozen.
At this point, I will pull everything together in an order that makes the most sense to me. This way, multiple things are happening at once, similar to a working on a restaurant line. Everything is served hot and fairly fast.
To do list:
*Heat grill- We just got this new George Foreman grill and I tested it for the first time by making these burgers. Click here to watch the unboxing, cooking of these burgers, and my review.
*Add 2 cups of canola oil to a deep skillet and heat to just above 350 degrees.
*Heat a medium saute pan over med-high heat.
*Heat oven to 375 degrees.
While everything heats up, I start the magic that will make this meal resemble one at a sit down family restaurant. Quicker than at the family restaurant. And cheaper.
*I then place bacon on foil lined sheet pan and cook until crisp and smelling delicious. The foil makes cleanup super easy.
*I then cut the onions and mushrooms, add olive oil to skillet and when hot, add onions and mushrooms, salt pepper and seasonings and saute until golden, while everything else is working.
A tip for the mushrooms: Once I buy them, I put them in a paper towel and then into a plastic bag. The mushrooms will stay fresh a lot longer. These I have here are a week old and look perfect still!
* Next, I brush the burgers with teriyaki sauce.
(At this point, I have in the past, made some type of spread for the burger such as burger sauce but for this burger, I didn't do that this time. Making your own sauce can sometimes literally take 45 seconds. So, if a sauce comes to mind for your Cravings Solved! burgers and fries, make it. You will be even happier you made the meal and stayed home!)
* When the oil reaches 375, I add a few handfuls of fries and cook just a few minutes. I am blanching the fries in this process, which makes them taste more like a resturant. They get very crispy and are fluffy on the inside and just perfect. This will totally solve your fast food fries craving for sure! Remove fries to a paper towel lined plate and do a second batch to serve 4 people. This animation shows the steps for frying. Heat oil, fry, remove, let the oil heat back up to just above 350 for each batch and let the fries cool, and fry again.
* I got everything ready for the grill and placed it outside, then I started the burgers. When I'm trying to be a short order cook, having everything all together makes this much easier. I flipped mine after 8 minutes.
*While the burgers cooked on the first side, both batches of fries had their first fry, the bacon was almost done, and same for the mushrooms and onions.
*After 4 more minutes, I added the cheese to the burgers and put the buns on.
Then, I took out the bacon, put the mushrooms and onions in a bowl, and refried both batches of fries for a few minutes.
*Four minutes later, I then, headed outside to get the burgers off the grill with the plates, all ready to go.
Within 25 minutes, we were successfully pretending we were at Red Robin!
There we go... "Craving Solved!"
My advice for achieving this at home...
Tailoring the burger to be similar to what you would order at a restaurant is really key to making you feel like this is a "Craving Solved!" acceptable substitute. And the blanching fries method really helps. Guacamole, sliced grilled pineapple, fried egg, or chili would also be good toppers for your burger. And all of these can be done fairly easily and quickly, while everything is cooking.
This could be part of your weekly menu planning, or on the fly if you are stocked with the right ingredients. If you are on a budget, and like to eat out, planning ahead can really make this something to look forward to later in the week. You will be saving money, and get to pretend you are at
Red Robin, too!
Awesomeness!
My next "Craving Solved!" focus will be Dinner for Breakfast Diner Food. Think IHop or Denny's. Watch for that next week!
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