| Fred's wins ROUND TWO of DFW.com's Best Burger Contest! | |
| Body: | Battle of the Burgers: Fort Worth, you’re making this hard BURGER BATTLE: Fred's edges Dutch's in a squeaker, as the field is narrowed to an elite eight. The five-mile swath of prairie west of downtown Fort Worth should officially be renamed Hamburger Heaven. Fred’s, Kincaid’s, M&O and Tommy’s all grill up burger goodness along West Seventh Street and Camp Bowie Boulevard. Delicious newcomers Dutch’s and Pappas Bros. makes things juicy just a mile or so down the road from there. And now Love Shack is joining the Westside beef brigade, with a new location in the So7 development. That is a roundabout way of saying that narrowing the field to eight great burgers just in Fort Worth is difficult. Trimming our 32-burger bracket to an Elite Eight is downright excruciating. Every burger that has advanced thus far in dfw.com’s Battle of the Burgers is a PTPer (Dick Vitale-speak for prime-time player). But only one glorious slab o’ beef will emerge from our judges’ summerlong search for the best. Could the winner be among this week’s mega-matchups? Grab a napkin and check ’em out: 2. Fred’s vs. 6. Dutch’s ■Winner: Fred’s Dutch’s is the new kid in town. Fred’s is the grizzled veteran. Both serve magnificent burger creations — juicy half-pounders that reflect their unique and contrasting styles. Their matchup was one for the ages, an instant classic. The bacon blue cheese burger at Dutch’s is a masterwork. Rich and flavored, the prime beef melds beautifully with the creamy but not overpowering blue cheese. The hunk of bacon is a salty, chewy compliment to the hint of sweetness from the bun. We could find barely anything wrong with this hamburger, except that it was facing off against the genius of Fred’s Diablo Burger. (Cue gunfighter music.) Like Fred’s itself, the meat in the restaurant’s burgers is unadorned — thick and mmm, mmm good. But the Diablo’s combination of juicy beef, fiery chipotle peppers and cool, perfectly melted Swiss cheese is simply inspired. Add a crunchy pickle and a dab of mustard for some vinegary sharpness, plus a sturdy bun bathed in butter, and the result is a taste explosion, bite after sumptuous bite. Truthfully, it’s a crime that either of these burger titans has to fall. But the bracket gods have spoken. |
Sure, The Bacon Explosion is an example of porcine overkill. But what a way to go... it reminds me of one my my earliest creations, The Squealer: bacon, pork sausage, ham & cheese on fresh sourdough. It had to be discontinued in my family due to its addictive properties and as breakfast food, it made you ready for a nap.
July 20, 2009
From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007). Copyright 2007 by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.
Serves 4
Note: This recipe must be prepared in advance.
In a large plastic resealable container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm (about 100 degrees) water. Using a large spoon, stir in flour, mixing until mixture is uniformly moist with no dry patches. Do not knead. Dough will be wet and loose enough to conform to shape of plastic container. Cover, but not with an airtight lid.
Let dough rise at room temperature, until dough begins to flatten on top or collapse, at least 2 hours and up to 5 hours. (At this point, dough can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks; refrigerated dough is easier to work with than room-temperature dough, so the authors recommend that first-time bakers refrigerate dough overnight or at least 3 hours.)
When ready to bake, sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel. Place a broiler pan on bottom rack of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and preheat oven to 450 degrees, preheating baking stone for at least 20 minutes.
Sprinkle a little flour on dough and on your hands. Pull dough up and, using a serrated knife, cut off a grapefruit-size piece (about 1 pound). Working for 30 to 60 seconds (and adding flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking to hands; most dusting flour will fall off, it's not intended to be incorporated into dough), turn dough in hands, gently stretching surface of dough, rotating ball a quarter-turn as you go, creating a rounded top and a bunched bottom.
Place shaped dough on prepared pizza peel and let rest, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it in lidded container. (Even one day's storage improves flavor and texture of bread. Dough can also be frozen in 1-pound portions in airtight containers and defrosted overnight in refrigerator prior to baking day.) Dust dough with flour.
Using a serrated knife, slash top of dough in three parallel, 1/4-inch deep cuts (or in a tic-tac-toe pattern). Slide dough onto preheated baking stone. Pour 1 cup hot tap water into broiler pan and quickly close oven door to trap steam. Bake until crust is well-browned and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack and cool completely.
