Picture a Canadian burger, and maple, bacon and other home-grown ingredients might come to mind. But chefs across the country are reinterpreting the humble meat patty with a range of flavours from their own culture’s traditions.
Canadian-Guyanese celebrity chef Devan Rajkumar has a love for fireside cooking that was ingrained in him from a young age.SUECH AND BECK/Supplied
For Canadian-Guyanese celebrity chef Devan Rajkumar, cooking over an open flame is step one. A love for “fireside” cooking was ingrained in him from a young age. “Any Guyanese person will tell you that the sweetness from the food, the inherent flavour, that hint of smoke comes from fireside cooking,” said the Toronto-born chef.
The “fireside” method is achieved through cooking on a chulha, a clay and mud stove used in India, where his ancestors lived before making the journey to Guyana. “It contributes a beautiful essence to the food, which can only be done outdoors,” he added.
Rajkumar says he always makes sure to have a vegetarian option that is comparable or even more exciting than the meat version, so his take on a burger is a fresh and herbaceous grilled paneer and watermelon sandwich with cilantro pesto from his debut cookbook, Mad Love: Big Flavors Made to Share, from South Asia to the West Indies.
While the subtle, non-melty cheese is a staple in South Asian households, it might not be top of mind when crafting a burger. “What I love about paneer is it holds its texture; that’s why you can get good grill marks on it, similar to halloumi,” Rajkumar explained. “As you bite into that paneer, you get an explosion of juice from the watermelon and the caramelized flavour of the natural sugars on the outside.”
At Chubby’s, a Jamaican haven in Toronto, that flavour explosion comes from their plump jerk burger with Ontario-reared Angus beef. Straight from Chubby’s legendary maple woodfire pit, juicy beef gets a hit of house-made jerk seasoning before getting up close and personal with a pillowy-soft bun, fresh mango salsa, tangy pickles and charred lettuce.
Elephant’s tartare burger utilizes organ meat for an 'intensely beefy' taste.Scott Mitchell/Supplied
Over in Vancouver, Elephant takes a different approach that aligns with its nose-to-tail philosophy, commonly seen in other cultures around the world, from South America to Asia. “We wanted to feature the burger for late-night, mainly for our industry pals,” said Miki Ellis, co-owner of the 18-seat restaurant and wine bar. “It’s nice having a hearty treat postshift with a nice glass of wine.”
Available Friday to Monday from 10 p.m. until close, their beloved tartare burger utilizes organ meat for an “intensely beefy” taste. “It’s really freaking crispy on the outside and raw in the middle. It’s velvety and so, so good,” said chef and co-owner Justin Song Ell of the flattop-seared burger, which he serves with fermented black onions (think caramelized onions but amped-up), beer vinegar-pickled onions and a lush double cheddar sauce. “Every heart you eat will have a bit of variance in flavour and texture, and it captures the flavour of the entire animal. It’s also supertender.”
Chef Justin Cheung’s ever-changing menu of smash burgers at Street Hawker celebrates the 'crossing paths' of Pan-Asian foodways.Supplied
Justin Cheung opened Street Hawker in Vancouver last May with burgers as the star of his menu.
The B.C.-born chef-owner with Malaysian, Singaporean and Chinese ancestry belongs to a generation of cooks whose childhoods were as much about cheeseburgers as dumplings or daal. “As much as we focus on Southeast Asian flavours, I wouldn’t open a burger shop if I didn’t enjoy a good burger,” he said.
Street Hawker’s kimchi bacon smash burger.Richard Won/Supplied
Cheung’s ever-changing menu of smash burgers (patties smashed on a griddle) celebrates the “crossing paths” of Pan-Asian foodways with top-quality beef from Vancouver butcher Two Rivers Meats. While the Aloha burger takes guests on a trip to Hawaii with spam, teriyaki mayo and caramelized pineapple, Street Hawker’s umami-packed kimchi burger features a supporting cast of lightly fried onions, bacon and cheese.
As much as Street Hawker is predominately Asian-driven with its unapologetic flavour combinations, Cheung also wanted to offer a solid basic burger. Getting the basics right is fundamental to his business’s success: “A traditional smash burger is different than your big juicy burger because you’re focusing on that concentrated flavour of the beef,” said Cheung. “Lean beef wouldn’t work for this type of burger because it’ll taste extremely dry.” And who wants a burger that tastes like cardboard?
While there will always be a place for classic flavours – as evidenced by American chain Shake Shack’s long-awaited arrival in Canada, with its first location in Toronto opening this month – the burger is evolving alongside Canada’s diverse food scene.
Burger recipes: Kimchi Bacon Smash Burger and Grilled Paneer and Watermelon
Build a better beef burger
The best place to start is with the basics. Chef Nicole Gomes, Food Network Canada’s Top Chef All-Stars Season 5 winner, shares her top tips.
- THE MEAT
The quality of the meat is superimportant. I would always go for a bit more fat in a beef burger cooked on a barbecue and open flame. I go for 40 per cent brisket and 60 per cent chuck. Brisket has the fat content required, and chuck is so delicious.
- FRESH GRIND
Putting it through a KitchenAid mixer really heats up the meat, depending on the machine. I have a metal grinder at the end of mine. I freeze it, and I also freeze the meat. Six-ounce is getting too big for me; four-ounce is too small, so five-ounce is my magic number.
- SHAPING THE PATTY
I don’t play with the meat at all. People overwork it by adding onions, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and salt. What they’re doing is mashing it – they’re emulsifying it and making a sausage patty. The trick is to bring the mix together really gently.
- GRILLING TECHNIQUE
Once the patty is set on a grill, I flip it every 15 seconds. When you move it around, you’re caramelizing the meat, and it kind of emulates the crust on a griddled burger.
- DON’T OVERLOOK THE BUN
No one wants a meatball for a burger: you need the patty to be quite thin because it will seize up and come up again. The ratio of the bun has to match the burger; it can’t be a huge bun and a tiny little patty.
One in a regular series of stories. To read more, visit our Inspired Dining section.
