The Beach Haven Fishery: All American Burger

Where: Beach Haven Fishery, Long Beach Island, NJ

What: The All American Burger

Build: 1/2 lb. black Angus beef, 6 slices thick sliced hickory smoked bacon, 3 slices American cheese, raw onion, garlic butter, ciabatta roll.

Comment: There are 2 reasons why you keep seeing BHF burgers on this blog, One - I have a home on the island and spend my weekends there in the summer (and the winter). Two - the burgers are so awesome, it's almost impossible to stay away; and the BHF is a seasonal business, so I have to get all the burgers in I can because after mid September, I won't have them again until mid May. The All American burger is a creation of Chef "Magic" Mike's, and what a creation it is. Mike said he wanted to get back to basics with the burger special this week so he stuck with basic "crowd pleaser" ingredients, nothing fancy, no truffle butter or exotic herbs and seasonings, just the good old fashioned stuff that separates good burgers from great ones. The All American consisted of the Fishery's 1/2 lb. black Angus beauty wrapped with 6 slices of bacon which were held on with toothpicks for it's bath in the deep fryer. Yes, the deep fryer. I can hear some of you wincing at the thought, but for those who understand meat and deep fat frying, this is the very best way to cook because unlike foods that are breaded before being fried, raw meat does not hold oil like a sponge. Unbreaded raw meat deep fry's crispy on the outside and stays moist and tender on the in. A few seconds after emerging from the bath, the meat is dry and not greasy one bit. Chef Mike's burger was no different. The bacon was crisp but not over done and the burger was a perfect med/rare inside. It was then topped with 3 slices of American cheese (of course) and a slice of raw onion. The bun was the BHF's signature oven-fresh ciabatta roll infused with garlic butter. And for those of you who turn their nose up at ciabatta rolls thinking they are too firm and perhaps overpowering for a burger, please note, these rolls are not the chewy, hard-to-swallow rolls you get in the supermarket, they really are "oven fresh" and are soft and very pliable with a thin crispy skin. Once you pick up the sandwich, you can feel the roll collapsing and conforming to every contour of the burger and it's toppings. So good - I think I just talked myself into going back tomorrow.  10/10