Skip to main content

Making a burger interesting enough for wine

A lockdown birthday is certainly different. Ordinarily we would have a family lunch and friends over for an evening feast with some extravagant wines to pair with the food. Not this year, of course. Instead, the main meal of the day had to be something everyone would enjoy and something that wouldn't be stressful to make. That means no pizza (too frantic) or Chinese food (too time consuming).

Burgers then. Always popular with children (non-vegetarian ones, anyway) but, for us, something has to be done to make them more interesting. A simple solution: cooked steak tartare.

For four people (we halved this): mix together:
Salt and pepper

1 red onion, medium, finely chopped
200g shallots, finely chopped
140g capers, finely chopped
2 tbs olive oil
15ml brandy
2tsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco
4 egg yolks (optional)

600g minced beef (or venison) - for steak tartare (served raw, of course), the meat should be chopped rather than minced. This is easier if it is almost frozen as you can slice it much thinner then. Mix in the tartare and cook. It can be slightly sloppy so best done in a frying pan rather than barbecue. 

Serve with chips (of course), corn on the cob (oven cooked is much more interesting) and coleslaw or anything else you like, of course. The wine? For some reason, I often have Cahors for my birthday meal: Chateau Lamartine's Expression certainly hit the spot.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Funny goings on at Domaine des Anges

Some irreverent answers given by Domaine des Anges ' owner, Gay McGuinness to questions asked by a South African  publication: (A) Your full address ? postal address: Domaine des Anges, 84570 Mormoiron, France; physical address: Domaine des Anges, Quartier ND des Anges, 84570 Mormoiron, France  (B) History of the winery. Domaine des Anges is a beautiful, small, hillside estate in the Ventoux in the Southern Rhone region of France. It looks out across a large valley towards Mont Ventoux – the Giant of Provence – with spectacular views on all sides. The estate covers 40 hectares and is overlooked by the chapel of Notre Dame des Anges and a 12 th century Moorish tower, living together happily in the sunshine of timeless, historic, rural France. The total area of the vineyard is 18 ha. There have been vineyards here since Roman times. We do not know the name of the original owner, but it is believed that he was stabbed to death by a group of Roman p

A great value alternative to Côte Rôtie

From Matt Wall's forthcoming article on great value alternatives to Côte Rôtie, Pierre Gaillard's 2016 St Joseph 'Clos du Cuminaile' is a lovely wine to drink now ( there  2015 is still building). Matt scored it 92 points and reviewed it as follows: 'From a 40-year-old vineyard in Chavanay, grapes were fully destemmed. It’s showing blackberry, bonfire ashes and blackcurrant leaf aromas. 2016 was not the most concentrated vintage, so it’s medium-bodied but very smooth in the mouth. The finish is lifted and fresh, with bright berry acidity. Quite lean and transparent, this is mostly based around fresh acidity, with fine, slight tannins and a granitic spine.' (Not the most contemporary looking label but the wine is extremely drinkable!) We have, of course, tasted it ourselves a couple of times recently and found it to be on the lighter side of Syrah - St Joseph can range from red to black fruit character and be light and pretty or dense and demanding (for the latte

Juvenal strikes a home run again

Super critic Jeb Dunnuck (the new Parker?) has tasted the current range from Chateau Juvenal - he likes them! For now, we only have the 'everyday' range of Ventoux wines called 'Ribes de Vallat'. Here's what he has to say about them: Ribes de vallat 2021 Blanc 'I loved the two whites from Juvenal. Based largely on Clairette, the 2021 Ventoux Les Ribes Du Vallat Blanc has pretty pear, crushed citrus, and honeyed flower notes in a medium-bodied, fresh, mineral-laced package perfect for near- term drinking.' 2023-2026 (91/100) Ribes de Vallat 2019 Rouge 'Moving to the reds, the entry level 2021 Ventoux Les Ribes Du Vallat is well worth seeking out. Juicy darker berries, raspberries, peppery garrigue, and floral notes define the aromatics, and this medium-bodied, round, supple, delicious Grenache is best drunk over the coming 3-5 years. ' 2023-2028 (89/100) He's right! These are  consistently enjoyable and immensely good value too. Enjoy!