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The Nashville Burger

Source of Recipe

From "Nashville Eats" by Jennifer Justus


Recipe Introduction

"At Brown's Diner, one of Nashville's most beloved burger joints, bar customers must climb onto worn and wobbly stools mounted onto a low step. It's sort of a commitment. But one that's worth it for the conversations and burgers alone: grilled patty on plain bun, American cheese oozing from its edges, and pickles secured with a toothpick on top. Then, on the other side of the Vanderbilt campus, sits another favorite burger haunt called Rotier's. Ask Margaret Rotier what makes the famed burgers on French bun so irresistible, and she might say the freshly ground meat or the sixty-plus-year-old griddle. And she's not taking any chances on either. 'We're scared to get a new one,' she says of the old flat top. 'It's not beautiful, but it works.' Jimmy Buffet holed up in these booths to write songs when he lived in Nashville, and while he hasn't admitted that there's one particular burger that inspired his 'Cheeseburger in Paradise,' the liner notes to his box set, Boats, Beaches, Bars and Ballads, certainly includes Rotier's as one of his ten favorite joints. Inspired by the burgers at Rotier's and Brown's, the classic burger below, has tried-and-true toppings and French bread bun made famous by Rotier's."

List of Ingredients

◦ 1 French baguette, cut into 4 portions
◦ 2 tablespoons butter, melted
◦ 1 pound 80% lean ground beef
◦ Salt and black pepper
◦ 4 slices American cheese
◦ Lettuce
◦ Dill pickle rounds
◦ Mayonnaise
◦ White onion, thinly sliced
◦ Tomato, thinly sliced
◦ Yellow mustard


Recipe

Heat a grill to medium-high. Split each piece of bread and brush the insides with melted butter.

Divide the meat into four equal portions and shape each one into an oblong patty slightly larger than your bun size using a few swift motions. Do not overwork the meat and avoid UFOs, as Porter Road Butcher's Chris Carter calls them: that is, the shape that makes patties thicker in the middle than on the ends. To help avoid this, make an indentation in the middle of each burger. That way, as the burger expands during grilling, it will puff up into a flat shape. If the meat has been refrigerated, allow the patties to sit, covered, to come up to room temperature.

Just before placing patties on the grill, sprinkle them with salt and pepper; you'll need nothing more. Grill the burgers for 5 minutes with the lid up. This will give you a nice crispy outer layer. Don't press on the patties with a spatula; that will just release juices into the flames that you want to keep inside the meat. Then, turn down the heat to medium and flip the burgers. Close the grill lid and cook them for 5 minutes longer.

During the last couple of minutes of cooking, place the bread, buttered sides down, onto a cooler part of grill to toast. Transfer the grilled patties and bread to a platter. Immediately top each patty with a slice of cheese to melt. The meat should be charred on the outside, moist and juicy inside, and a little pink (but not too much) in the center.

Stack burgers with desired condiments on the bread and serve.

Makes 4 burgers