Question about RYE bread

[Wyogal]

I guess you ought to just buy a loaf and taste it. or find a friend with a spice cabinet and taste some...
or go to a sandwich shop and order a patty melt.
Dill tastes like, well, dill. Have you ever had a dill pickle?
Personally, I like a rye bread without the caraway or dill.
By the way, we have that bread here, oroweat. It's good. I wouldn't hesitate to use bread in a plastic bag.

 

[CharlieD]

If you do not know which rye to get it means that you never tasted one. Rye is a somewhat special and is not like your regular bread. I know a lot of people including my self that do not like rye, Jewish, Russian or any other kind. Well I do like one from Russia, rather from Ukraine, but I doubt you can get that here. In this situattion I would start with tasting them all, and see if youmlike any. Because if you ask me, I tell I do not care how wonderfull or fancy or , well .......... (add any word you can think of) if you do not like the bread you not going to like the whole thing. And nobody can give you advise here, unless they are intimetely familiar with your taste buds.

 

[Selkie]

I'm a burger-and-fries guy. I understand that the hamburger is essentially a type of sandwich, but I would definitely not categorize the "Patty Melt" as a sandwich, but a burger, because of the patty used...

A burger is a burger, not because of the ground beef, which a Patty Melt doesn't use (it uses chopped sirloin), but because a burger uses a "hamburger bun." The bun is the defining element of a "burger."

Tuna Melts, Hot Ham & Swiss on Rye, Ruebens.... and Patty Melts are all examples of GRILLED SANDWICHES, not different kinds of burgers. They use bread, not a bun, and the bread is grilled, not used plain or even toasted, although toasting is an alternative when grilling isn't possible, convenient, or a person is watching their calories.

I'm a "grilled sandwich with chips and a pickle" kind of person. But I also like Hot Dogs, Ball Park style - having been boiling for three months or more, relish and mustard only... NO KETCHUP!

 

[Andy M.]

A burger is a burger, not because of the ground beef, which a Patty Melt doesn't use (it uses chopped sirloin), but because a burger uses a "hamburger bun." The bun is the defining element of a "burger."

Tuna Melts, Hot Ham & Swiss on Rye, Ruebens.... and Patty Melts are all examples of GRILLED SANDWICHES, not different kinds of burgers. They use bread, not a bun, and the bread is grilled, not used plain or even toasted, although toasting is an alternative when grilling isn't possible, convenient, or a person is watching their calories.

While I understand the differences you highlight, Selkie, I would say the patty melt and the 'burger have more in common than they are "entirely different".

They're both sandwiches made with patties of ground meat. The biggest difference is in the bread - buns vs. rye.

 

[rush]

So I finally got around to making some Patty Melt, and here's what I learned...

When I go to Fuddruckers, I usually get the 2/3 pounder, and it's a pretty good size for me. So when I went to the market, I picked up a 1.32 lb ground sirloin for $8, for 2 servings. I figured it would be close to 2/3 lbs if you divide it in half.

1. Quite expensive, considering I'm cooking at home, and everybody's always preaching that if you eat at home, you save money. Not sure how much money I saved by cooking at home. In all honesty, I think I spent more money, especially if you calculate the labor and all the mess created in my small kitchen.

2. 2/3 lb from the market is a lot bigger than the advertised 2/3 lb at a restaurant. Wow, the burgers were monstrous. Fuddruckers has definitely been cheating me. They were probably serving me 1/2 pounders.

3. Onions shrink when you fry them. I thought I had plenty before I tossed them into the frying pan. By the time they were ready, I think they shrunk to a fourth of the quantity I thought I started with...

4. Do not make burgers too thick. One of 'em took around 30 minutes, to reach 160 degrees. The recipe for quarter pounders said it wouldn't take more than 8 minutes to fully cook, but when I stuck the thermometer after 10 minutes on my 2/3 pounder, it was barely 100 degrees.

 

[Andy M.]

First of all, $6.00+ for a pound of ground beef is way too expensive. Around here (eastern MA) ground beef is in the $2.30-3.00 per pound. I suppose if you bought Black Angus, you might get to a per pound price in the $3.00-$4.00 range. Perhaps you should shop for a better price.

Second, the burger size at any restaurant is pre-cooked weight. They all look bigger raw than cooked.

Third, mushrooms shrink a lot too.

Fourth, 2/3 Lb. is around 10-11 ounces. That's how big I make mine. I shape them into a circular patty around 6" in diameter. It less than an inch thick. They cook on the gas or charcoal grills in 7 minutes for medium. Well done shouldn't take more than 8 or 9 minutes.

I wonder how you cooked them.

 

[rush]

First of all, $6.00+ for a pound of ground beef is way too expensive. Around here (eastern MA) ground beef is in the $2.30-3.00 per pound. I suppose if you bought Black Angus, you might get to a per pound price in the $3.00-$4.00 range. Perhaps you should shop for a better price.

Second, the burger size at any restaurant is pre-cooked weight. They all look bigger raw than cooked.

Third, mushrooms shrink a lot too.

Fourth, 2/3 Lb. is around 10-11 ounces. That's how big I make mine. I shape them into a circular patty around 6" in diameter. It less than an inch thick. They cook on the gas or charcoal grills in 7 minutes for medium. Well done shouldn't take more than 8 or 9 minutes.

I wonder how you cooked them.

From my observation, the burger tends to inflate and get bigger while cooking. Hmm.

As for my cooking method, I used a cast iron grill pan... I don't think there's any way I can cook a 2/3 pounder in 7 minutes with an interior temp of 160... at least not with my grill pan.

 

[DaveSoMD]

As the meat cooks it tends to shrink and "puff-up" in the center. When you make your pattys make a depression in the center so it is a little bit thinner thant the sides, it won't puff that way.

 

[Andy M.]

Cooking in a grill pan takes a lot longer because the meat is not touching metal except along the tops of the thin ridges. If you used a flat pan, it would cook faster because the entire surface of the burger is in contact with hot metal.