how-to: the perfect burger + super-fast buns.

I bet you didn’t know that burgers are just full of secrets.

{And not the K-Stew/Robert Pattinson type}

I’ve shared them once before, but just in case you’re more of a visual person – and who isn’t? … I made a video, just for you! 

What’s even better is that we’re making homemade buns that’ll be done just in time for the burgers. Are you skeptical? I was, when I first discovered this 40-minute hamburger bun recipe that I used a base to form my own.

If you don’t know much about bread-making – and I won’t pretend to be an expert, either – just know that when you’re messing around with yeast, you usually have to deal with all sorts of rise times and the like. There’s nothing hard about it – it’s can just get time-consuming. With these buns, however, you’re using a lot more yeast than you normally would, so this makes up for the lack of resting/rise time. Don’t ask me why, I’m no scientist – just watch and see!

For this particular round o’ burgers, I used the following ingredients:

• Freshly ground chuck {I figure about 1/3 to 1/2 pound per burger because we like ‘em big}
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Baby Swiss cheese
• Thick-sliced ripe, organic tomatoes {beefsteak or heirloom}
• Thinly-sliced red onion
• Baby arugula
• Dijon Aioli: 1 cup mayo, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon pressed garlic, juice of 1 lemon, salt and pepper to taste {I halved this recipe, but you should make it all and put it on everything}

Now, your friends will already be thrilled when you present them with the most tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned (hello, salty crust) burgers they’ve ever tasted, but when you tell them you made the buns from scratch? And they’re whole wheat? Psssh. Minds will be lost.

And that’s not all! I’ve also got a trick for a super-summery beer … it involves peaches … it takes about 5 seconds … and you’ve got to try it.

This is the stuff summer is made of, my loves. Get into it!