Guest written by Chef Liam.
I’m sure every budding chef reading this would have their own little touch to cooking the best burger patty, whether it's the searing charr of the grill, efficient large plates up out of the oven, or why not look to new tools like the ever-popular air fryer. How do you cook your cracking good Angel Bay products?
For this column, I explore the best ways to prepare Angel Bay Beef Burger Patties and Rissoles looking at some of the better-known methods, such as a flat grill and a full tray combi oven, as well as lesser-known methods like an air fryer.
How do the methods differ in their approach?
Char grill
The char grill is a classic method that allows the chef or cook to prepare the patty while keeping an eye on other ingredient preparations around the grill, such as bacon, eggs, buns, and steaks - you name it, it's a busy station. Additionally, it delivers what some believe to be a superior burger patty, creating a caramelized crust while locking in all those tasty beef juices. This approach is ideal for burger shops, pubs/clubs, restaurants, or large café complexes.
Combi Oven
An alternative approach that is now seeing great results is through the combi oven. These days, ovens are incredibly thermal efficient and accurate at controlling not just the heat, but also humidity and airflow. This allows for a smarter and more efficient large, medium and small batch cooking approach, while still handling all the trimmings for any restaurant, pub, or function venue.
Air Fryer
There seem to be no bounds to what an air fryer can do, and it comes as no surprise that they should now be considered a necessary commercial cooking tool. Catering to smaller batch portion cooking, it is ideal for cafes, mobile catering, and pop-ups. The intense heat cooking for short periods makes it suitable for many small and medium portioned foods, ensuring a good crust and locking in moisture.
Results
For part 1, our focus was on comparing the cook results for the 120g Gourmet Beef Patties, Beef rissoles and Lamb Rissoles and 50g Breakfast Beef Sausage Patties. Each product varied significantly in thickness and size, creating quite a conundrum when seeking the best cooking outcome.
The air fryer, like many innovative tools today, did a fantastic job at mimicking the oven cooking process. However, it lacked a little moisture control, resulting in patties that didn't feel as juicy, especially in the thinner ones with less meatiness to protect them.
I was truly amazed by how closely the oven-cooked Angel Bay patties resembled their grilled counterparts. It would have been hard to spot the difference without the direct comparison, especially in a simple pub test, without all the trimmings, sauces, breads and the like.
In the end, it's hard to beat the grill for that textural crunch and the savored beef juices, making it the outright winner.
Lastly, I must mention that all cooking methods delivered a near-identical cook time, leaving the final conclusion up to you.
What's your favorite cooking method or tip for producing the best patty? We'd love to hear about your experience.