Where do I get my FREE SHAKE?

[vogue65]

Every few months, I'll have a really good burger out at a good (non-fast-food) restaurant, but I grill fantastic burgers at home so I rarely get one out. Same with steaks; why should I spend $50+ for a steak dinner when I can buy a great cut and grill it myself exactly how I want it for a fraction of that price?
[/quote]

Ah, we remember back in the 60's when we had real steak restaurants, especially in Milwaukee and Chicago.

To answer your question;  assuming you can get a good cut, I think you mean good animal, good feed, and aged, and at a good price we stil have a few issues.

1.  You need a HOT, HOT grill to sear the steak.
2.  You need to cook it from top and bottom, called broiling.
3.   Dry aged would help, but that requires Gallagers in Vegas or NYC. 

Not to brag, but I live in NJ a few miles from the president and shop at a top of the line butcher and he can't get me dry aged beef.  Not to mention that I can't afford dinning at New York steak houses now that I'm retired and not on a corporate expense account.

Getting back to the grill, my Weber is good, but a far cry from the equipment at a real steak house. 

And then we have the guys who are aficionados of smokers, ha.  I  know, that's another thread that never dies.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Dry aged beef is easily available @ butcher stores in Milwaukee.

[GGGG]

vogue seems to think the Milwaukee is on the edge of the frontier.

[vogue65]

Dry aged beef is easily available @ butcher stores in Milwaukee.

Ah, see what I miss living in N.J.?
I'm sure you mean the real deal, the dry-aged meat with fistulina hepataica fungus growing on it.
Or are you talking about the "typical" local butcher shop "aged" beef?

[vogue65]

vogue seems to think the Milwaukee is on the edge of the frontier.

Not exactly, just installed a Kohler 24kW stand-by LPG generator with liquid cooling.  Love Milwaukee and Wisconsin, wife graduated from Iowa.  Wisconsin is far from the frontier.  The frontier is in outer Mongolia, and Africa.  Yesterday I ran into 17 tourists from Laos and we talked about working elephants in the jungle of Laos.  Now thats the frontier.

[fjm]

Wish it was Kopp's. That's something I can get behind.

[jficke13]

Dry aged beef is easily available @ butcher stores in Milwaukee.

Or Butcher & Larder in Chicago.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Ah, see what I miss living in N.J.?
I'm sure you mean the real deal, the dry-aged meat with fistulina hepataica fungus growing on it.
Or are you talking about the "typical" local butcher shop "aged" beef?

I assume you meant thamnidium not fistulina hepataica. As it occurs naturally one doesn't need to visit a Gallagher's in Vegas or NYC.

[naginiF]

Shake Shack is great, get the hell out with that Five Guys garbage.  Soggy burger, greasy freaking mess.  Totally disgusting.

In this case, since I can't eat beef, I'm simply reporting what's been said.  From a visual perspective there is very little difference between what i've seen at SS and 5Guys (and Culver's, and Freddy's, and etc.).  This seems to be a Ruth Chris situation where the quality of the experience differs wildly by location....though i have not eaten at a Ruth Chris in 10 years.

[4everwarriors]

Well, I am a dad. And back in the groovy '60s, I was "the most."

Nah Nads, u bee da gear, aina?

[vogue65]

I assume you meant thamnidium not fistulina hepataica. As it occurs naturally one doesn't need to visit a Gallagher's in Vegas or NYC.

Thank you for the input, dry aging of meat is not my expertise.  You sent me to Wikipedia and as usual I am now better informed. 

[Gato78]

I get all of my meat at a butcher--House of Homemade Sausage in Germantown. Owners try to keep prices just slightly higher than Pick n Save. Owners say they need to stay close to grocery store prices to stay competitive. I now seldom order steaks at restaurants. I can grill up a 1-3/4 to 2 inch Porterhouse that is as good as any steak in Milwaukee. It is a family owned shop, great people. I have tried many butcher shops from West Allis to Saukville. This shop is the best I have found. Worth the ride.

[MU82]

Not to brag, but I live in NJ a few miles from the president

Next time you see him at the butcher, tell him Scott Walker sends his love and appreciation.

[vogue65]

Next time you see him at the butcher, tell him Scott Walker sends his love and appreciation.

MU82, very funny, don't think he will give Scotty a second thought.  What can Scotty do for him now?
BTW, those folks grow their own cattle, they would not be caught dead with our stuff.  They have private cooks, guards, pilots, and house doctors.  Not to mention teachers, and old school gardeners, drivers,  and equesterian  helpers.  One half doesn't know how the other 1% live.

[Galway Eagle]

I think this thread should be the prelude to the next undying thread. "The burger thread"

[MU82]

Nah Nads, u bee da gear, aina?

Huh?

[Newsdreams]

MU82, very funny, don't think he will give Scotty a second thought.  What can Scotty do for him now?
BTW, those folks grow their own cattle, they would not be caught dead with our stuff.  They have private cooks, guards, pilots, and house doctors.  Not to mention teachers, and old school gardeners, drivers,  and equesterian  helpers.  One half doesn't know how the other 1% live.

I don't know don't trust those who eat their steaks well done

[vogue65]

I think this thread should be the prelude to the next undying thread. "The burger thread"

The all time winner is......the smoker thread....

[Chili]

Or Butcher & Larder in Chicago.

OR PQM (Publican Quality Meats). A great way to cook a steak perfect at home is sous vide at 129 for about an hour then hit on either a cast iron pan which under your broiler or your grill as hot as you can get it to finish.

But for burgers, why are people grilling them? Double patty (3.5-4oz each) griddled and smashed is the only way to go for a great burger. Need that griddle (or pan - I use my side burner on my grill to get a pan over 600) to cook them for 30 seconds in a ball form then smash them down. 2 min total each side. Slice of american cheese on each patty. Double stacked on a potato roll with a little mayo, little mustard and pickles.

Big thick burgers are just meatloaf to me.

[Spotcheck Billy]

OR PQM (Publican Quality Meats). A great way to cook a steak perfect at home is sous vide at 129 for about an hour then hit on either a cast iron pan which under your broiler or your grill as hot as you can get it to finish.

But for burgers, why are people grilling them? Double patty (3.5-4oz each) griddled and smashed is the only way to go for a great burger. Need that griddle (or pan - I use my side burner on my grill to get a pan over 600) to cook them for 30 seconds in a ball form then smash them down. 2 min total each side. Slice of american cheese on each patty. Double stacked on a potato roll with a little mayo, little mustard and pickles.

Big thick burgers are just meatloaf to me.

You had me until the American cheese.

[MU82]

OR PQM (Publican Quality Meats). A great way to cook a steak perfect at home is sous vide at 129 for about an hour then hit on either a cast iron pan which under your broiler or your grill as hot as you can get it to finish.

But for burgers, why are people grilling them? Double patty (3.5-4oz each) griddled and smashed is the only way to go for a great burger. Need that griddle (or pan - I use my side burner on my grill to get a pan over 600) to cook them for 30 seconds in a ball form then smash them down. 2 min total each side. Slice of american cheese on each patty. Double stacked on a potato roll with a little mayo, little mustard and pickles.

Big thick burgers are just meatloaf to me.

You'd love my grilled burgers, Chili. I don't make 'em too thick, and I sure as heck don't use American cheese.

[vogue65]

Does anyone remember MELL's, 14th and Wisconsin or was it 13th?  Now those were burgers, or are all those customers now dead and burried?

[Chili]

You had me until the American cheese.

a quality american cheese is the only thing that melts properly. i am not talking kraft singles but quality stuff. Any other cheese just can't compete. Unless you do Merkts Spreads.

[damuts222]

I'll gladly wait several hours to get an Au Cheval burger in Chicago, by waiting at a local establishment.

[wadesworld]

a quality american cheese is the only thing that melts properly. i am not talking kraft singles but quality stuff. Any other cheese just can't compete. Unless you do Merkts Spreads.

I actually agree with this. I would not just eat American cheese by itself or on something like crackers like I would cheddar or others but it is actually the cheese I prefer most on a burger.