THE COOKBOOK TEST #107: 365 WAYS TO COOK HAMBURGER

INSTALLMENT #107 (PAID) CHOPPED MEAT, SHORT AND SWEET / 365? REALLY?! / CLASSIC AND/OR WEIRD / FROM RUSSIA WITH BUNS

Dear Subscribers,

There’s something about the guileless way that vintage cookbooks get into their subject matter that is downright refreshing. I would be surprised if the introduction to 365 WAYS TO COOK HAMBURGER is more than 400 words long. It offers a little historical song and dance about the Germany-by-way-of-the-Baltics tartare-like origins of the modern American hamburger (a food item that was probably less than a century old as of the writing of the book), concluding with this charmingly old-school salute to its readers:

This book has been written with each of you in mind - bachelors, bachelor girls, newlyweds, small families, large families, those who like hamburger, those who are tired of hamburger cooked in the same old way, clubs, and church groups.

Nothing about the author’s family traditions or television show, nothing about dietary trends or personal devices, no 3,000-word windup - just the briefest of scene-setters and then 365 different ways to cook hamburgers.

at your service,

James

365 WAYS TO COOK HAMBURGER
BY DOYNE NICKERSON
DOUBLEDAY | 1958

The title 365 Ways to Cook Hamburger suggests that the book will deliver 365 distinct methods, but when you correct for all the slightly varied recipes (e.g. Barbecued Hamburgers 1, Barbecued Hamburgers 2, Barbecued Hamburgers 3, Barbecued Hamburgers for 30) and all the more generously defined variation recipes (70 kinds of meatballs), we’re probably looking at 50 or 60 distinct methods for cooking hamburger meat.

Still: an impressive degree of focus.

I tried two recipes from this book, both solidly odd, both extremely outdated, both pretty damn tasty all things considered.

WEIRD, CLASSIC, BALL-SHAPED

“Creamed meat balls on toast” sounds like something that Archie Goodwin would eat for lunch in a Nero Wolfe novel circa 1952.

It’s not something I’ve ever eaten. I’m not sure it’s something I’ve ever thought about, or maybe even heard of. Thus the appeal. The concept is reasonably straightforward when you break it down: make meatballs, simmer them in creamy sauce, smash ‘em up on some toast.

The recipe was easy to execute and quite tasty - sort of a reimagination of a classic stroganoff, comforting and straightforward, great on a cold autumn night. I made two changes to the recipe, one by mistake, one on purpose.