Foie Gras Burger with Brioche Buns, Truffle Mayo and Triple Cooked Fries

A very special occasion before Christmas called for a very special meal. Our friends Glen and Ingrid returned to Norway from their current home in Sydney, and we invited them along with Mathias and Kine (heavy lifters, heavy eaters) to dine in Nydalen. What better opportunity to whip out some of those exclusive products from Matbazaren.no again? The following recipes are somewhat complex and need to be explained in detail to ensure a good results. Starting with the brioche buns that needs to be ​

prepared one day in advance, continuing with triple cooked fries which requires you to start early the same day, and finally the burgers and truffle mayo. Needless to say, this burger was inspired by recently deceased "The Fifth Taste" from Burger Joint at Aker Brygge. R.I.P

Notice the failed bun in the back. That's what happens when you try to roll like a normal bun.

Brioche burger buns ingredients (gives 12 small or 8 big buns):

This recipe was inspired by Fru Timian.

500 g all purpose flour
400 g eggs (6-8 depending on size)
250 g Røros butter
50 g sugar
15 g fresh yeast
1 tsp salt
Sesame seeds

Baking the brioche buns:

Start one day in advance. Dice the butter and leave it in room temperature along with the eggs. Wait one hour or so. Then, in your kitchen machine add the flour, sugar, salt and break the fresh yeast into smaller pieces. Mix well. Add the eggs and let the machine incorporate them into the dry mix for about 10 minutes. Do not add more flour. Start adding the butter dices one or two at a time, and let each dice be incorporated before adding the next. Leave the machine running for another 10 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Let it rise in a bowl 1-2 hours, then cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.

The next day, 4-5 hours before baking in the oven, bring the dough back to room temperature to allow it to rise again. 2-3 hours before baking you need to divide the dough into 8 or 12 pieces depending on how big you want your buns. Now comes the tricky part. You can't really roll the buns, as the dough is so full of butter and eggs it won't behave like a normal dough. In stead, put flour on your hands and gently shape the pieces into round balls. Leave them on a baking tray to rise the final level, and brush them with an egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. We packed all of them onto one tray on purpose. That way, when they later baked they merged together. After baking you just tear them apart again.

Set your oven to 230 degrees C. Place the baking tray with buns in the oven and decrease to 180 degrees C. Bake for 10 minutes. Decrease temperature to 190 degrees C for another 25 minutes of baking.

Triple cooked fries ingredients:

This recipe was inspired by Heston Blumenthal originally, and secondly Hobbykokken and his interpretation.

4 kilos Beate or Kerrs Pink potatoes (yes, 4 kilos, you will be left with less than half)
1,5 liters good frying oil
Maldon salt

This is how you triple cook:

Boil. Freeze. Fry. Freeze. Fry. Got it?

Ok, there are some more details in order to achieve the perfect crispy exterior and fluffy interior of these heavenly fries. You start by cutting the potatoes into similar length and width. We didn't even peel them first, as you will cut away quite a lot. The four kilos will be reduced to two kilos or less. Boil the potatoes until they are soft, but stop before they break apart. Carefully remove them from the water and place on baking paper. With a fork, roughen the exterior of each potato on all four sides. This took about half an hour and also allowed the potatoes to let off all remaining steam. Now freeze the potatoes for 1 hour.

Heat frying oil to 130 degrees C. Fry the potatoes, but not more than a good handful at a time or the temperature will drop too much. If you don't have a proper fryer; use a candy thermometer and a pot like us. After 5-8 minutes, once the potatoes get slightly golden, remove from the oil and leave to dry on some paper. Freeze them again. This time for at least 1 hour, or until you are serving them. Just before serving you fry them a second time (third cooking) in 160 degrees C frying oil. They will need 1-2 minutes to become golden/slightly brown. Put in a bowl, salt to taste and serve.

What's this rubbish with freezing and shit, you ask? The quick explanation is that you remove water from the potatoes. Less water = more crispy outside and mushy inside.

Truffle mayo ingredients:

5 dl rapeseed oil
2 egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Truffle/Tartufo
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Half a lemon
Cayenna pepper
Salt and pepper

Mayo is simple to make...

...all you need is a good bowl and a proper heavy whisk. As well as some lower arm muscles.

Place the bowl on a wet cloth. Separate the yolk from the whites. The yolks goes in the bowl, add the Dijon and whisk until creamy and airy. Slowly start adding oil, first a few drops, then some more. The more you whisk the faster you can pour oil. The truffle oil is the last you add. Taste to make sure it has a desired level of truffle taste. Add white wine vinegar, lemon juice, and taste with cayenna, salt and pepper.

Burger ingredients, finally...

There's burgers in this recipe, you say?

800 g ground beef
3 slices of white bread without crust
2 dl whole milk
1 shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 tbsp roasted pine nuts, chopped
1 egg
Handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

In addition:
Brie
Foie gras

Burger flipper - man your station!

Soak the bread in milk for 5 minutes and squeeze the milk out again. Roast the pine nuts. Chop them finely. Dice and chop everything else. Add all ingredients to the ground beef. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands in there. Get wet, get dirty, mix well. Allow to set in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Now, oil your hands and shape 8-12 round patties. Make sure they are slightly bigger than the bread, as they will shrink when frying.

Heat a pan. Use a mix of rapeseed oil and butter in the pan. Fry the patties 1-2 minutes (depending on thickness) on the first side, while you constantly scoop up oil/butter with a spoon and pour over. Flip the burgers! Fry for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

At this point you'll want a partner in crime. Have him or her ready the buns, cut them in half, spreading truffle mayo on the lower half and topping with the brie. Foie gras (that which should not be named) goes on the other half. At the same time those fries we mentioned earlier are ready for the third round of cooking. Better serve them warm, you know.