Wait, What? Fried, Griddled, Grilled, or Broiled
When I was writing the Thursday's on First article, I mentioned Newts burgers in-store are griddled. I did think that weird because griddled seems like it should come from a grill. Newts burgers were fried on a flat top. Oh, wait on a Flat Top Grill; hence the burgers from Newts are griddled. All old-fashioned diner burgers are griddled and have that delicious beefy kind of greasy in a good way flavor. Quite honestly, Hot Chip has perfected that with pretty much cooked-through patties and crispy edges. Here's to griddled burgers from a flat top!
Remember the Emburger was that griddled? No, broiled and delicious, especially the Emburger Royal. It was a quintessential bacon cheeseburger with BBQ sauce, which was even more delicious at 2 am after the bars closed. You have to be had been around Minnesota during the thirty years Embers was, starting sometime in the '60s.
Burger King burgers are flame-broiled or at least were, and had quite a different flavor from McDonald's (which I guess would be griddled then). But Burger King's broiler was not like a broiler in your oven that, if you are like me, rarely use because it makes such a mess. Burger King uses either an over-fire or under-fire broiler. Restaurants also had salamander broilers for things like melting cheese. Back in 1978, The Bank Restaurant cooked all its steaks on a broiler, as did most Supper Clubs back in the day. The idea was to not create flames, and the broilers were often Infrared broilers. Wait, what? Our infrared Char Broiler Grill that cooked the first Thursday's Newts burgers, was a grill.
Questions anyone? Can you grill a cheese? Ah, yes, you can! Read on.
Halloumi Cheese Throw it on Your Grill
Halloumi is from the island of Cyprus and is traditionally made from goat's and or sheep's milk. This one is sheep's and is my favorite! It has a great, chewy texture and a tangy, salty, flavor with hints of mint Halloumi can be eaten raw, kind of reminiscent of cheese curds. But, it has a high melting point; it's an ideal cheese for grilling or frying.
When Halloumi is heated, it softens but doesn't melt, so you can grill it, pan-fry it, bake it, or pop it under the broiler. Cooked Halloumi gets a tasty brown crust and a soft gooey center.
So how do you throw it on your grill this summer?
Give the cheese a good brush of olive oil and set it on the grill! Let it get some grill marks and start to feel a little softer on the inside. Turn it. Finish that side. Voila!
While it's doing its thing, coarsely chop up some olives. Food Union SUPERmarket has a wonderful Spanish mix. Add the olives to a shallow dish and drizzle with lemon olive oil, or just some good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. I like a little heat, so crushed red pepper flakes are perfect, just a sprinkle. Even tastier would be Mama Lil's peppers available also in our SUPERmarket. The peppers are in their own oil, so hang on to that even after the peppers are gone. There are lots of things to do with the oil; I'll get into it later!
You can turn your grilled Halloumi into a great summer salad with this recipe.
Grilled Halloumi and Watermelon Salad.
sliced watermelon, seeds and rind removed
2 tablespoons white balsamic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red chili finely chopped (check the Farmers Market)
1 package halloumi
Fresh mint
Put the watermelon in a large dish. Whisk the white balsamic and olive oil with a bit of sea salt, then stir in the chili. Pour 1/2 over the watermelon, toss and leave to sit for 15 minutes.
Grill the Halloumi as noted above.
Sliced the Halloumi and layer it in with the watermelon on a platter. Pour on the rest of the vinaigrette, tear and scatter mint over and serve.